Geri's Game

This animated short film tells the story of an old man, who plays a game of chess with himself in the park. As he loses the game, he decides to turn things around with a drastic move.

"Geri's Game" is an interesting animation, as we see only one character but he plays both sides of the game. In the middle of the film, it gets unclear whether there is really just one man or there are two. Yet, I think the ending resolves this issue. It is a funny animation, but it is not as outstanding as the recent Pixar short animations.

This animation film is produced by Pixar studios. An elder man plays chess. However there is no opponent. He plays chess by himself and he changes his character. One is very quiet and cowardly, another is confident in himself and plays chess provocatively. At the beginning, he seems to be lonely because there is no one around him, in this place he is alone. On the other hand, he really enjoys playing chess so gradually loneliness will disappear. There is no dialogue but it isn't needed. Without lines we can enjoy this movie. This is an animation but it shows many expressions like really human. In the course of watching, I misunderstand there are two elder man. Through this animation film, I rediscover that the animation technology of Pixar is very high. The animation technology is shown up not only in the elder man's expression but also in the background landscape. The landscape is so beautiful and it looks like a picture. I think everyone should watch this film once.

'Geri's Game' is a short, animated film by the geniuses at Pixar Animation, and it was screened in cinemas to precede 'A Bug's Life' (which happens to be my favourite Pixar production).

This short film borders on perfection. Absolutely no dialogue is spoken in the film, but it doesn't need to be. The simple plots concerns an old man named Geri (whom you may recognise from Toy Story 2) who loves to play a high-stakes game of chess in the park. The only catch: He has nobody else to play with!

This is a highly-enjoyable short. The music is beautifully fitting, and the animation is first-rate. The character of Geri (or, at least, one of his characters) is a very likable, bumbling old man.

You can certainly see how Pixar earned themselves an Oscar with this short. Highly recommended.

Old GERI'S GAME of chess is played with great flair and passion, against a most worthy opponent and for a very special prize.

Full of small surprises & great imagination, this is a wonderful little film from the folks at Pixar. Besides the basic entertainment factor - watching the old geezer play chess is a joy - the boundaries have been pushed again in computer animation's ability to depict the human body & the natural world. Fascinating on every level.

Geri would return in a cameo in Disney/Pixar's TOY STORY 2 (1999) as The Cleaner, voiced by Jonathan Harris.

Winner of the 1997 Oscar for Best Animated Short.

I discovered Geri's game on the pixar website and it is most definitely the most beautiful animated short I have ever seen.

Both the story and animations are of extraordinary quality. And also the editing is outstanding; no wonder they received the 1997 Oscar!

I you haven't seen it yet go and check it out at pixar.com, there you can also find lot's of other short films. Luxo jr. for instance is very nice too, and features the jumping creature that is in their logo.

It is a pity that films of this narrative and visual quality are very rare. but luckily we have pixar.