The Amazing Inspiration Behind Dancing Baby Groot

If you are a person who saw Guardians of the Galaxy — and the opening weekend box office numbers suggest you are — then you are likely also a person who loves themselves a dancing Baby Groot tree. That's because dancing baby Groot became undeniably popular after his debut in the credits at the movie's end. And now we know something beautiful: What inspired Guardians' dancing baby Groot.

Turns out there was a specific person in mind when the Guardians team were going about making a CGI sapling boogie — and it wasn't Vin Diesel, who voiced Groot throughout the film. Turns out it was Guardians' director, James Gunn. As Gunn told Yahoo:

Baby Groot dancing is 100 percent me. I was too embarrassed for anyone to be there, so I made everyone leave the room and I set up a camera and I videotaped myself dancing. Then I sent the video to the animators and had them animate over that. I begged them not to leak the video! Two of my closest friends came to an early screening and said ‘Hey, I recognize those moves! That’s you dancing isn’t it?!’

That's all well and good, James Gunn. But, uh, we're gonna need to see that video. As evidence.

Image: Nerdist