Nintendo has released a brand new and mysterious animated short on its YouTube channel, simply called “Close to You.” It is currently unknown if the animated short is meant to tease an upcoming game, or something else entirely.
“Close to You” features a mother leaving her child in their room to step away for a few minutes. While she’s gone, an invisible force starts fiddling with the baby’s objects, starting with some building blocks. It begins to manipulate the baby’s pacifier, leading to a chase between the child and the mysterious force, which culminates in the baby taking their first steps. Afterwards, the mother returns, excited at the baby’s milestone. The short ends with her returning the pacifier to its rightful owner.
UPDATE: A new version of the “Close to You” short has released on Nintendo Today. The new version confirms that the mysterious force manipulating the objects around the room were in fact Pikmin. The reason for the misdirection, as well as the full context behind the short, are still currently unknown.
Check out the full “Close to You” animated short from Nintendo below:
After the initial short released, fans already began speculating on what the context and meaning behind the short could be. Many correctly theorized that it would be tied to the Pikmin franchise. However, it’s still unknown if the short is meant to tease an upcoming game, an animated film, or simply stand on its own as a self-contained story.
This also isn’t the first time Nintendo has made animated shorts based on the Pikmin franchise, as it released animated shorts on the 3DS directed by Shigeru Miyamoto himself. These later released on Nintendo’s YouTube channel in 2020. Further, Nintendo recently revealed that its Nintendo Stars company will focus on ancillary-use business related to films featuring Nintendo IP.
Currently, Nintendo has two film adaptations in development: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which will release on April 3, 2026. A live-action Legend of Zelda film will later premiere on May 7, 2027.
