Games
Hello! Pikmin: Nintendo launches new animated short film series
Nintendo Pictures produces the films; after three releases by the end of November, a new episode follows every month starting in December.
On October 31, 2026, Nintendo unveiled the new animated short film series Hello! PIKMIN. The first film, titled "#01 Frog", has already been released. The production is created by Nintendo Pictures and is distributed through the Nintendo Today! app, Nintendo's websites, and official video channels.
A red Pikmin meets a frog
In the first short film, a red Pikmin tries to move a baseball. A significantly larger frog approaches, intending to eat the small creature. The roughly one-minute animation relies on size differences and the characters' movements rather than telling a longer story with dialogue.
This video will only connect to YouTube once you play it.
With Hello! PIKMIN, Nintendo is expanding its own animation productions. The short film Close to You already appeared in 2025, in which the Pikmin showed up in a child's bedroom. Members of Nintendo Pictures are working on the new series. The announcement does not provide details on the director, individual animators, or a final episode count.
More films from November
A second short film is set to be released on November 1, 2026, with a third later in November. Starting in December, Nintendo plans one new film per month. The company names its Nintendo Today! app as the release platform, but also makes the videos available on its own websites and on YouTube. It is therefore an ongoing online short film series rather than the announcement of a regular TV season.
The news is part of Nintendo's first Pikmin Day Direct. Series developer Shigeru Miyamoto declared November 1 the annual Pikmin Day during that presentation: the original red, blue, and yellow Pikmin visually represent the three 1s in the date 11/1.
Animations around video game franchises
With this project, Nintendo is more strongly linking the game series, which has existed since 2001, with standalone short films. Other well-known game brands are also receiving new animation productions: a series by Aardman has been announced for Pokémon Tales, while Disney Twisted-Wonderland is preparing its next anime story arc.
Alongside the short films, Nintendo announced a new version of Pikmin 4 for the Switch 2 as well as additional content for Pikmin Bloom. The game announcements were part of the same presentation but are independent of the release of the animated series.