A few days ago to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of its streaming platform and the launch of its flagship series, The Mandalorian, Disney announced an exceptional collaboration: the meeting between Lucasfilm and Ghibli studios. Two behemoths of artistic creation and pop culture, who find themselves for the time of a short film highlighting their respective mascot: Grogu alias Baby Yoda on the side of Star Wars and the Susuwatari, also called the swarthy in VF, on the side of the Japanese studios, already seen in My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. Finally, the project between the two firms gave birth to Zen: Grogu and the Susuwatari on November 12 on Disney+ (to celebrate the anniversary of the platform and the series The Mandolarian) , a creation that risks frustrating more than one fan. See also on Konbini A magnificent short, but much too short The collaboration between Lucasfilm and Ghibli studios resulted in a short film really very short (less than three minutes) and frankly quite disappointing, because we would have liked to see a lot more. The refined staging of Katsuya Kondō (The Castle in the Sky, Ponyo on the Cliff), produced by traditional hand animation, brings an undeniable form of poetry to the Star Wars universe. A tenderness underlined by the music of Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther, Tenet), soft and soaring, perfect for a Japanese meditation session. If the marriage between the two universes is successful from an artistic point of view, we come out of it very, very frustrated and a little disgusted, like a missed opportunity for Disney to make a singular work through the creative force of Lucasfilm and the studios Ghibli.Honestly, we just wish the collaboration between the two studios would go further and be more ambitious, a bit like Star Wars: Visions, an animated anthology series that sublimates and reinvents George Lucas’ space opera through the work by Japanese artists. Until then, we will be delighted to find Din Djarin and Grogu in February 2023 in season 3 of The Mandalorian, still the best Star Wars creation since the prelogy. We have ranked the 10 most stylish Mandalorians Star Wars’ short film Zen: Grogu and the Susuwatari is available on Disney+.
