El Juego de Geri

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.

Pixar, especially now that Monsters, Inc. (preceded by the endlessly amusing For The Birds) has been released, is quickly becoming more and more famous for the tremendous quality of the short short animated films that precede their feature films. Geri's Game, which can be seen before A Bug's Life, is one of my favorite of all of Pizar's short animated films. It's a testament to the quality of the film that the punchline (that Geri is playing chess against himself) is not only revealed in the film's tagline, but is also clearly revealed right at the beginning of the film, and yet it still retains the surprising and amusing affect. The editing in this film is so well-done that, as the chess game switches back and forth between Geri and his alter ego, you almost forget that you already saw that he is alone in the park and is therefore playing against himself in this heated game.

I just learned from one of the other IMDb reviewers that Pixar dedicated enormous resources just for such a minor detail as to get Geri's coat to crease just right, and that is exactly the kind of thing that makes a good film, especially a short one. That is a tiny detail, but Pixar is so determined for their films to look just right that it is no surprise that they are now winning Oscars left and right for those films. Pixar spends all of the money that they put into their films in just the right places, and this can clearly be seen in the final product.

The purpose of these short film is clearly just to add to the huge amount of entertainment that is almost invariably involved in watching a Pixar film, because they can obviously not serve any other purpose, being so short. It's obvious that they are not put in to increase the viewing time of the sometimes rather short films that Pixar puts out, but rather just to increase the enjoyment derived from their films. When you go to see a Pixar film, you get more than your money's worth, and not because the films take up more of your time, but because the quality is so high. If anything, people should be grateful that the people at Pixar are able to create such huge amounts of entertainment in relatively short periods of time, unless you have nothing better to do than spend your days in a movie theater. While that is definitely how I would personally LIKE to spend my days, I just don't have the time, and I am grateful that Pixar is so good at what they do that they are able to provide entertainment of such high quality and not take up two and a half hours of my time. Bravo!

The overwhelming success of such Pixar features as 'Monsters Inc' and 'Finding Nemo' may mean that's where all the attention's currently going, but their four-minute short 'Geri's Game' is definitely an enjoyable and highly original little film that deserves to dwell up there with the company's finest output. On the whole I've been repeatedly impressed with Pixar's animated shorts (perhaps even more so than many of their feature films!), and 'Geri's Game', in which an elderly man enjoys a game of chess with himself, may just be the best I've seen - even amongst such a tight array of gems as 'Knick Knack', 'For the Birds', and the ingeniously simple 'Luxo Jr', there's something about this one that really stands out above the rest. It's breezy and colourful, and the animation is simply excellent - I know that until relatively recently, people have always considered human character designs to have been the weak link in Pixar's digital portfolio (check 'Tin Toy' for example, and contrast the ultra-shiny, believable Tinny with his somewhat chunky human baby nemesis). Well, there's nothing in the least bit awkward or artificial about our title character Geri - he's a very polished creation indeed, with facial expressions all smoothly on target (can't go wrong when you're using Jonathon Harris as your model).

This is of course the very same Geri who showed up soon after as the cleaner in 'Toy Story 2' (I'm not sure if he was actually referred to by name, but he was there, and he even flaunts his trademark chess pieces at one point). I was always intrigued by this mysterious character, and when I discovered that he had a short film of his own I was anxious to see it (too bad it's been regulated to the 'Bug's Life' DVD, which is actually my LEAST favourite Pixar feature - there's irony for you). I finally managed to capture this little diamond on Pixar's own official website and, needless to say, it didn't disappoint.

The quality animation aside, and with the European plaza-style music setting it off to a nifty pulse, it's the slick editing that really makes this concept come alive. Seriously, it's amazing. I'm sure this has been pointed out enough times already, but no matter how obvious Pixar make it that really this is little more than just a bored and lonely old man making the most of his chess set and his seclusion, the way in which it cuts seamlessly between the players on each side of the table will quickly have you believing otherwise. Two very distinctive characters really do appear to emerge from one (think something along the lines of Gollum's personal tête-à-têtes in 'Lord of the Rings', only a lot less sinister in this case).

Unlike other Pixar shorts, including 'Knick Knack' and 'For the Birds', 'Geri's Game' may not be a laugh-riot exactly, but then laugh-out-loud hilarity has never been the essential ingredient for class entertainment. What makes this film so engaging is its intelligent story, gentle humour and truly charming sense of character. The cool visuals are a delightful bonus.

Grade: A+ - Clearly, playing a game of chess on your own can be more enthralling than you'd think.

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.

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.