Studio Ghibli has made a Baby Yoda short, prepare yourself for devastating imminent cuteness

Bad news, humanity: We have precious few hours between now and November 12th, which is both a) the third anniversary of the launch of Disney+ and its massively successful Star Wars series The Mandalorian—and, b), the release of a new short centered on that show’s breakout character, Baby Yoda (who the heathens call “Grogu”), animated by the masterminds at Japan’s Studio Ghibli.

No members of the human race are expected to survive this onslaught of adorability.

Said short will mercilessly release itself on Disney+ tomorrow, arriving with the dangerously cute title Zen – Grogu And Dust Bunnies. Disney and Studio Ghibli softened up their victims today by releasing a poster image for the short, featuring a hand-drawn Baby Yoda, and, yes: Some very adorable dust bunnies for him to presumably interact with.

Zen is being directed by Katsuya Kondo, a well-known manga artist who’s been with Ghibli for many years, contributing art and character designs to films like Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and more. They’re not screwing around here, is the point.

Lucasfilm and Ghibli initially announced their collaboration earlier this week, sending warning bells ringing across the internet via the mere juxtaposition of their two logos. Lucasfilm has, of course, been courting the anime audience in pretty interesting ways in recent history, having released Star Wars: Visions, an animated anthology in which some of Japan’s most notable anime studios explored various corners of the Star Wars universe, back in September 2021. But this is, as far as we know, the studio’s first formal collaboration with Ghibli— although Lucas parent company Disney has a long history of partnering with Hayao Miyazaki’s studio.

Zen – Grogu And Dust Bunnies arrives on Disney+ on November 12; Mandalorian composer Ludwig Göransson contributed music to the film.