Geri's Game

'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.

This short won the Academy Award for Animated Short and probably deserved to win. The detail is impressive, but secondary. The plot is marvelous and the character of Geri is well developed. If you've seen Toy Story 2, Geri makes a "cameo" appearance as the toy repairman. All in all, a remarkable piece of work. Available on some copies of A Bug's Life VHS and DVD and well worth seeking out. 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 remember getting a kick of this short repeatedly when I saw Bug's Life in the theater repeatedly eight years back. Mostly because it sticks to the best rules of a little animated short like this. Less is more with the dialog, and editing and position of the camera are crucial. The filmmaker behind this, who hasn't done much aside from this short, is like a very wise film-student. In most film-student shorts, a good chunk of the goal in making 4 or 5 minute films is to put in as much information as possible while keeping it to the point and still having a story. The story here is a guy playing chess, Er, with himself, and getting into a competition to the death (well, almost) in having a check-mate. Geri's laughs and little facial gestures on either side are really genius in their own way, and the ending is one of those that puts a smile on your face. The music is also, in its own way, funny by way of being just a lowly accordion applying the backup to this wacky little scenario. Probably ranks up there with my very favorite Pixar shorts, worth another look on the Bug's Life DVD for sure.

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.