‘I Am Groot’ creators share their inspirations for the new shorts series

I Am Groot, the latest project to come out of Marvel Studios, sprouted onto Disney Plus earlier today as perhaps the single most divergent MCU property to date. Gone are the intergalactic stakes, staple character cameos, and feature-length episodes; indeed, I Am Groot follows the internet’s favorite Groot bumbling around various planets in a quintuplet of adorable five-minute adventures.

Baby Groot encounters many a curious creature over the course of his pint-sized quests, such as a flock of aliens birds, a shapeshifter, and his close friend Rocket Raccoon, whose life he ends up saving in the last episode. Needless to say, it’s something of a departure from the Marvel canon, certainly not required viewing for the overarching Multiverse Saga, and more a kid-friendly respite from all the current mayhem coiling itself around the MCU.

In an interview with Variety, series creator Kirsten Lepore revealed the creative ethos that led her to this project, and how it ultimately ended up manifesting in this new series of Groot-centric shorts.

There was definitely a little bit of “Looney Tunes” in there for sure. One of the things we had conversations with Brad and Kevin [Feige, head of Marvel Studios] about was this idea of Buster Keaton-esque comedy, where it’s mostly without dialogue; it’s all very physical comedy, but it’s very smart. You can be very smart with the gags and how you attack them. So that was one of our biggest inspirations.

She went on to note how Baby Groot, with this childlike demeanor, made for the perfect subject for such material.

Part of the fun that we discovered, even in the early storyboard process, is we really just want to watch Baby Groot. He’s just so fun and so magnetic that we wanted to make sure that he was really the focus.

I Am Groot is now streaming on Disney Plus.