‘I Am Groot’ Season 2 — These Should Never Stop
by Frank Martin
It’s hard to imagine I Am Groot existing without Disney+. Of course, Disney has tons of different kinds of content to put on the streaming service, but it needs more than just archival material. And putting out theatrical movies and original TV shows just isn’t enough. Disney needs content to fill in the tiny cracks. When it comes to streaming, more is better as it offers audiences a wide range of things to watch. There are tons of different shorts on the platform. But creating shorts for its Marvel properties is a bit of a challenge. The actors are expensive, so animation is appealing. In terms of Groot, this means a primarily CGI experience. And it’s a surprisingly pleasant experience, too.
Like the first, the second season also contains five episodes, most of which have absolutely zero dialogue. The format of these episodes are largely the same. Still voiced by Vin Diesel, Groot gets into shenanigans because of his naive curiosity and childlike sense of wonder. This involves trying to mother a baby bird, build a snowman on an ice planet, and flagging down an ice cream spaceship. Also like the first season, the last episode is probably the most climactic as it features a guest star. In this case, Jeffrey Wright as The Watcher, who narrates an ancient prophecy that Groot … well, watch it for yourself and see what he does.
Even though he has grown up in the current MCU timeline, these episodes wisely keep Groot in his baby form. Thus, the episodes light and humorful. There is a downside to that, though; these vignettes are largely inconsequential to the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe. Diehard Marvel fans may find them boring, too. But they weren’t made for them — and they are just fun shorts to have a good time with, and so watching them as family outings with little kids is the best way to experience them. Regardless that they may not be huge contributions to the Marvel Universe, they still flesh it out with content and shenanigans.
I Am Groot is now streaming on Disney+.
