I Am Groot Season 2 Review: A Bridge Between the Way of Telling Stories Of Yesterday And Today
Directed: Kirsten Lepore
Cast: Vin Diesel (Voice)
Streaming Platform: Disney+
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Starting September 6, 2023, I Am Groot Season 2 will be available on Disney Plus. This is the second season of the series of short films starring Little Groot, an iconic Marvel Comics character created by Stan Lee, together with Jack Kirby and Dick Ayers, widely known for the Guardians of the Galaxy film series. Kirsten Lepore is the writer, director, and executive producer, while Vin Diesel once again lends his voice to the protagonist. The first season of I Am Groot, consisting of 5 short films, captivated the audience with a mix of hilarity and sweetness; the second season, always made up of 5 episodes, seems to be a great confirmation of this. A tailor-made story cut out on the brackets between one official narrative and another. But if it’s a niche, it’s colorful, pop, and loved by the public.
I Am Groot returns, courtesy of Marvel Studios, with a new season, the second, full of funny explorations of the vast universe entrusted to the naive eyes – tremendously open to amazement – of the most famous log in the galaxy. Baby Groot, to be precise; a little grown up since the first season (here is the review), animated by an invincible curiosity and a natural propensity to look for trouble. And to find them. Groot’s voice belongs to Vin Diesel. Groot’s journey this time touches 5 very different places (or situations) that always find a way to show a different aspect of the character’s colorful personality. From the friendship with a chick of a strange feathered species to the attempt to buy ice cream in space, passing through a snowy planet, a very intense olfactory experience, and an Indiana Jones-style adventure, the small tree that is part of the official team of Guardians of the Galaxy will have to face many adventures, relying only on his strength.
I Am Groot Season 2 Review: The Story Plot
The mischievous little tree – less and less ‘Baby’ Groot – returns to cause trouble aboard the Guardians’ spaceships and beyond. Lost in his usual exploration of the universe (and beyond), our little hero ends up coming face to face – or nose to nose – with new creatures and completely different worlds. A habit that is renewed in the episodes entitled – in the original – “Are You My Groot?“, “Groot Noses Around“, “Groot’s Snow Day“, “Groot’s Sweet Treat” and “Groot and the Great Prophecy“, in which snowy days, space treats, great prophecies, and the desire to discover what surrounds him are already anticipated …
I Am Groot Season 2 Review and Analysis
Like the first season, the 5 episodes of I Am Groot Season 2 also last approximately 4-5 minutes each. In short, no more than 20-25 minutes in total, and thanks to the strong comedy character the time seems to pass even faster. Although this means that the screenplay and the narrative rhythm are in perfect harmony, in some ways it is also a real shame. You can never get enough of Groot’s adventures and the Disney+ TV series is an extremely good product for lasting so little. It has already been said that this series of shorts was designed to be accessible to everyone, both big fans and the most absolute neophytes. This is possible because a universal language is used which, curiously, does not understand speech at all. Groot has limited linguistic abilities: he can only introduce himself with a simple “I Am Groot“, however pronounces the phrase with different intonations to try to make himself understood by the creatures and by the public itself.
However, since verbal interaction is almost completely lacking, we can finally see how much synergy there is between the various elements that make up an audiovisual product, in particular timing, music, images, and the editing itself. Even without words, communication manages to be unambiguous, based on a collective imagination that we could define as “primordial” and therefore universal. In particular, an unequivocal sense of humor is used, a key element of both seasons. The right song at the “highest” moment of the episode can be crucial to sending the audience a precise message and making them laugh at that exact moment, taking advantage of the means available, in an always-winning combination. There’s not even a hint of self-irony missing every time Baby Groot brutally skips the iconic Marvel Studios intro (also breaking the so-called fourth wall).
Naturally, this time too there are several explicit references to the Guardians of the Galaxy and the MCU, even if they don’t require any previous knowledge: In particular, you will notice some settings and even a character. If Rocket Raccoon appeared in the first season, this time the trailer revealed the presence of the Observer. His interaction with Groot generates a hilarious gag, which closes the new season in style. The second season created by Kirsten Lepore chooses to remain in its comfort zone, despite there being no repetition compared to the first. The new episodes offer gags that do not lower the level of humor at all, still very close to that of slapstick comedy which works perfectly in small, short films (think of those of Mickey Mouse or Looney Tunes). The first and second seasons are therefore very coherent and cohesive with each other, even without any significant innovations or pleasant risks.
The quality of the CGI animation is still very high and hyper-realism is used which sometimes gives the impression of watching a live action. The visual effects are truly impressive, even more so than many MCU films and TV series. Once again, therefore, it is almost a pity that a product of this level is also so “small”, but if you think about it, I Am Groot Season 2 is a gem that probably would have ceased to be if it had been conceived differently. Overall, the second season is a valid, entertaining, and at times even exciting product, perfectly capable of conveying actions and feelings. Of course, I Am Groot Season 2 does not represent a high leap, but it is a season of positive confirmations.
It’s not bad. In the extreme conciseness of the episodes, Groot the unique performer acquires the depth congenital to a credible protagonist, serving the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) in what is one of the fundamental rules. That is to say, the systematic valorization of all the characters, including those on the margins. The Marvel universe is an endless web of stories and tight costumes and to function it needs a fair distribution of responsibilities: every hero must offer his contribution, not just the full-blown stars. Valuing the second line is the mantra, because if even the less famous ones manage to establish themselves in the imagination (and affection) of the public, only then do we have a universe. And if there is a universe, there is the possibility of making a series, with all that entails in terms of box office and further ramifications (from cinema to TV series).
The Guardians of the Galaxy effectively summarizes thought. Famous but not too much, heterogeneous in the distribution of characters and personalities. Blessed with an authorial imprint and accompanied by the firm hand (director) of James Gunn, who has been able to enhance the color, the empathic/sentimental potential, bringing out a modern moral of the fairy tale seasoned with acceptance of diversity, praise of the “marginal” and affirmation of the new family, the one you choose. Kirsten Lepore writes and directs the second season of I Am Groot Season 2 bearing in mind the double lesson, Groot as he is, and how the cure James Gunn has crystallized him in the collective sentiment. Its little protagonist is a clumsy but indomitable explorer, a manifestation of a tender but stubborn sensitivity, always ready to discover. This is how things go in this second season too, whether it’s about making new friends, measuring the world under a new (sensorial) lens, going to extremes for what you love, running around in the snow, reinterpreting the concepts of heroism in a very personal way and fate.
Do we need to know what Groot does when the other Guardians aren’t around? You can deal with I Am Groot Season 2 (it also applies to the first, after all) in two ways. Cynically, isolating the obsessive colonization of every possible space reserved for storytelling by the highly interested Marvel/Disney brand, the horror of a void to be filled at any cost is a primary condition for the colossal serial operation to prosper. Or, underlining the humble and concise digression from the exaggerated (in terms of pure spectacularity) ambitions that have sustained the MCU in its triumphal ride at the box office. Not always satisfied, indeed, it would be appropriate to say, especially about the last confused years, rarely satisfied. I Am Groot Season 2 is a meticulous clarification of the unexplored corners in the life of a beloved character, which perhaps we needed or perhaps not. But it’s also an interesting and in some cases appreciable departure from the Marvel canon.
It’s up to Kirsten Lepore and her team to build a bridge between yesterday and today. Combining the dynamism, the naturalness of the movements, and the sharpness of the backgrounds of the most advanced digital animation – and the result is appreciable remembering that the budget of the series cannot equal that of the films – with the recovery of purely physical, image-based and non-image-based humor. of words, in the everlasting tradition of silent comedies, adapted and remodeled for contemporary sensibilities and tastes. Groot, a modern Charlot child – without any authorial pretensions, do not overestimate the analogy – discovers the universe and offers it as a pledge to the spectator using a universal language and expressive force. He is the pure embodiment of curiosity, amazement, and empathy.
The feeling and willingness to adventure, rather than the hindrances of words, guide the narrative. I Am Groot Season 2 is a silent and ephemeral parenthesis between the great aspirations of the Marvel universe. The young protagonist, put to the test by a grandiloquent destiny, responds like himself: a small, childish, and playful heroism, which perhaps won’t solve anything (seriously?) but is still a bearer of positivity. The series works as a tasty counterpoint to the warm epic nature of the Guardians because it takes pleasure in becoming miniature, in rejecting big speeches, and in settling for brevity. Like everything, big or small, that Marvel has produced, produces, and will produce, a bizarre mix of calculation and human warmth. Relaunching and updating the fundamental truths of James Gunn’s poetics, Kirsten Lepore’s short, very short story finds sparks of humanity even in the most shameless commercial entertainment.
The proverbial non-language, the repetition of a phrase (I Am Groot) which assumes different consistency depending on the context and interpretation of the viewer, is a gold mine of meanings but I Am Groot Season 2 continues to use it essentially as a humor tool. However, the ease with which it is now possible to decipher it is incredible, the most concrete evidence of the appeal and persistent rooting of the MCU in the contemporary imagination. The series, technically valuable, is satisfied with the reduced format and tries to work with it to the maximum, pursuing the amazement of the silent and the technical marvel of modern animation. Attention to the last episode, which is a bit of an ideological manifesto of Groot-thought, heroism far from the standard.
I Am Groot Season 2 Review: The Last Words
The second season of I Am Groot is perfect both for fans of MCU and Guardians of the Galaxy and for absolute newbies looking for a light and entertaining series. The secret lies in adopting a universal language, which doesn’t even use words. A very short season, like the previous one, that can be enjoyed in one go. I Am Groot confirms itself as a successful experiment for Marvel Studios. Five short, animated shorts, technically excellent and capable of entertaining, exploring the growth of the little hero. Simple but effective.
I Am Groot Season 2 Review: A Bridge Between the Way of Telling Stories Of Yesterday And Today - Filmyhype
Director: Kirsten Lepore
Date Created: 2023-09-06 19:04
4
Pros
- New and never repetitive gags
- Synergy between music, images and comic tempos
- It can also be seen by those who don't know Guardians of the Galaxy
- Season consistent with the first but...
Cons
- The episodes are too few
