Guardians of the Galaxy

Well it's about time! Marvel has finally revealed an officially licensed dancing baby Groot toy from 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' and this little dude will be available to take home just in time for you to put him under the tree for that special someone for Christmas. Or if you're anything like us, you're already making plans to use him instead of a Christmas tree this year. Festive!

As we quickly learned after watching Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' the world has much more love to give to this intergalactic band of superhero misfits. Aside from the upcoming 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' in 2017, an announcement at New York Comic Con confirms a new animated TV series is coming to Disney XD, and the first poster and test footage for the affair have landed.

We all know what you've been thinking since you saw Rocket Raccoon and dancing Groot steal our hearts on the big screen: when can we take home Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' on Blu-ray and DVD, or even Digital Download? Just, when can we take this bad boy home, period? Well, you're in luck, because Marvel announced the home release dates for its superhero space opera. And guess what?! They come with an exclusive sneak peek at 'Avengers 2'!

When you have 'Guardians of the Galaxy' star Chris Pratt guest hosting your season premiere of 'SNL,' you find time for a Marvel sketch. Much like how the show poked fun at 'The Avengers' when Jeremy Renner hosted, this episode found a very game Pratt participating in an amusing fake movie trailer that not only made fun of his space opera blockbuster, but Marvel Studios in general.

After a month at the top, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' has finally fallen from the number one spot on the box office charts. All it took was a modestly budgeted thriller starring Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson. But 'No Good Deed' didn't just push Marvel off its throne -- it exceeded all expectations and looks like it may be the rare September release to actually be a hit...

There actually was a new film released this week. It's called 'The Identical' and it's a Christian-themed fable about what would have happened if Elvis Presley's stillborn twin brother had survived. Well, for reasons that should be obvious after reading that sentence, 'Guardians of the Galaxy' held onto the number one spot this weekend while 'The Identical' opened outside of the top 10, never to be heard from again.

While 'Guardians of the Galaxy' was able to pleasantly surprise people with how good it is, now all eyes are on 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' and whether it can live up to the original. One thing we've all wondered about the sequel is whether the Guardians would be introduced to any Earth-bound heroes, or vice versa. Could there be any new members of the Guardians of the Galaxy?

A few weeks ago, this column was skeptical that Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' could reach $300 million. Now, it seems impossible that it won't. Thanks to ecstatic word of mouth, killer marketing and only one genuinely successful box office challenger (that would be 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'), Marvel's oddball space opera has managed to spend three of the past four weekends at the number one spot at the box office, giving it enough momentum to officially become the highest grossing film of 2014.

Marvel Studios and the character of Tony Stark/Iron Man transformed Robert Downey Jr. from a has-been into one of the biggest movie stars on the planet, so it's not surprising that he'll sing their praises outside the context of the movies he stars in. However, he recently took it a big step further, declaring 'Guardians of the Galaxy' to be the best Marvel movie yet. Yep, even the ones that he's not in.

By now, everyone is familiar with the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, where people heed the call to throw buckets of ice water on themselves to spread awareness of ALS and raise donations to support The ALS Association. Everyone, from your many Facebook friends to A-list celebs have been participating, but, for us, there's nothing like seeing the likes of Thor, Iron Man and Star-Lord step up to the plate.

While we were incredibly charmed by all things 'Guardians of the Galaxy,' perhaps nothing charmed us more than that final scene of a baby Groot dancing to the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" in his flower pot. It's one of those moments where you almost immediately think, "I WANT THAT...

One of the big cliffhangers teased at the end of 'Guardians of the Galaxy' was the identity of Star-Lord's father. This left me slightly confused in the theater considering Quill's father in the comics - J'son - was widely known and largely uninteresting. But, director James Gunn is going on the record as saying that 'Guardians of the Galaxy 2' will veer from comic book canon and create a new identity for Peter Quill, including a new dad. So, who is Star-Lord's father?