The Animatrix

The Animatrix is a 2003 direct-to-video anthology film based on The Matrix trilogy produced by The Wachowskis, who wrote and directed the trilogy. The film is a compilation of nine animated short films, including four written by the Wachowskis. It details the backstory of the Matrix universe, and the original war between man and machines which led to the creation of the Matrix. It was followed by 2021 sequel The Matrix Resurrections.

We think they are not, and were not intended to be included, under the word 'citizens' in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States. On the contrary, they were at that time considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings... ~ Dred Scott v. Sandford

The Second Renaissance Part 1 & 2

Written by the Wachowskis, directed by Mahiro Maeda.

Zion Archive Computer: In the beginning, there was man. And for a time, it was good. But humanity's so-called civil societies soon fell victim to vanity and corruption. Then man made the machine in his own likeness. Thus did man become the architect of his own demise.
Zero One Ambassador: Your flesh is a relic, a mere vessel. Hand over your flesh, and a new world awaits you. We demand it.

Kid's Story

Somebody tell me. Why does it feel more real when I dream than when I am awake? How can I know if my senses are lying?

Written by the Wachowskis, directed by Shinichiro Watanabe.

Kid: Somebody tell me. Why does it feel more real when I dream than when I am awake? How can I know if my senses are lying?

Neo: There is some fiction in your truth, and some truth in your fiction. To know the truth, you must risk everything.

Program

Written and directed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri.

Duo: Maybe you regret taking the red pill.

Beyond

Directed by Koji Morimoto.

Manabu: You know, you're not supposed to go in there... but we don't really care about that.

A Detective Story

Written and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe.

Trinity: There's a difference between a test and a choice. For what it's worth, I think you could've handled the truth.

Matriculated

They can't tell the difference. To an artificial mind, all reality is virtual. How do they know that the real world isn't just another simulation? How do you?

Written and directed by Peter Chung.

• [Nonaka and Alexa talk of converting an intelligent machine to help them]
  Alexa: Will it...? Do you think it will convert?
  Nonaka: To convert is its choice to make.
  Alexa: Do you think we ought to reprogram it?
  Nonaka: No. We can't make slaves of them.
  Alexa: Because that would be simpler.
  Nonaka: We won't beat the machines by making them our slaves. Better to let them join us by choice.
  Alexa: Make them believe the right choice is the one we want.
  Nonaka: All right. Yes, machines are tools. They're made to be used. It's their nature.
  Alexa: To be slaves.
  Nonaka: That's why we show them a better world, why they convert.
  Alexa: But that world we show them isn't real.
  Nonaka: It doesn't matter.
  Alexa: I'm afraid they'll figure out that we've made up the thing in our heads.
  Nonaka: They can't tell the difference. To an artificial mind, all reality is virtual. How do they know that the real world isn't just another simulation? How do you?
  Alexa: I know I' m not dreaming now because I know what its like being in a dream.
  Nonaka: So dreaming lets you know that reality exists?
  Alexa: No. Just that my mind exists. I don't know about the rest.
  [Allusion to Cogito, ergo sum.]

See also

• The Matrix (franchise)