I Am Groot is a Disney+ original animated series of shorts, set within the Marvel Cinematic Universe centering on Groot. It is the eighth original MCU series and it premiered on August 10, 2022, as a part of Phase Four.
The second season premiered on September 6, 2023, as a part of Phase Five.
The series of shorts follows Baby Groot's glory days growing up, and getting into trouble, among the stars.[1]
Plot[]
The shorts take place roughly between Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 and focus on the newly reborn Groot as he explores and discovers new things in his infant state. His adventures consist of him attempting to dominate a bonsai tree, discovering tiny aliens, battling a shape-shifting extraterrestrial, taking advantage of a lush nature bath, and creating an art piece for his friend, and father figure, Rocket Raccoon.
In the second season, which takes place within the same timeframe, Groot takes care of an egg, gets a nose, builds a snowman, tries to acquire ice cream, and goes on an adventure that is observed by The Watcher from What If...?.
Baby Groot discovers he’s not the only plant being pampered aboard his space ship. A happy accident convinces Groot to try taking his first steps out of his pot—only to learn you have to walk before you can run.
It’s hard to be the little guy, but when Baby Groot accidentally uncovers a civilization of miniature blue aliens, the tables are turned. At first intimidated by the seemingly enormous tree toddler, the Grunds soon discover he’s the hero they’ve been waiting for.
Baby Groot investigates a spooky noise that’s been haunting the Quadrant, the massive Ravager ship that he calls home. In doing so, he comes face-to-face with Iwua, an intelligent,shapeshifting alien who assumes his form. The best way to resolve who actually is Groot: a dance-off.
Everybody needs some alone time to relax and wash up, but things go quite differently when you’re a Flora Colossi toddler. When Groot’s bath concoction results in epic leaf growth, he takes his haircut into his own hands and gets inventive with styling.
Groot sets out to paint a family portrait of himself and the Guardians, and goes to great lengths to collect art supplies and forge his masterpiece. Rocket stumbles upon Groot’s efforts and quickly discovers just how messy—and disastrous—the artistic process can be.
Groot stumbles across a strange egg in a nest while exploring the alien planet of Terma. He instantly falls for the little creature that emerges when the egg cracks, adopting it as his own. Also starring Dee Bradley Baker as the voice of all the Terma birds.
When Groot discovers a bionic nose-shaped device that grants him a sense of smell, he quickly learns not to stick his new nose where it doesn’t belong. There is a scene with fragrant delights displayed across a banquet table.
After landing on the icy planet of Falligar, Groot fashions a snowman with scraps of junk, inadvertently creating an unstoppable snowman-robot that wreaks havoc.
As an intergalactic ice cream truck approaches, Groot—desperate to get a treat— frantically scours the ship for coins. Mikky Ekko sings the song that plays over the credits.
In this adventure narrated by The Watcher, Groot finds himself in the heart of an ancient Drez-Lar temple with a mythic prophecy he must fulfil to save the universe. Also starring Jeffrey Wright as the voice of The Watcher.
Production[]
On December 10, 2020, Kevin Feige officially announced the series at the Disney Investors Day.[2]
On April 28, 2021, during a Twitter Q&A, James Gunn confirmed that the series will be animated.[3]
On March 28, 2022, it was reported that the series may be released in September and that Vin Diesel recently recorded his lines as Groot.[4]
Marvel Studios’ I Am Groot Season 2 - Official Trailer - Disney+
Trivia[]
Marvel Studios and James Gunn cannot agree on the canonicity of the series. Marvel referred to it as taking place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Gunn believes it takes place outside it. On Disney+, the MCU timeline lists "Groot's First Steps" as taking place right after Guardians of the Galaxy while the rest of the shorts take place after Vol. 2. The shorts were later condensed into one file on the streaming service, with all shorts now said to take place between both movies.
Following the addition of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the shorts were changed from being individual videos on Disney+, to all being collected into one series. The intro was also slightly altered. During the Marvel Studios logo, Groot's hand with a remote would pop up and fast forward through the intro. It was initially depicted with a sped up effect as the fanfare played, but now is completely silent and meant to reflect an actual Disney+ player fast forwarding with Groot humming over the silence.