Recently the world of Marvel bore witness to one of James Gunn’s last contributions to the world of the MCU. While it is true that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will be releasing next year the long time Marvel director/writer has officially exited the world of the Avengers to join the Justice League as the new head of the DCEU over at Warner Bros.
But before we say our final goodbye he left us with the gift of the Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special on Disney Plus. The special sees Mantis (Pom Klementieff) trying to give Peter Quill aka Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) a great Christmas gift. 
In the Christmas Special we see certain flashback segments done in rotoscope animation, a style of animation where live actors are recorded then traced over for reference.
When Gunn was asked directly on Twitter about who chose to have the flashback be in that style he gave a very interesting answer:
From the beginning I intended to do the animation Ralph Bakshi style
— James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 26, 2022
For those who don’t know Ralph Bakshi is a veteran animation director who is considered one of the biggest groundbreakers in the field. He believed that not only could animation be more than just “kids stuff” but he also pushed for making adult oriented animated films. One of his most well known films was the 1972 film Fritz the Cat, which was the very first X-Rated animated film.
He would also go on to make various other films such as the 1978 animated Lord of the Rings and 1981’s American Pop. He also had some history with 20th Century Fox who distributed his 1977 film Wizards and his 1983 film Fire & Ice. His name is often brought up alongside other legendary animators like Don Bluth and Richard Williams.
Bakshi gave his approval on Twitter:
🧙♂️🔥 https://t.co/8HjqK4MEEZ
— Ralph Bakshi (@ralphbakshi) November 27, 2022
It is interesting to see Gunn take inspiration from such a legendary figure. It goes to show you how much animation, no matter what type, can inspire just about anyone.
What do you think of this little gesture? Does it fit in with all the wild antics? Or does it stick out like a sore thumb? Let us know your thoughts below.
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