Geri's Game

One of my favorite things about going to a Pixar animated movie, is the little short they play right before the feature film. I don’t quite remember which movie I was in, but I remember watching “Geri’s Game”, and falling in love with it. This has definitely been my all time favorite animated short since then.

            When you first hear the premise of the story, an old man playing chess against himself, it’s like oh great. Two of the world’s most boring things. Old people and chess.  But this story is entertaining and far from boring. I think this works much better than a traditional way of storytelling, because it is so visual. There is so much detail to be seen. And there is not really any dialogue, which makes telling the story in a traditional sense, pretty much impossible. Because it is told digitally, the audience is given a lot to focus on visually.

            The medium of the story is very helpful with shaping it. The old man is really playing chess against himself. The camera cuts back and forth from either side, and the editing really makes it seem like he is playing against an opponent. This helps it become much more fast paced and the audience doesn’t have to watch the old man walk slowly from one side of the table, to the other.

            I don’t think that the story is meant to motivate the audience to go out and do something specific. It is mostly a feel good short, meant to leave you with a smile on your face. If I got anything from it thoigh, it would be to make the most of life no matter what point of it you are at. Here is this old man, all alone, but instead of being grumpy and rude (as many old men are depicted in the movies), here he is, playing chess against himself on a beautiful day in the park