To commemorate three years of the Disney+ show The Mandalorian being out, Lucasfilm and Studio Ghibli released a short film called Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies. The animated short is directed by Katsuya Kondo and hand drawn by the animators of Studio Ghibli, an award-winning Japanese animation company. Studio Ghibli is mostly known for its films Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke, among some of the highest-grossing anime films of all time. The short film also features music from the Oscar- and Emmy- winning composer of The Mandalorian, Ludwig Göransson, who most recently penned the score for Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
The adorable short film follows Grogu, the character from The Mandalorian, also known as Baby Yoda, and several dust bunnies. Dust bunnies are little lovable black blobs known for their enormous eyes, making up most of their body with outward extending hairs. These little characters are recognizable from several Studio Ghibli movies, such as Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro. Both of these characters are pretty well known. After the release of The Mandalorian, there was a Baby Yoda craze where the internet exploded, demanding merchandise of this doe-eyed character. Likewise, on a smaller scale, dust bunnies are often associated with being the face of Studio Ghibli as they appear in several movies, including My Neighbor Totoro, as Totoro is the logo for Studio Ghibli. During quarantine, Studio Ghibli movies also became more accessible as most of them became available through the streaming service HBO Max during the spring of 2020.
The film is only three minutes long but was still able to formulate an endearing plot. The film starts with pulsating drops of water falling from the top of the screen and leaves pacing in and out of frame. Then, Grogu floats in, visibly using the force to elevate his body over a body of water. Although Grogu is a Lucasfilm character, he is animated in Studio Ghibli’s iconic style. He looks at peace until the dust bunnies awaken him from his dream-like state. The dust bunnies then dance around the screen in a sporadic style as they start to chase Grogu, eventually making him fall on his robe. The dust bunnies then surprisingly whip a flower out of thin air and give it to Grogu, putting a pleasant smile on his face.
This collaboration between Lucasfilm and Studio Ghibli is the first of its kind, even though they both share a correlation with Disney. Disney bought Lucasfilm in 2012 and acquired worldwide rights to distribute Studio Ghibli’s films in 1996. Both studios have upcoming projects set to release within the next few years. Lucasfilm will release the series, Willow, based on its classic 1988 film of the same name, on Disney+ on Nov. 30, along with the company’s fifth Indiana Jones film, which is set to be released June 30, 2023. As for Studio Ghibli, known as one of Japan’s greatest animation directors, Hayao Miyazaki, co-founder of Studio Ghibli, plans to release one final movie he came out of retirement to make titled How Do You Live. This movie is set to be released in 2026.
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