Marvel's MCU has certainly been dipping their toes into new genres lately. Multiverse of Madness gave us horror, What If... gave us animated, and Eternals gave us absolute gibbering nonsense, so it's no surprise to see their next foray into animated shorts featuring everyone's favorite Marvel cutie-Groot.
I Am Groot
I Am Groot is currently streaming on Disney+, with each episode lasting about five minutes and leaving you wanting more. The shorts presumably take place between Guardians of the Galaxy one and two, after Groot was repotted by Rocket but before he became a foul mouthed surely teenager. But unlike everything else in this oversized franchise, canon isn't something we're really worrying about here since all the shorts feature are the antics of a tiny tree man trying to navigate the big ol' galaxy.
I Am Groot
Plot-wise the shorts are simple: Groot is exploring when he runs into a problem and tries to explore or solve the problem in adorably funny ways. Being in baby mode Groot's combat skills aren't what they were in the first Guardians so he usually has to rely on dumb luck and perseverance to get out of his latest shannegains. The animation is top-notch, with the Disney/Marvel animators bringing their A-game to the table. It's easy to blend Groot into an animated world since he himself is animated but the artists manage to also make the world look real to us, so if in a future episode Chris Pratt were to wander in he would look just as in place as Groot himself.
I Am Groot
The I Am Groot shorts are delightful in their sheer simplicity. In the age where every superhero movie and TV show is surrounded with casting calls, decisions, costumes, Easter eggs, canon questions, cameos, post-credit scenes and problematic actors running from the police while the press try to figure out how pronouns work, it's nice of Marvel to bring something out that says "We're going on a few delightful adventures with this cute little tree man and you're free to join us if you want" and I am here for it and I hope you are too.
-JOE
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