Geri's Game (1998 Oscar) Pixar

Geri's Game is a five-minute animated short film made by Pixar in 1997, written and directed by Jan Pinkava.

 

The film is set in an empty park during autumn. The title character, Geri (voiced by Bob Peterson), is an elderly man who plays a game of chess against himself, "becoming" each of the players in turn by moving to the other side of the chessboard, where he changes his personality and either puts on or takes off his glasses to show this change.

As the game progresses, it seems as though there are two people playing; at one point, the hands of both "opponents" are in frame. Black Geri (without the glasses) soon gains the upper hand over White Geri (with them), capturing every piece except his king and putting him in check. However, White Geri outsmarts Black Geri by faking a heart attack to distract him and turning the board around. While Black Geri is still distracted, White Geri checkmates what is now his opponent's king. Finding that now he is the one with only his king left and discovering what has happened, Black Geri resigns the game and hands over a set of false teeth as the prize. White Geri puts them in, then chuckles and grins, and the camera pulls back to reveal him alone at the chessboard.

The face of the character "Geri" resembles actor Jonathan Harris, who also provided the voice of Geri for his later appearance in Toy Story 2. In Toy Story 2, Geri is a toy repairman who fixes Woody's torn arm. And the film's director, Jan Pinkava, says the character is loosely based on himself and his elderly relatives, particularly his grandfather who played chess very often
This film won an Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 1998.

Directed by Jan Pinkava
Produced by Karen Dufilho
Written by Jan Pinkava
Starring Bob Peterson - Voice
Music by Gus Viseur
Editing by Jim Kallett
Distributed by Pixar
Release date(s) November 25, 1997
Running time 4:30 minutes
Country United States