Marvel’s latest foray into animation, MCU, however, it is such a quick watch it should still be included in fans’ watch lists.
Shorts are a great medium for superhero stories, whether to showcase some darling anecdotal adventures or in a way to introduce characters before something larger, and these series would be a nice fit for fans of I am Groot.
DC Nation Shorts
Like Marvel, DC Comics loves to create all sorts of shorts, and for many years they ran as part of the DC Nation block on Cartoon Network with shows like underrated and obscure heroes, such as Animal Man, Machine Man, and Amethyst.
Interestingly the Teen Titan short led to the revival of Teen Titans as the lighter Teen Titans Go! soon after airing. In total, there are over one hundred and fifty shorts, each with its own distinct artistic style and most are available to watch on YouTube.
Marvel Rising: Initiation
Marvel also did a series of shorts to launch the characters could end up being part of the Young Avengers.
These shorts specifically focused on Gwen Stacy aka Ghost-Spider, voiced by Dove Cameron, who could surely take on the role in live-action whether in the MCU or Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Marvel Rising: Initiation and the subsequent short films are all available to stream on Disney+ and are a fun way to see these characters work together.
Lobo
Starting in the 1990s DC began dominating the animated TV scene with their DC Animated Universe and shows including Lobo web series from 2000. As befits the character, these shorts were exceptionally violent and bloody, something clashing in a way with the other shows of its like.
It is undoubtedly something different from I Am Groot, but it does share a space-faring element, and its choice of protagonist makes it quite unique. Lobo is a strange anti-hero that’s particularly difficult to translate from the comics, and these shorts show it might be one of the better formats to do this.
Gotham Girls
Another web series in the DC Animated Universe is Gotham Girls. Unlike Lobo, this web series ran for multiple seasons, spanning from 2000 to 2002. It featured Harley Quinn, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Batgirl, and even Zatanna, and it used the updated animation and designs from The New Batman Adventures, the sequel series to Batman: The Animated Series.
Gotham Girls was, in part, instrumental in developing Harley Quinn’s popularity from being an original creation of the DCAU to becoming one of the premiere characters in the Harley Quinn. Gotham Girls is great as it features both stand-alone episodes and extended arcs, making it feel like any other show, just with shorter runtimes.
Rocket & Groot
Groot is no stranger to animated shorts. In fact, I Am Groot is his third series in the past seven years. The first would be the prologue origin stories for the Guardians leading into the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series. However, his second series of shorts, Rocket & Groot, might be a better fit for I Am Groot fans as it's still something quick, yet entirely on its own.
It also doesn’t rely on the designs and styling of the MCU, though it’s not lacking in the classically recognized characterizations and relationship of Rocket and Groot. All in all, there are only twelve episodes, each only three minutes long, and they can all be streamed on Disney+.
Vixen
While the DCEU might be the most recognized force in live-action DC adaptations – especially now with the recent news and concerns for its future – the Vixen.
At first, it was just a small way to showcase a new perspective on this franchise, but the character soon became a prominent figure in the live-action side too, played by Maisie Richardson-Seller. Hopefully, the DCEU could learn from Vixen and the Arrowverse about how to bring this uniquely-powered hero to the big screen.
Freedom Fighters: The Ray
While Vixen started out as an animated character and then moved to live-action, the case is reversed for The Ray in Freedom Fighters: The Ray. He was first introduced in one of the Arrowverse’s crossover events, played by Russel Tovey, as a hero from a different universe fighting back against the ruling Nazi party, led by this Earth’s Supergirl, Overgirl.
Tovey did eventually return to live-action for the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover too. The Arrowverse is ending with the ninth season of The Flash, and perhaps Tovey will be brought back once more to close out the franchise with other prominent characters.
Ant-Man
Many of the best shorts implement some unique artistic styles and designs. That’s certainly the case for some other Ant-Man characters such as Whirlwind.
There are only six episodes of this short-lived series, with each only being around two minutes long, but there surely could have been more given the quality and comedic elements. This is definitely something I Am Groot fans should check out on Disney+.
Marvel's Spider-Man
While the MCU dominated the movies, younger fans were able to watch many of the same characters team up in different ways and fight off all sorts of villains in the Disney XD animated shows. Several of these were linked to each other with crossovers and spin-offs. 2017’s Spider-Man was part of this universe, and it started off with a series of origin shorts.
These were specifically six episodes showcasing Peter as he first got his powers and how he learned what he is capable of doing with them. It’s something that could be next emulated with the Spider-Man: Freshman Year series currently in the works. Like the show, these shorts can be found on Disney+.