'I Am Groot' Series Review
This series of shorts featuring our favourite plant-based guardian manages to be both painfully adorable and adorably painful, in the absolute best way.
WARNING: Mild Spoilers
When James Gunn created the modern concept of the Guardians of the Galaxy way back in 2014, he created a superhero icon that spoke using only three words. Groot was a murderous and mischievous powerhouse of the group with an undeniable heart of gold. At the end of that film, Groot sacrificed himself to save his fellow Guardians and the world was introduced to Baby Groot. This iteration of the character could have just been a a marketing and merchandising powerhouse but Gunn wouldn’t allow it. Groot became the heart and soul of the Guardians as well as the most adorable little murder tree in all of cinema (Audrey II eat your heart out). This series of shorts aptly titled I Am Groot are short, cute, funny and filled with heart, much like our titular tiny tree.
It was probably very tempting for the producers to simplify and soften this character for the younger audience. Marvel has seen great success with their kid shows like The Super Hero Squad Show, Spidey and His Amazing Friends, and Marvel Super Hero Adventures and one wouldn’t bat an eye at another show aimed at kids starring Baby Groot. However, the integrity of Gunn’s creation was retained in these shorts. Each short begins with a celebration of cuteness and is punctuated with something deceptively violent. For instance, Groot discovers he can act as a Chia Pet and proceeds to have a game of dress up. then later on he rips off the plumage of the small creature who ruined his dress up and wears it as a feather boa. This is not to say that the series is not relatable to kids, the series deals with themes of jealousy, understanding, generosity, empathy, and making friends to name a few. Despite the few jokes aimed at adults the series is most definitely for all ages.
In terms of production the series adheres to the high Marvel standard. The shorts are one hundred percent CGI which gives the animators more freedom to add a more slapstick style to the stories. The voice work was done well by the returning Vin Diesel, which was to be expected by this now veteran voice actor. Joining Diesel for a small cameo is Rocket Raccoon voice actor Bradley Cooper. The sound design takes center stage in these shorts as the Foley work was done extremely well. Paired with the great sound effects is a cute score to accompany the already adorable series, there is even the cutest dance off that is no doubt a callback to the end of the first film.
Overall the series of shorts acts a nice break from the arguably over-inflated super heroism. More than that, this series can certainly be described as ‘perfect’. It is the perfect embodiment of the title character. Groot is short, adorable, mischievous, and full of love. The length of I Am Groot makes it easily digestible and makes sure that it does not overstay it’s welcome. While we only got Baby Groot for a single movie, this series of shorts will be sure to re-ignite the war of cute between Baby Yoda and Baby Groot. The spirit of James Gunn is alive and well as Baby Groot is same little mischief maker that he created back in 2017. With the likes of Kevin Feige and James Gunn producing as well as the return of Vin Diesel, the amount of love that has been poured into this character and series is palpable. With a series with such love and quality as this, there is only one thing left to say… “I am Groot”.