Enjoy This Fun 'Geri's Game' Shot-for-Shot Social Distancing Remake

This has to be one of the best short films ever made, right? Geri's Game is one of Pixar's early short films, that originally played in front of A Bug's Life in 1998 after winning an Academy Award earlier that year. Our friend and fellow cinephile H. Nelson Tracey (follow him @DrivingNelson) decided to create a fun "social distancing remake" version of Geri's Game, made entirely at his home by himself. "Few film projects can be made while social distancing, but I didn't want to let that stop me from creating," he explains. "I decided to take a stab at recreating it shot for shot myself, a rewarding process that taught me a few new things about filmmaking I wouldn't have expected. Stay until the end to see a glimpse of what it looked like making it (hint: a lot of bouncing back & forth between behind and in front of the camera!)" A great way to pass the time at home! You can also view Nelson's "Reading List" videos: Us, Lady Bird, Zodiac, Captain Fantastic.

And here's the original version of Pixar's Geri's Game short, directed by Jan Pinkava (debuted in 1997):

Geri sets up a chess game to play his greatest opponent - himself. Geri's Game was originally released in 1997 after premiering at festivals, winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film the following year. It later went on to show in front of Pixar's A Bug's Life in theaters in 1998. The 7-minute short film is written and directed by acclaimed Czech animation filmmaker Jan Pinkava - who also went on to co-direct Ratatouille at Pixar. The early origins of the project: "Work on the short began shortly after the release of Toy Story and during early production of A Bug's Life, when Ed Catmull decided that the studio should resurrect its short films production as a way to not only bring new animators and storytellers into Pixar, but also as a way to further push research and development for the studio." The idea developed further with Pinkava at the helm. Geri's Game is included in the "Pixar Short Films Collection - Volume 1" DVD/Blu-ray.