The Marvel Cinematic Universe has built its brand on connections: one film introduces a character who spins off into their own movie; a streaming series sets up a new star who cameos in another show; a mob of characters team-up in a group film and everything eventually leads to the current saga’s conclusion. And while the increasing web of link-ups across Marvel Studios’ various projects can be exciting for fans to unpack, for those who find it intimidating or exhausting, the studio’s new animated series “I Am Groot” offers a welcome reprieve.
“I Am Groot” stars Vin Diesel as Groot himself, a bizarre tree-like alien that can only say the titular phrase. Introduced in the MCU via James Gunn’s 2014 sci-fi comedy “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the original Groot sacrificed his life to save his best friend Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper) and the rest of the Guardians. But from his body, a new alien grows as a sapling, with the team giving him the name of his “father” and adopting them as their own. Since then, this younger version of Groot has been a mainstay of the MCU, popping up in “Infinity War,” “Endgame,” “Thor: Love and Thunder” and the second “Guardians of the Galaxy” film.
None of that really matters for “I Am Groot,” though: the only thing those unfamiliar with the MCU needs to know going in is that Groot is a tiny, mischievous little twig alien, and he’s looked after by a talking raccoon.
The show follows Groot at his youngest stage of development, as he gets into mischief in various planets around the solar system, encountering weird aliens and bizarre animal life in low-stakes adventures outside of the Guardians’ usual fights. The five episodes released Wednesday are charming, briskly paced and — in a rarity for a Marvel streaming TV show — completely self-contained, with no cameos or set-ups for another show to speak-of.
Ahead of the premiere, writer and director Kirsten Lepore and head of streaming for Marvel Studios Brad Winderbaum spoke to Variety about developing the shorts, building Baby Groot’s misadventures and how he compares to other famous babies of the Disney+ world.
What about the character of Baby Groot felt like a good fit for the animated medium?
Brad Winderbaum: We knew we wanted to bring Baby Groot to the screen ever since we made “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.” Mid-credits, he’s already a teenager, but there’s a whole universe of stories to tell when he’s a toddler. We wanted to go back to that early Disney animation short-form style of storytelling from those animated shorts of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Kirsten really excels in that in such an amazing way that we knew she’d be the perfect voice for the show.
Can you tell me about adapting the CGI that brought the character to life in the films to animation?
Winderbaum: We wanted continuity with the films, so we used our animation vendor, the VFX house Luma, that did work for the “Guardians” franchise. Kirsten worked hand and hand with them.
Kirsten Lepore: Technically, Groot has always animated, even in the “Guardians” world. So I believe we’re using the exact model that was in [that movie], so he should look identical to how we’ve been used to seeing him in “Guardians 2.”
Kirsten, what inspirations did you draw from for the comedy and animation of the shorts?
Lepore: There was definitely a little bit of “Looney Tunes” in there for sure. One of the things we had conversations with Brad and Kevin [Feige, head of Marvel Studios] about was this idea of Buster Keaton-esque comedy, where it’s mostly without dialogue; it’s all very physical comedy, but it’s very smart. You can be very smart with the gags and how you attack them. So that was one of our biggest inspirations.
The shorts keep the other Guardians mostly off screen, or in the background. Why’d you make that choice and is that something that could change in the future of the show?
Lepore: Part of the fun that we discovered, even in the early storyboard process, is we really just want to watch Baby Groot. He’s just so fun and so magnetic that we wanted to make sure that he was really the focus. Occasionally, you’ll get Drax in the shower, you’ll get some shadow on the wall, you’ll get a little bit of Rocket to reinforce that we’re in that world. And that particular scene is really fun, to see Rocket’s relationship with Groot and that dynamic. But for the most part, we really enjoy having the focus being Groot and just getting to know his character better.
Winderbaum: It’s fun to see what he does when nobody’s looking. Like an actual kid, that’s where he gets into the most trouble — when he’s right outside the realm of parental eyes. That’s part of the shorts you kind of identify with, or at least I do. You watch it and I remember what it was like to be a kid, and the other side of me is, “Oh, that’s what it’s like to be a parent, watching a kid and worrying they’re going to be doing something terrible.”
How’d you develop the new aliens we see in the series, like the tiny blue creatures Groot finds under a rock? Do they all have names?
Lepore: Those were all super fun to develop. The little tiny blue creatures are called Grunds, and those are really near and dear to my heart because they’re just my natural design sense, where they’re super simplistic. Two dot eyes and a mouth, basically, and very cute and expressive even though they’re very simple. So those were a lot of fun to design. The watery shapeshifting character’s name is Ewa, and then we created this squirrel-like character named Snoot Pin Bongo. He was very inspired by Salacious Crumb from “Star Wars.” And I loved how annoying and over the top he was.
Does the bonsai tree Groot fights in the first short have a name?
Lepore: Yeah, that’s also a character, good call. We did not give the bonsai an actual character name, but now we might have to come up with something. “Groot 2,” maybe.
Brad, this show is of course connected to the MCU via the “Guardians” films; will the other upcoming animated series have similar connections?
Winderbaum: I think what’s amazing about the Multiverse Saga in particular is that you can go down so many more roads. We’ve experimented at the studio for a long time about telling stories that take place in a linear fashion, but also going back in time, and being able to show how the MCU can blossom in the past. But what the multiverse does, it allows us to look at alternate paths and other takes on the characters, which is, of course, what happens in the comic books as different artists, different writers, different storytellers work with characters. You see them expanding and growing in unforeseen, unexpected ways. And that’s something that is our guiding light as we make more animated projects.
Final question, and the most important one: who would win in a fight, Baby Groot or Baby Yoda?
Lepore: Oh Baby Groot, for sure. He’s a fighter.
Winderbaum: And he’ll fight dirty too.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.
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