I Am Groot: I Am Groot (The Show Is Pretty Great)

Groot Is An Ideal Character For An Animated Show

Considering the number of cutesy series on Disney+, I’m astonished it took this long for Baby Groot to get his own. I Am Groot is a title that writes itself. They designed this character to be adorable and likable. His standard speech pattern also works well for a series that doesn’t want to record too many voice lines.

But I don’t want to be too cynical. The narrative talent on display here is solid. Each episode of I Am Groot is around three minutes but has a nice little payoff. They get across a lot of character. Groot grows out of being a mascot and develops a mild personality.

I Am Groot Does A Complete Story In Only Minutes

And what I like most about this is how he bucks many of those cutesy elements. Baby Groot is a ball of chaos with solid gremlin energy. Of the three shorts I watched, “Magnum Opus” had the most collateral damage. If Groot sees an enemy or someone stopping him from a goal, he’ll go for violence. A grin he pulls in “Groot’s First Steps” makes it clear he takes after his adoptive father.

And speaking of Rocket, the series surprised me by voicing him. I reviewed Pixar Popcorn a while ago and commented on how they didn’t use voice actors—likely to save on the budget. And, though there it worked, it was nice to hear the extra effort. It’s nice to feel like this project wasn’t only to entertain small children and show off big-budget animation.

There’s Much More Effort Put In Then You’d Expect

And since I mentioned animation, I suppose I should comment on that. It was excellent, as expected. Sometimes Groot’s facial animation seems not as smooth as intended, or there’s a weird editing cut, but overall, it’s stellar CGI. This is functionally a cartoon, with likely nothing being real, but if Peter or Gamora ever walked into the scene, it wouldn’t look out of place. Marvel CGI is on another level and looks even better when not having to animate action scenes. The casually lively backgrounds are a testament to this.

I Am Groot is, unsurprisingly, a fun little show worth the short time to watch. It’ll not blow your mind, but it’s got the same appeal as a comedic YouTube video. It’s hard not to enjoy the antics of that little plant alien.

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