Nintendo Pictures debuts Close to You short with Pikmin cameo

Nintendo this week released a three minute animated short called Close to You, then posted a second version on its Nintendo Today smartphone app that makes clear the film features Pikmin. The original clip, shared on Nintendo's social channels, follows a baby left briefly alone in a bedroom whose pacifier appears to float away, prompting the child to chase it as toys move of their own accord. The updated upload replays the sequence with small Pikmin creatures visible, showing them tugging the pacifier and nudging objects around the room.

In both versions the story culminates with the child taking first steps and the mother returning to embrace the toddler. The updated app version shows Pikmin of several colors gathered in the room, their flowers blooming at the moment of the hug. The difference between the two releases and the short's piano‑led score prompted immediate discussion among viewers about whether the clip was teasing a new entry in the Pikmin series, a spinoff, or an unrelated animation project.

Nintendo confirmed that Close to You is among the first short films created in‑house by Nintendo Pictures Co., Ltd. "These are the first short films created by Nintendo...