When Does "The Animatrix: Kid's Story" (2003) Take Place?
"Kid's Story" is a science fiction animated short film written by Lana Wachowski with Lilly Wachowski that released June 3rd, 2003. So when is "Kid's Story" set?
It takes place on the fictional The Matrix timeline roughly in the year:
We know this because Neo appears [clearly after the conclusion of the film "The Matrix" (1999) because he is outside the Matrix] and Kid appears [clearly before the start of the film "The Matrix: Reloaded" (2003) because he is still inside the Matrix].
~2700 AD
We know this because Neo appears [clearly after the conclusion of the film "The Matrix" (1999) because he is outside the Matrix] and Kid appears [clearly before the start of the film "The Matrix: Reloaded" (2003) because he is still inside the Matrix].
The timeline of the Matrix Universe is fairly unique among the largest franchises because the human characters within its fictional world (diegesis) do not themselves know what year it truly is for the duration of most of the stories.
Things appear to be contemporaneous with the making of the work but this timeframe only applies for the characters living within the Matrix who accept the false narrative they are presented: that it is still the late 20th century. In the video game "The Matrix Online" (2005), Tic Tock explains that the calendars and clocks within the Matrix are [or maybe previous to the events of the third film, "The Matrix Revolutions" (2003) were] periodically reset to 1999 AD.
It is (probably) the fifth chronological short film in The Matrix Universe timeline. It can be watched at its timeline point [after the film "The Matrix" (1999) and before the short film "Final Flight of the Osiris" (2003)], after the film "The Matrix: Reloaded" (2003) as an extended flashback, or entirely separately.
