Geri's Game (1997)

So much average

hyped garbage

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

One of Pixar's Oscar-winning shorts depicts an elderly man who plays chess against himself. One of his personalities is the aggressive one, while the other is a milquetoast. One might interpret "Geri's Game" as a look at excessive competitive tendencies, or as a way to get people to play chess, but whatever the case, it's a fun short. As is protocol, Pixar goes great lengths to ensure that the protagonist's clothes look and move just as they would in real life.As for chess, I've never been into it, but I know that it's one of the intellectual games. You see, chess originated as an analysis of medieval Europe: the pawns are the expendable serfs, with the royals and their minions safely behind. It was Stanley Kubrick's favorite game, and he used it as a theme in "The Killing", "Paths of Glory" and "Dr. Strangelove" (an allusion to war). Chess is so popular in Russia that they consider it a sport.Anyway, fun cartoon.

this is another of animated short by Pixar.i thought it was alright.it's kinda cute,but maybe a bit redundant.the story is really simple,about an old man and a chess game.i didn't find it all that funny,but it was mildly amusing.of course,i had just previously watched Lifted(another Pixar short)which i thought was excellent,so maybe that raised my expectation for this one.still,it's a good little film,(just under 5 minutes)with excellent animation,as always.i did really like the ending.it thought that was kinda neat.Pixar has a collection of animated shorts(13,i believe)on DVD,if you wanna see more of them.anyway,for me,Geri's Game is a solid 7/10

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!