Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies is a 2022 2D animated short film produced by Lucasfilm and Studio Ghibli. It was directed by Katsuya Kondo. The short is a crossover featuring Grogu from the Disney+ original series, The Mandalorian, and the dust bunnies, who previously appeared in Studio Ghibli's 1988 film, My Neighbor Totoro, and the 2001 film, Spirited Away, and was released in-anticipation of the then-upcoming third season of The Mandalorian.[1]
Overlayed on a blank background, Grogu is meditating while floating in the air as Dust Bunnies suddenly appear and surround him. One of the Dust Bunnies bounces off of Grogu's head, upsetting his meditation and causing him to fall into the water below him. Grogu gets up and proceeds to walk away as the Dust Bunnies follow him. The Dust Bunnies manage to get Grogu's attention by bumping into him before stacking on top of one another to hand him a flower. Grogu happily takes it as the Dust Bunnies float around him and he makes a circular motion with his hand, fading into an image of a brush stroked zen symbol.
Trivia[]
This is the second Star Wars animated project under Disney to have had its animation done entirely by a Japanese animation studio, following the first season of Star Wars: Visions.
This marks the first time since 2017 that Disney has co-produced or released new media in relation to Studio Ghibli in the United States after Disney lost the theatrical and home media rights to GKIDS in 2011 and 2017, respectively.
Oddly enough, the dust bunnies are referred to as their English name given in the Streamline Pictures dub of My Neighbor Totoro rather than in Disney's dub, where they were instead referred to as "soot gremlins".
