Lackadaisy Stratagem (Animated Short)

Another month, another vignette!
Mordecai and Viktor demonstrate practical strategies for neatly wrapping up a chess match.

Missing from the credits:

Special thanks to the Translation Team:

------------

------------
#lackadaisy #lackadaisycats #animation #indieanimation #2danimation #cartoon #animatedshort #cats #1920s #chess

[ShadowNetWeaver]

"Where'd you learn to play? In a cave?"
"In a TRENCH."
That line was COLD.

[LucanoGaming]

Art before: Dogs playing Poker.

Art now: Cats playing Chess.

[daneyal]

"In a TRENCH..."

It's amazing how one simple line can teach you so many things about someone...

[PotatoPatatoVonSpudsworth]

A LOT of soldiers became extremely proficient at chess in the trenches. WWI was often weeks/months of extreme boredom broken by sudden outbursts of mind-shattering horror.

[mightystu]

Of course, a cat can't play chess without knocking the pieces off of the table. Classic

[sylvie_loves_frogs]

i find it very funny that mordecai is so expressive with his tail, in comparison to viktor, whose tail doesn't move at all. even though mordecai likes to play poker face, viktor's the real deal

[dienerdeschaos]

I like to imagine that Viktor isn't even bad at chess (he was one figure ahead) but Mordecai is so baffled by his moves, that he uses his strategy of insulting the opponent XD

[Steviebob-]

Never in my life have I been excited to watch two cats play chess lmao

[snackplissken]

"The ballistic aspect of this game" is a phrase which will now officially join my lexicon.

[Nova_is_silly_goofy]

Mordecai listing every strategy that Viktor could possibly be using and Viktor just saying “Viktor. Takes. Your. Bishop.” is a whole mood and I’m here for it

[biraptor]

Sungwon becoming the official voice for Mordecai is the best thing that has happened to Lackadaisy

[NunsenseStudios]

He knocked off the chess set from the table. This really is a show about cats.

[tangerinecowboy]

This is the most intense chess game ever recorded in Lackadaisy history.

[zephyrcalantian]

I see lots of compliments being paid to the voice actors and animators, so a quick shout-out to the music and sound teams - the broom shuffle, the snowfall, the click and clatter of the pieces & board, the slow-waltzing ragtime - chef’s kiss to it all.

[fear_toxin]

i LOVE the way mordecai moves as he says “some half-cocked variation of the dizzy whippets defense”; the way his shoulders bounce with emphasis on every syllable, the disgruntled flip of his paw, the increasing frustration in his face — it’s an incredibly detailed and acute execution of body language. kudos to the amazing animation team, as always!

[bawesome]

I like how realistic it was to actual cats playing chess by having it end by a cat knocking it off the table.

[lightyearpig]

Props to Sung-Won Cho for saying all those strategy names without cracking up.

[vex]

“I wonder why the ballistic aspect of this game was never formalized”

Golden

[Krachbumm-Ente]

"The main thing that puts me off of playing chess is that there is 2000 years of gameplay that hundreds of people with higher IQs than me have spend thousands of hours studying the history of, so much that when I put the pawn forward they say 'Ah, I see you're going for the bulgarian somersault.' and then I try to take their bishop with my knight and they go 'Ah, rookie mistake, you've played the frenchmans cumsock, and in approximately 37 moves I'll have won.'"

Anon

[darrylferguson]

I love how this scene is a great example of intellectual smarts vs. street smarts.

Mordecai as an intellectual, knows all of these fancy official chess strategies, but let his academic knowledge inflate his ego a long while back, leaving him frustrated when he finds himself losing to a "simpleton" that he is sure "doesn't know how to play" having caught him in the perfect position of executing a slow sweep of his pieces towards a guaranteed victory.

Viktor, is a man of few words and based off his clothes comes from a lower social background, but he is far from a fool and is quite street smart. His tough life and time as a soldier gave him the experience to read a situation quickly, so he immediately gets irritated when he notices Mordecai paused his move to intentionally name fancy strategies - he picks up on the fact Mordecai is looking down on him and trying to intimidate him, especially with how mocking his tone is when he says "checkers" confirms Viktor's assumption.

It's why he growls that he took "his Bishop piece" as a clear indication to Mordecai to back off, stop instigating and continue the game, but Mordecai pushes further, leaning forward to distract him from the advantage he has on the board as he mocks his background, trying to provoke Viktor, but he simply responds by standing his ground as he fires back that he learned to play chess "in a trench". It not only answers Mordecai's question, but the delivery of the line from Viktor makes it clear to Mordecai that the big guy won't let Mordecai's education nor his authority intimidate him. Mordecai finishes of his deceitful play by getting right in Viktor's face and alluding to the veteran that he is worth little more than the "dirt" in which he learned to play, with a line as simple as "In the dirt. That explains everything".

Unfortunately for Viktor, Mordecai's deception works, as Viktor tosses the pieces in anger. Satisfied, that he hid his failure, Mordecai backs off and Viktor calms down.