Nintendo Releases Mysterious Short Film ‘Close to You’ — Fans Spot Possible Pikmin or Mario Hints

Nintendo surprises with the enigmatic animated film called “Close to You”: In it, a toddler chases his pacifier, which has become independent, around the room. Fans are speculating about clues about Pikmin or the upcoming Super Mario movie.

Surprising animated film without context

Nintendo released a nearly four-minute animated film completely unexpectedly, without any explanation or announcement. The company only posted the video with the words or title “Close to You” and made no other comment. The film shows a blonde toddler chasing his floating pacifier around the nursery while toys move as if by magic.

The animation quality has the standard and style of a cinema production and is undoubtedly reminiscent of Pixar productions. The child takes his first steps while following the mysteriously floating pacifier – to the great delight of the mother who is just entering the room. In the Nintendo short film Close to You, a toddler chases his pacifier

According to fan speculation, it may be a project from Nintendo Pictures, the in-house animation studio. The company acquired Japanese animation studio Dynamo Pictures in 2022 and renamed it Nintendo Pictures to strengthen its visual content planning and production structure. Dynamo Pictures previously worked on Nintendo’s Pikmin Short Movies CG film anthology, which debuted in 2014.

Pikmin connection causes speculation

The gaming community is intensively puzzling over the meaning of the film. Of course, every little clue (or what you think it is) is analyzed. Attentive viewers will notice about 29 seconds into the game that the piano music resembles a musical motif from the Pikmin series. Additionally, there is a moment at 01:39 seconds where there is a blurry spot in the background that could be a red Pikmin. Another theory is that the child could represent young Rosalina from Super Mario Galaxy and the short is a teaser for the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy film.

In addition, the mysterious floating of the pacifier is reminiscent of the gravitational mechanics from Super Mario Galaxy, which further fuels speculation about a connection to this franchise. The Japanese gaming company’s current film ambitions are of course no coincidence: the success of the Super Mario Bros. film, which grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide, has encouraged Nintendo to further expand its brands into other media.