Warning! Spoilers ahead for I Am Groot season 1Baby Groot returns in an all-new collection of animated shorts aptly titled I Am Groot, and some of these adventures take place during specific moments on the MCU timeline. Naturally, all the brief and hilarious adventures take place between Adult Groot’s sacrifice in the first Guardians of the Galaxy film and the post-credits scene from Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol 2, where Baby Groot sprouted into Teen Groot. However, some key indicators help give more specific points about when these Groot-centric shorts take place.
Comprised of five shorts for its first season, I Am Groot features Vin Diesel’s return as the lovable Flora colossus who isn’t so colossal after being reborn as the adolescent Baby Groot. Getting into all kinds of mischief and antics, I Am Groot sees the cutest member of the Guardians going off on largely solo adventures (though there are a few fun cameos). Whether discovering a tiny alien civilization or just trying to take a bath, the new series on Disney+ provides plenty of new reasons for fans to fall in love with the character even more.
It should be noted that the director of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise James Gunn has said that the shorts aren’t exactly canonical to the rest of the MCU. Likewise, there’s not really anything in the shorts that must be seen to understand Groot or any of the other Guardians’ respective journeys in the MCU. However, there are still elements that help identify when some of the episodes take place in the MCU timeline, despite being just fun glimpses into Baby Groot’s adventures.
Groot’s First Steps – Post-Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1
The first episode, “Groot’s First Steps,” show Baby Groot breaking free from the pot Rocket planted him in just after the first Guardians of the Galaxy film. Likewise, the episode synopsis confirms that this occurs shortly after the Guardians saved Xandar.
The Little Guy – Pre-Avengers: Infinity War
“The Little Guy” sees Groot building a tree house while also discovering an entire civilization of tiny aliens, which he towers over. Furthermore, Peter Quill’s ship The Benatar can be seen in the background. Seeing as how this particular ship wasn’t seen until the events of Avengers: Infinity War, this episode likely takes place just before the crossover film where the Guardians met some of the Avengers (but before Baby Groot becomes a teen).
Groot’s Pursuit/Magnum Opus – Post-Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
While “Groot Takes a Bath” is the only episode that doesn’t have any clues about its place on the timeline, both “Groot’s Pursuit” and “Magnum Opus” take place on the Quadrant, the Ravager ship seen at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. This was the ship where the Guardians held their funeral for Yondu Udonta who sacrificed himself to save Peter Quill. As such, the Guardians likely lived on the ship for some time before eventually purchasing The Benatar, given that The Milano was destroyed at the beginning of the Guardians sequel. At any rate, Baby Groot’s adventures in I Am Groot are hilarious and enjoyable regardless of how canon or non-canon they might be.
