Be still my beating heart ‘cos the creative legends at Studio Ghibli have collabed with Lucasfilm to create a Star Wars animated short film.
The flick is centred on Baby Yoda, also known as Grogu if you’re nasty, and will feature the adorable wee dust bunnies-slash-soot sprites from Spirited Away. Screaming, crying, throwing up, setting the concept art as my screen saver for eternity.
Studio Ghibli set the internet abuzz when it posted a video of the Lucasfilm and Ghibli logos on Twitter. It is potentially one of the only good things to come out of Twitter in the last few weeks.
— スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) November 10, 2022
The studio then shared a mysterious Grogu figurine. Ghibli’s founder Hayao Miyazaki can also be seen blurrily in the background.
— スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) November 11, 2022
It’s now been confirmed the hand-drawn short film Zen — Grogu and Dust Bunnies will hit Disney+ on November 12. The wee film will be directed by Katsuya Kondō, who has worked on iconic Ghibli flicks like My Neighbour Totoro and Ponyo.
At the moment, we don’t have any plot details but the cover art is bloody adorable. Look at all those ‘lil guys!
Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies, a hand-drawn animated Original short by Studio Ghibli.
Streaming tomorrow on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/G8tV37OD87
— Star Wars (@starwars) November 12, 2022
Maybe it’ll be revealed that the dust bunnies have actually been masters of the Force all along. Hopefully they aren’t secretly Sith lords.
All I’m gonna say is I’d simply love a dedicated animated series about Baby Yoda’s adventures with the dust bunnies. Or maybe we could cop a full-length Ghibli and Star Wars collaborative film?
I’m calling it now: the Ewoks would be ideal candidates for a My Neighbour Totoro-style rebrand. Disney, I am here if you want any more story ideas.
The timing frankly couldn’t be better as Studio Ghibli’s official theme park in Japan opened on November 1. It looks absolutely incredible and yes, I am hoping for a Baby Yoda installation there too now. We can only dream.
You’ll be able to catch Zen — Grogu and Dust Bunnies on Disney+, so whip out your lightsabers and popcorn in preparation.
