How the Guardians Holiday Special honors the art of hand-drawn animation

One of the shining stars of the season has been Marvel’s The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. This heartfelt one-off directed by James Gunn, and featuring Star-Lord and his rag-tag crew of cosmic crusaders, debuted in the wake of October’s first entry for this new MCU format, Werewolf By Night.

Bookending a charming Christmas adventure about Drax and Mantis visiting Earth to kidnap Kevin Bacon and deliver him as a gift for a heartbroken Peter Quill are animated flashback scenes created by Robot Chicken’s Stoopid Buddy Stoodios.

Strap in and check out these key animation stills from The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special!