Summary
While these shorts might not add anything substantial to the MCU, that’s half the fun of them. The audience is treated to gorgeously-animated small stories of baby Groot figuring out the world around him.
Disney+ shorts series I Am Groot Season 1 was released on the streaming service on August 10, 2022.
One of the few things that Marvel fans can seem to agree on is their love for the adorable Baby Groot. So Disney+’s new animated series of shorts, I Am Groot, is a welcome addition to the recent offerings of Phase 4. It doesn’t really tie into the rest of the MCU, but the low stakes are part of the fun. Instead, these five short films feature Baby Groot going on little adventures.
Created by Kirsten Lepore, who also served as the director and head writer, the shorts are only a few minutes long and are less than a half-hour long altogether. In fact, each short itself is almost the same length as its credits. Vin Diesel returns to voice the tiny arboreal creature, who made his debut in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film, and the last short features a cameo from another Guardians character (and his voice actor).
Baby Groot, of course, continues to communicate solely through the phrase, “I am Groot,” as the clueless little guy tries to figure out the world around him. The shorts feature photorealistic animation that is surprisingly beautiful and detail-oriented. It’s entertaining to see Groot explored in a different medium than the CGI through which he is normally portrayed.
The subject matter of the five independent stories remains light throughout, from Groot having a dance-off to taking a bath and playing with the new leaves that sprout on his body. He also takes his first steps (as he transitions from Baby Groot to Toddler Groot), finds a tiny alien race, and creates a family portrait of the Guardians.
The only real downside to the shorts is the way that they’re currently listed on Disney+. They’re each available as an individual title, rather than formatted together as a series, which makes it unclear if there is a specific order that they’re meant to be watched in. While the latter four can be seen in any sequence, “Groot’s First Steps” works best as the opening to the others.
The shorts that have been created for Disney+ across several parts of the Disney brand have each offered something interesting and new, and it’s great to see fun concepts get explored through mini series. More shorts for I Am Groot are already in development, according to Disney, so we can expect more adventures with Baby Groot in the future.
What did you think of the Disney+ shorts series I Am Groot? Comment below.
