Studio Ghibli revealed what it’s working on for Star Wars creator Lucasfilm. It’s an anime short starring Grogu (also known as “Baby Yoda.”) The Studio Ghibli short, formally titled Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies, is viewable on the Disney Plus streaming service.
The show is billed as a “hand-animated” original short. In addition to Grogu, it features the Dust Bunnies. These are little creatures that appear in the Ghibli films My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away.
Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies, an Original short, is now streaming on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/m5SUzxeYuS
— Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) November 12, 2022
Grogu first debuted in the 2019 live-action Star Wars series The Mandalorian. In the opening episode, he’s rescued from his captors by the titular Mandalorian. Viewers quickly noticed that he, then known only as “The Child,” was a member of the same alien species as Jedi Master Yoda from the original Star Wars films. Thus the name “Baby Yoda” stuck, even after his actual name of Grogu was revealed.
The anime pairs Baby Yoda with the Dust Bunnies, who are also known as “Soot Sprites.” The Dust Bunnies appear in minor roles as spirits or supernatural creatures harmlessly inhabiting the nooks and crannies of various places. In My Neighbor Totoro, they appear to the children Satsuki and Mei after the pair move with their father to a new home in the country. In Spirited Away, the Dust Bunnies inhabit the furnace beneath the bathhouse, and help by delivering coals to the fire in exchange for morsels of food.
Studio Ghibli and Lucasfilm’s Zen – Grogu and Dust Bunnies is viewable on Disney Plus. My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away are available digitally and via retail, as well as various streaming services.
