The Meatrix

The Meatrix
Promotional poster for The Meatrix
Directed by	Louis Fox
Produced by	Free Range Graphics GRACE
Written by	Louis Fox Jonah Sachs
Starring	Louis Fox
Music by	Louis Fox
Studio	Free Range Graphics
Release date(s)	November 3, 2003 (2003-11-03)
Running time	4 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Meatrix is a short flash animation critical of factory farming and industrial agricultural practices.^[1] It has been translated into over 30 languages and watched by more than 15 million people.^[2] It was made by the green messaging firm Free Range Studios in 2003 as a commissioned project for GRACE, and two sequels were released in 2006,^[3] titled The Meatrix II: Revolting, and The Meatrix II ½.

Plot

In a dark satire of The Matrix, Leo, a pig on a seemingly bucolic family farm, is approached by Moopheus, an anthropomorphic bull. Moopheus shows Leo that the farm he has known is an illusion, and that he is really trapped in a horrific factory farm. Leo and Moopheus then work to break out of the Meatrix and help others do the same, with some help from a third character, Chickity.^[4][5] The animated short aims to encourage consumers to purchase organic food products and free-range meats. ^[6][7][8]

Awards

The Meatrix has won a number of awards,^[9][10] including a 2005 Webby and the Annecy 2004 Netsurfers Award for Short Films. Free Range Studios claims that over 15 million people have viewed The Meatrix,^[11][12] and it has been translated, either dubbed or subtitled, into a total of 39 languages besides English.^[13] The Meatrix and its two sequels can be found as bonus material on the DVD for Fast Food Nation.

References

1. ^ Enter The Meatrix Organic Consumers Association
2. ^ "About The Meatrix". The Meatrix. http://www.themeatrix.com/about. Retrieved 17 November 2010. 
3. ^ "Media That Matters Film Festival: Films". Mediathatmattersfest.org. http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/films/the_meatrix/. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
4. ^ Klaus Fog, Christian Budtz, Baris Yakaboylu (2005). "Storytelling: Branding in Practice". Springer. ISBN 3540235019. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZGT6nATg8_YC&pg=PA167&ots=As-YRtumut&dq=%22The+Meatrix%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html&sig=yIYna9yGn9lksFI_ejswo4JgRp0. 
5. ^ Innovative Spoof Wins Internet "Academy Award" sustainabletable.org
6. ^ "Step Into the Meatrix — Plenty Magazine". Plentymag.com. 2008-02-26. http://www.plentymag.com/events/2008/02/step_into_the_meatrix.php. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
7. ^ "Watch The Meatrix : Planet Green". Planetgreen.discovery.com. http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/watch-the-meatrix.html. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
8. ^ "Meatrix 2". Animalliberationfront.com. 2003-11-06. http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Practical/FactoryFarm/Meatrix2.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
9. ^ "Film Festivals and Awards". The Meatrix. http://www.themeatrix.com/about/filmfests.html. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
10. ^ The Meatrix - ¿quieres conocer la verdad, Leo? - LaCestaOrganica.com (Spanish)
11. ^ "News". The Meatrix. http://www.themeatrix.com/news/. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
12. ^ "Ecology TV | The Meatrix". Ecology.com. http://ecology.com/tv/vidpages/meatrix.php. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 
13. ^ "International". The Meatrix. http://www.themeatrix.com/intl/. Retrieved 2009-07-17. 

External links

• The Meatrix at the Internet Movie Database
• The Meatrix short film
• The Meatrix I
• The Meatrix II: Revolting
• The Meatrix II 1/2