{"id":25168,"date":"2022-08-11T23:18:38","date_gmt":"2022-08-12T06:18:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=25168"},"modified":"2022-08-11T23:18:38","modified_gmt":"2022-08-12T06:18:38","slug":"i-am-groot-shorts-deliver-a-few-chuckles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=25168","title":{"rendered":"I AM GROOT Shorts Deliver a Few Chuckles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Running Time: 21 minutes (5 animated shorts, roughly 4\nminutes per shot) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This series of animated shorts is available to stream exclusively on Disney+.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the summer winds down, August is typically seen as a\nmonth that doesn\u2019t offer quite as many high-profile films. 2022 is an anomaly\nin that there are very few new movies in general. There will certainly be a few\nnotable efforts in the coming weeks, but it truly feels like an abnormally\nmuted close to the season. In fact, the horror\/comedy Bodies Bodies Bodies<\/em>\nis the only new flick arriving at cinemas. It is receiving plenty of positive\nbuzz, but wasn\u2019t screened early enough in this reviewer\u2019s neck of the woods to\nmake print deadlines. Thankfully, there is one unusual property that is being\nmade available on the Disney+ streaming platform and Marvel Studios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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I Am Groot<\/em> is a series of very brief animated shorts\nabout the Guardians of the Galaxy<\/em> character that has arrived on Disney+.\nFor those unfamiliar with the film series, the titular tree-like alien\ngenerally referred to as Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) is the central\nprotagonist of these episodes. Each segment details an element of the cute\nplant\u2019s experiences growing up. While the tone is humorous and many cracks revolve\naround the lead acting just like a human infant, there are a couple of adult-themed\ngags and shocks in which the character lashes out more violently against foes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGroot\u2019s First Steps\u201d shows the protagonist feeling jealous\nafter the arrival of another plant on Star-Lord Peter Quill\u2019s spaceship. The\ninsecure creature breaks free from his pot and attempts to assert dominance as\nthe prime piece of foliage onboard. It features a few chuckles, but is very simple\nand doesn\u2019t include any real threat to the protagonist or big thrills. \u201cThe\nLittle Guy\u201d fares better, following Baby Groot exploring the surface of a\nplanet and finding new and tiny lifeforms beneath the dirt. After treating these\nbeings like ants, the alien experiences a comeuppance from the dirt-dwellers.\nMore of the jokes land in this segment and the otherworldly visuals and new extraterrestrial\nbeings have a striking appearance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The third and fourth episodes are the best ones in the set.\n\u201cGroot\u2019s Pursuit\u201d involves the tree-figure in pajamas and wearing a headlamp while\ninvestigating an invader on the ship. There\u2019s more suspense in this clip. It\nalso involves an entertaining and unexpected confrontation and an effective final\ntwist at its close. The next short, \u201cGroot Takes a Bath,\u201d is a series of simple\nbut genuinely funny sight gags involving the character cleansing himself in an\notherworldly mud bath and becoming something of a living Chia Pet. A lot of\nunexpected foliage begins growing on the figure in a variety of places,\nresulting in some surprised reactions and entertaining play as the character\ntries out some new looks.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The final bit, \u201cMagnum Opus,\u201d includes an appearance by one\nof the lead\u2019s best friends. The story involves Baby Groot attempting to paint a\nfamily portrait and causing chaos on the ship, destroying important equipment\nwhile seeking out necessary art supplies. Like others in the program, this\nshort is well animated. It does feature an entertainingly exasperated comment\nfrom a shipmate, but the specific material does not lend itself to as many humorous\nsights or rib-tickling moments as the previous two shorts.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In the end, it\u2019s all very slickly produced. But readers should also be aware that the shorts are little more than an excuse to deliver a gag or two and little else. There is nothing here that ties into future movies and the programs are over so quickly that there isn\u2019t any character development. Viewers don\u2019t learn anything new about Baby Groot, only that the infant acts just like a curious, jealous and occasionally angry human newborn. In the end, I Am Groot<\/em> is a lighthearted 20 minutes that\u2019ll provide a few laughs, but isn\u2019t essential in any way. If you already have Disney+ it\u2019s good for a chuckle, but this title alone certainly shouldn\u2019t inspire any Marvel film enthusiasts to order the steaming app.\u00a0 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Running Time: 21 minutes (5 animated shorts, roughly 4 minutes per shot) This series of animated shorts is available to stream exclusively on Disney+. As the summer winds down, August is typically seen as a month that doesn\u2019t offer quite as many high-profile films. 2022 is an anomaly in that there are very few new […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":25169,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[209,1466,4660,5922,5935,8674,8675,8676,8677,8698,9526,12931,13333,13341,16033,17776,18324,21386,23798],"class_list":["post-25168","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-209","tag-animated-shorts","tag-comedy","tag-disney","tag-disney-2","tag-groot","tag-groot-takes-a-bath","tag-groots-first-steps","tag-groots-pursuit","tag-guardians-of-the-galaxy","tag-i-am-groot","tag-magnum-opus","tag-marvel","tag-marvel-universe","tag-phase-4","tag-science-fiction-2","tag-shorts","tag-the-little-guy","tag-vin-diesel"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25168","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25168"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25168\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25168"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25168"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25168"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}