Most of what Nintendo uploads to its Nintendo Today app is fairly predictable; think a screenshot or trailer for an upcoming game or the latest soundtrack being agonisingly drip-fed onto Nintendo Music. But today’s surprise drop is more mysterious than usual. If you opened up the app this morning, you’ll have been met with a decidedly Pixar-like animated short, with virtually no context.
Titled "Close to you," the almost four-minute video focuses on a baby playing with what appears to be an enchanted pacifier. In the child’s attempt to catch the flying soother, they start to walk for what seems to be the first time, given the reaction of the mother when she walks into the room. The whole thing is accompanied by some typically pleasant piano music, but ends without Nintendo telling us what any of it means.
Could this be a teaser for the recently-announced The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? Is the child in the short a young Rosalina, perhaps? They certainly seem to have a relationship with magic. There's also already some speculation that Nintendo could be teasing a Pikmin film. Anyway, the short is now all over Nintendo’s various social media platforms too, so hopefully we’ll find out more soon. For now, it's a perfectly nice (albeit unexpected) way to spend a few minutes.