The Animatrix [Animated Series] (2003)

Synopsis
Raising the anticipation level for the two Matrix sequels, the Wachowski brothers opened up the franchise to a handful of animators. The project resulted in nine animated shorts that present stories related tangentially to the feature films. World Record features a track star who gets a brief glimpse of life outside the Matrix; A Detective Story chronicles an old-fashioned private eye's attempts to track down the mysterious Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss); Beyond finds a young woman exploring a strange abandoned building; Final Flight of the Osiris includes events that occur just before those in The Matrix Reloaded; Kid's Story follows a teenage boy as he attempts to break out of the Matrix; Matriculated shows a group of humans trying to reprogram a sentient robot; Program features a battle within a simulated samurai fight-training program; and The Second Renaissance Part 1 and The Second Renaissance Part 2 are pseudo-documentaries that reveal how the machines came to take control of the Earth. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide