January sees the celebration of two notable dates in science-fiction history, with January 2 christened “National Science Fiction Day” to coincide with the birth of world renowned sci-fi writer Isaac Asimov. HAL 9000, the sophisticated artificial intelligence of Arthur C. Clarke’s seminal 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), was also created on 12 January. Accordingly, I am dedicating January to celebrating sci-fi in all its forms.
Air Dates: 10 August 2022 and 6 September 2023
Director: Kirsten Lepore
Network: Disney+
Stars: Vin Diesel, Trevor Devall, James Gunn, Fred Tatasciore, Bradley Cooper, and Jeffrey Wright
The Background:
Created by Stan Lee and Larry Lieber, the original version of Groot was a far cry from the loveable tree-monster who won the hearts of audiences in Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy films (Gunn, 2014 to 2023). Vin Diesel’s surprisingly nuanced performance made the character a household name and Marvel wisely capitalized on the cute appeal of Baby Groot with a series of animated shorts to bolster Disney’s new streaming platform. Seeking to hearken back to a simpler time in Disney animation, when short-form storytelling didn’t rely on much dialogue, director and head writer Kirsten Lepore was inspired by her son when exploring Groot’s childhood. She also met with Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn to explore Groot’s mischievous characterisation. Though Gunn questioned the canonicity of the shorts, Lepore was open to producing more episodes since she and Marvel Studios had plenty more ideas to pull from. Despite the character’s limited vocabulary, Vin Diesel returned to record new “I am Groot” lines and Bradley Cooper even recorded a cameo as Rocket Raccoon. The second series revisited ideas pitched for the first and featured a cameo by Jeffrey Wright as Uatu the Watcher that injected some comedy into the otherwise stoic overseer. The show also recycled the Baby Groot CGI model created by Luma Pictures and Lepore took inspiration from the original Star Wars trilogy (Various, 1977 to 1983) when suggesting designs for Baby Groot’s supporting cast. When it first streamed, I Am Groot was the third highest streaming series in America and both seasons were widely praised for its adorable main character, quirky humour, and playful nature.
The Plot:
Baby Groot (Diesel) takes the spotlight in a series of shorts exploring his adventures growing up, getting into trouble among the stars, and deciding the fate of the entire multiverse!
The Review:
I Am Groot is a CGI animated series of shorts made for little kids. Each episode last about five minutes and features very little dialogue, consisting primarily of Baby Groot’s many different inflections of “I am Groot”. Therefore, they don’t take too much time to watch and it’s easier and fairer to just lump both seasons together into one review. Series one begins some time after Baby Groot first sprung to life in his little plant pot on the Eclector. He’s just a sapling but he still needs care and attention, which is provided to him by a couple of automated robots, who routinely water and tend to him. However, he’s growing so quickly that he cracks his pot, causing the robots to replace him with a sturdier bonsai plant. Naturally, Baby Groot isn’t impressed with this and attacks his replacement, causing both their pots to break from a fall. Luckily, Baby Groot survives and finds he’s got legs, allowing him to take his first steps and get into more mischief. He even makes it up to the bonsai plant by befriending it afterwards, and this caring side to Baby Groot is revisited a couple of times in the show. For example, Groot discovers a colony of ant-sized Grunds living under a rock on an alien world in “The Little Guy”. While Baby Groot initially enjoys toying with them as a God-like figure, he’s stunned when they showcase advanced technology and bombard him with laser fire! While protecting himself in the foetal position, the terrified Baby Groot accidentally farts out a leaf, much to the delight of the Grunds, who immediately devour the offering. Inspired, Baby Groot quickly forgets the attack and gathers up armfuls of leaves to feed the colony, only to accidentally step on them and back away nonchalantly (though the Grunds are actually fine). Similarly, in series two’s “Are You My Groot?”, Baby Groot adopts a strange alien bird, playing with it and feeding it his snacks. Groot’s fondness for the bird and enjoyment of being a surrogate parent are juxtaposed by his annoyance with the bird’s clingy nature and constant pooping. However, Baby Groot still sheds a tear when the bird finds its siblings and flies off with its bulbous, equally quirky mother.
In “Groot’s Pursuit”, Baby Groot’s awoken by a mysterious clanging and bravely investigates, hoping to get a good night’s sleep. Though his initial search turns up nothing, he fails to notice a mysterious liquid goop from a broken vial until he’s surprised by the Iwua (Devall), a shape-shifting alien who’s just as mischievous as Groot. Indeed, the Iwua impersonates Groot, leading to a dance-off that Groot thoroughly enjoys until the Iwua first criticises his technique and then reveals its true form, leading to Groot tricking the creature into an airlock and ejecting it into space. In “Groot Takes a Bath”, Baby Groot enjoys some relaxation time in a mud bath, only to find the mud causes his leaves to sprout wildly. Though initially horrified, Groot returns to the mud bath again and again as he grooms himself different hairstyles, outfits, and looks, each time saddened to find the leaves wilt within moments. Eventually, he uses up all the mud, leaving him saddened. When a local bird laughs at his misfortune, glad to see the cheeky little baby tree get his comeuppance after his fun kept the bird awake, Groot improvises and trims the bird’s feather to fashion himself a stylish scarf. Series one ends with Groot’s literal “Magnum Opus”, a meticulously crafted drawing of him and his friends and family, the Guardians of the Galaxy, as they appeared during his emotional sacrifice at the end of the first film. Baby Groot’s so determined to bring the piece to life that he scours the ship for items, including a clipping from Rocket Racoon’s (Cooper) tail and samples from the ship’s fuel cells. This creates a glittery explosion that not only finalises his titular masterpiece but also tears a hole in the Eclector, one Baby Groot adeptly begins sealing with duct tape when Rocket comes to investigate all the noise. Though alarmed that Groot has caused the ship to both flood and catch fire, Rocket’s outrage is quickly quashed when he sees the picture, which warms his heart even as he’s sucked into the hole and rescued by Baby Groot’s extendable arms.
While searching for new batteries for his videogame controller, Baby Groot pulls himself from his pit of snacks and roots around in Rocket’s treasure trove of stolen items, eventually slapping a prosthetic nose to his face and gaining a sense of smell. Amazed, he explores these new sensations but quickly ditches the appendage when he returns to his filth with his batteries and is disgusted by the stench. Though he’s tempted to grab a brush and clean the place up, Baby Groot decides it’s better to just toss the nose away and get back to his game, content to sit in the mess. In “Groot’s Snow Day”, Baby Groot explores a snowy planet and builds a snowman. Deciding his frosty friend would look better with a few modifications, he ransacks the Milano and stuffs the snowman with cybernetic enhancements, unwittingly bringing it to life. The robotic snowman immediately attacks with its lasers and heads to the ship, intent on spreading further destruction, though Groot seemingly destroys it by launching a well-timed snowball at a compromised engine part lodged in its head. Groot then searches high and low for some credits to get himself a sweet treat from a passing ice cream ship, awestruck by its flashing lights and assortment of frozen goodies. After many pratfalls, Baby Groot finally gathers some coins and is left despondent when the ship moves on. Desperate, he commandeers a space capsule and gives chase, ultimately crashing through the ice cream ship and gifting him as many treats as he could want. Finally, the Watcher (Wright) observes and narrates Baby Groot’s exploration of an ancient tomb said to contain a sacred seed that will bring peace and prosperity to the universe. Despite the Watcher’s best efforts, Baby Groot continually puts himself in danger and gets distracted from his quest, preferring to desecrate the tomb and take a nap. By the time he finally spots the seed, Groot’s more interested in retrieving his ball, causing the seed to be consumed by lava and the temple to crumble. However, the Watcher consoles himself with the understanding that the prophecy was a metaphor and that Groot, emerging from the rubble with fresh leaves sprouting, was the “seed” that would rise from the temple.
The Summary:
I had a good time with I Am Groot. Obviously, your expectations need to be quite low considering it’s primarily aimed at kids, but I enjoyed Baby Groot’s pratfalls and adventures. As ever, Vin Disel does a great job of making “I am Groot” convey so many different meanings. Baby Groot expresses curiosity, sadness, anger, and even affirms his own identity with these three words, showing caring, mischievous, lazy, and poignant aspects of his personality. The entire show is shot from Groot’s perspective (not literally, of course; I mean at his level), not unlike the classic Tom and Jerry cartoons (1940 to present). We never see any of the other Guardians of the Galaxy save for an obscured cameo of Drax the Destroyer in the shower and Rocket’s heart-warming appearance in “Magnum Opus”, though the crew are obviously around as someone’s flying the ship and visiting all these worlds. It might’ve been fun to hear some of the crew shouting or talking off-camera, reacting to Groot’s antics or just giving a bit more life to the ship, but the framing purposely keeps things at Baby Groot’s level to suggest that he gets up to all these adventures on the regular, largely without anyone noticing. As a sapling, Baby Groot is still understanding himself and the universe; he can stretch his limbs at will but is surprised when he sprouts leaves, for example. He learns as he goes, like any child would, and takes pleasure in simple things, like relaxing in a mud bath or eating ice cream. He still enjoys a dance and gets shirty when the Iwua offers him tips and we see the origin of what would become a teenage obsession with videogames as he sits in a fetid pit chomping on snacks and ignoring his personal hygiene.
Baby Groot also shows a passion for creativity and construction; he cobbles together all sorts of random items to spruce up his picture and (literally, if unexpectedly) bring his snowman to life. These talents seem to be borrowed from Rocket, who’s forever scrounging away parts and putting together outrageous devices, and it shows that Groot is influenced by his adopted family. This also fosters a caring side to him; he’s driven to feed both the Grunds and the weird little bird that imprints on him and is genuinely upset when he thinks he’s crushed them and his adopted baby returns to its kin. A highly volatile and emotional little sapling, Baby Groot lives a life of extremes; he’s super excited to see the ice cream ship pass by, grows increasingly frustrated at failing to find any coins, and is so desperate to get a treat that he collides with the ship at full speed! If you listen to the all-seeing, all-knowing Watcher, you’d be fooled into thinking that Groot is some prophesised hero destined to usher in a golden age for the universe. However, he’s just a cheeky little tree-boy who enjoys playing his games, bouncing his ball, and doodling, even if his work accidentally endangers his family or defiles an ancient tomb. The Watcher is convinced that the seed is pivotal to the safety and security of the universe and comically aghast when Baby Groot fails to recognise this, and is ultimately forced to reinterpret the prophecy since, like Rocket, the Watcher cannot stay mad at the adorable little sapling. Ultimately, I Am Groot is worth checking out if you’re a fan of Groot and the Guardians of the Galaxy, but obviously will have more appeal to little kids, who will no doubt relate to and enjoy Baby Groot’s mischievous antics. It’s fun getting a sense of what these characters do when no one’s looking and how they interact with the world around them, and Baby Groot is a cute little bugger you can’t help but fawn over. The show’s not going to give the Minions anything to worry about any time soon, but it’s a fun enough distraction to have on in the background as a break from Marvel’s increasingly high stakes action and there’s no shame in that.
My Rating:
I Am Groot
I am Groot? I am Groot, I am Groot? I am Groot, I am Groot, I am Groot? I am Groot? I am Groot? I am Groot? I am Groot, I am Groot? I am Groot, I am Groot, I am Groot? I am Groot? I am Groot?
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