Zen: Grogu to Makkuro Kurosuke

A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

When Ghibli announced that they were going to be collaborating with Lucasfilm, speculation immediately grew about what these two juggernauts of their respective mediums could do when teamed up. From a movie to a new Visions episode, many ideas were thrown around including that of a Grogu based short - an idea backed up by the pre-existing rumour of just such a thing coming out on the third anniversary of his debut. Within a day we had our answer: Grogu was indeed being animated by Ghibli, and just a few short hours later it had been ... released to the astoundment of many. However, for all the potential and excitement that this collaboration offered, the question became would this measly three minute short be able to deliver an experience worthy of the collaboration? And the answer to that, I'm afraid, is a resounding no. Though it may be disappointing to hear, this short is no Spirited Away or Star Wars. But ultimately, it was never meant to be. Instead, it is an enjoyable little glimpse into what these companies can create; a joyous celebration of two industry icons condensed into a bite-sized burst of fun. Stylistically, it overwhelmingly resembles the classic Ghibli style (though in an incredibly simplified form) and brings the cuteness and tranquility that their style evokes to a character very fitting of it. While this is obviously not the outcome that many were hoping for and is certainly nothing too deep or impactful, to me it simply inspires hope as to what the future could potentially hold for Ghibli and Star Wars. After all, isn't hope what Star Wars is all about?

Studio Ghibli: a true titan of the anime industry. Few studios have such a unique flare and air of class to them, but alas, all is not well.

I must go into a little background first. I have not seen a Studio Ghibli film since I was growing up, but I remember them for being not a major commercial studio looking to profit from whatever film they make decades after its initial release, which one of Gibli's competitor's, Walt Disney Animation Studios, was doing rampantly and it marked the beginning of the company's tirade towards greed, swallowing up several companies over the next few decades, including ... Lucasfilm, who are partially responsible for this abomination.

Additionally, Disney controlled the dubbing, subtitling and releasing rights for Studio Ghibli in the United States up until very recently, which arguably hurt the studios visibility in North America and a large market that could have made so much more money for Studio Ghibli than it had. It was not until Toonami had aired the "Month of Miyazaki" that a large number of people were introduced to his works. I was among them.

The point that I am trying to get across here is that Ghibli and Disney have always had a weird relationship, so this new collaboration project, Zen: Grogu to Makkuro Kurosuke, was both something of a surprise and a bit of business as usual from the two giants of animation.

The film itself is not terrible per se, but the animation is nothing special, which is shocking to say about Studio Ghibli film out of all studios. It is just that everything before it feels like it has so much more effort in it. In addition, there is no characterization in the three minutes, which might sound a little bit harsh, but some series, like Luo Xiao Hei Zhan Ji, would have episodes that are not much longer (about 5 minutes) that contained much more characterization and even character development. The storytelling is visual, but borders on being nonsensical, at least as a standalone work.

However, despite all of the above, there is something that Zen lacks most of all and that is soul, something that, prior to the release of this short film, was impossible to even think of, when it came to Studio Ghibli. If this was a short film from an art student or a new avant garde studio, it would not be as bad, but this is Studio Ghibli, a company that is what is essentially the face of anime and that is just unacceptable.

I gave this a 2/10 because I could see why this was made: Disney/Lucasfilm offered a big, fat paycheck for the folks at Studio Ghibli, who had lost money on the past few films that they had made. So, I would discourage many of you from bothering with this, even if you are the biggest Star Wars fan, but if you are curious, watch it. It is only three minutes of your life, after all.