Nintendo Releases Mysterious Animated Short ‘Close To You’

Nintendo has unexpectedly released an animated short film on its YouTube channel. The film, titled Close to You, centers on a baby and its seemingly sentient pacifier. 

Running shy of four minutes, the wordless film centers on a blonde-haired baby who, after their mother leaves them alone in their room, chases their pacifier around the room after it suddenly comes to life. The video’s description lacks any explanation and only states the film’s title (with the comments section deactivated as well). Nintendo’s social media posts and the Nintendo Today app are similarly devoid of any information about the animation.

While it’s unclear if the animated short is tied to any existing or upcoming game, fellow Game Informer editor Charles Harte noticed the short’s lively piano soundtrack is a slightly altered version of the main Pikmin theme. Editor Wesley LeBlanc also adds that Pikmin are canonically invisible to the human eye, as confirmed in the mobile title Pikmin Bloom. It would certainly explain why the baby's pacifier and blocks would suddenly come to life – other than magic, of course. 

Some fans online have also speculated that Close to You is tied to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, and that this child is a baby Rosalina, given they share blonde hair and a similar eye color. The blue shirt could be a nod to Rosalina's signature blue gown. If so, then that would suggest Illumination created this short, being that it's the animation studio behind the Mario movies. 

What do you think of Close to You, and do you believe it's related to Pikmin or any other Nintendo property? Is it conneted to a video game at all? Let us know in the comments.