Marvel’s Rocket Raccoon and Groot were initially pegged as problematic characters prior to the release of Guardians of the Galaxy in 2014. No one seriously expected a belligerent talking raccoon and a walking tree to resonate with fans. And yet Rocket and Groot quickly became the breakout characters of that film, and of the growing Guardians of the Galaxy franchise.

Although the duo is already represented on the Guardians of the Galaxy animated series, Rocket and Groot are slated to star in their own series of animated shorts on Disney XD. Via Cartoon Brew, Passion Pictures has released the early test animation for its Rocket & Groot shorts, which finds Rocket in a fowl mood when a bio-luminescent insect interrupts his sleep. Of course, Rocket responds to that problem just the way you that probably expected.

While fans have readily embraced the buddy pairing of Rocket and Groot on the big screen, their history in comics only goes back nine years. Rocket made his Marvel Universe debut in 1976, which came 16 years after the first appearance of Groot. The duo were only first paired up in 2007, however, during the Annihilation: Conquest – Star-Lord miniseries, which also served as the origin story for the modern Guardians of the Galaxy.

Rocket & Groot won’t be the only Marvel heroes to get their own CGI shorts. Passion Pictures is also reportedly producing a series of Ant-Man shorts that will also run on Disney XD at some point in the future. However, neither the Rocket & Groot nor the Ant-Man shorts have officially been scheduled.

What do you think about the new Rocket & Groot test footage? Take aim in the comment section below!

Image: Passion Pictures