A sizeable pile of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 behind-the-scenes clips has arrived online, spotlighting the visual effects that went into Baby Groot and Rocket Raccoon. The tiny tree was voiced by Vin Diesel, with writer/director James Gunn providing physical references for his dance moves. Bradley Cooper did the voice of Rocket, with Sean Gunn - James’ brother, who also plays Kraglin - delivering the physical performance on set.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is out now on DVD and Blu-ray, having already enjoyed the biggest digital release in Marvel Cinematic Universe history. The complete versions of these VFX featurettes can be found on disc copies of the film, along with a blooper reel and the brilliantly retro music video for the end credits song, “Guardians Inferno”, which was performed by David Hasselhoff.

Related: Watch the 'Guardians Inferno' Music Video

First in this collection of VFX-centric clips (see the video above) is a segment from Living Planets and Talking Trees, a featurette which explores how Baby Groot, Rocket Raccoon, Ego the Living Planet and the other CGI presences in the film came together. This snippet showcases some early Baby Groot concept art, and highlights how the character’s look was developed.

Next up is another segment from Living Planets and Talking Trees. This one is all about filming with Baby Groot. The short clip reveals that a ten-inch maquette of Groot was used on set to give the actors something to work with. It’s particularly fun to see the crew dragging this motionless Groot around using a stick:

Thirdly, another clip from Living Planets and Talking Trees has been made available for online viewing. This portion of the featurette shows how CGI and real life pyrotechnics were blended together to bring the Rocket-in-the-trees scene to life. As this clip makes abundantly clear, James Gunn is committed to using physical effects as well as computerized material:

And finally, there’s a clip from a featurette titled Showtime: The Cast of Vol. 2, which focuses on the partnership between Groot and Rocket in the movie. This short video represents a rare opportunity to see Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel, who seldom do press for the Guardians of the Galaxy films, talking about their roles:

Discussion around Vol. 2 has erupted again thanks to the film’s home release. How It Should Have Ended and Honest Trailers videos have now been released for the Guardians sequel, while James Gunn has been lobbying for Michael Rooker to get an Oscar nod for his work in the sequel. The filmmaker has been teasing the casting of Adam Warlock for Guardians of the Galaxy 3 and announced that work has begun on cosmic MCU movies that will follow his Guardians trilogy.

NEXT: Star-Lord is Confused By His Zune in Vol. 2 Deleted Scene

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is now available in multiple home release formats.

Source: Disney/Marvel Studios

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