Baymax has been a big hit since the initial release of Big Hero 6 in 2014, with his calming voice, cute face and soft marshmallow appearance giving audiences that warm, fuzzy feeling the moment he first appeared. Since then, fans have been craving more Big Hero 6 content, leading to a ripple of excitement when a Baymax-themed mini-series was announced in December 2020.
Distributed by the Disney+ streaming platform, the series consists of 6 animated shorts in which we follow Baymax in his ongoing quest to care for the wellbeing of San Fransokyo’s citizens – if the past couple of years have taught us anything, it’s that the job of a healthcare worker is never done!
The series kicks off with a pleasant hint of familiarity when we see Hiro’s aunt Cass injured during her work day at the family cafe, opening up with a lovely message about the importance of self-care and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Following this initial episode, the series then branches into the broader population of San Fransokyo, all suffering from various health-related hiccups that impact their daily lives in deeply relatable ways.
In tackling these issues, the series comes off as surprisingly daring underneath its overtone of lightheartedness, addressing topics rooted in the reality that both kids and adults can all identify with in some shape or form. Exploring subjects such as adolescence, love, grief, loneliness and depression, the series doesn’t hide from the fact that Baymax is a healthcare worker and would therefore be dealing with some extremely sensitive and personal topics on a day-to-day basis. In a world of media that will so easily flinch at anything even slightly below surface level, the candid yet casual way these matters were approached was extremely refreshing.
This, however, extends beyond the wellbeing of just the patients themselves, the show even going so far as to highlight the importance of self-care in regards to the health workers themselves – a very relevant message given the global events of the past couple of years.
While expanding the reach of characters, each episode also features little snippets of our original protagonist, Hiro. This is always following the first leg of the closing credits, in which Hiro interacts with Baymax after each rigorous day of healthcare work. Using these as a fun little sign-off, they kept the original relationship between Hiro and Baymax intact. It was a sweet little nod that was not enough to steal the spotlight, but just enough to satisfy the need for that warm fuzzy feeling their friendship gave us all in the original film.
Something nice about this series of shorts is that while it does follow an episodic format, it’s not entirely disconnected. Each episode has its own little links, all of which eventually coalesce to come full circle into a heartwarming ending. Its universal appeal comes in being relatable to adults and educational to kids. Older family members can commiserate with how they’ve ‘been there’, while the youngsters get a healthy dose of wholesome advice on what to do if they and/ or when they go there.
Now, Disney sequels and spinoffs don’t exactly have the best reputation when it comes to quality, with the animation having a history of bombing when it comes to budget. But with Baymax!, it was more than evident that no expense was spared. This show was beautiful to look at. With its warm palette and exquisite, the advance in animation technology since the release of the first movie is clear. We can only hope that this is just a mere sneak peek at the future of San Fransokyo!
What do you think? Are you hoping to see more of San Fransokyo in the future? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below, or pop a post on the Wild River Comics Discussion Club!
Editor’s Picks:
Thor: Love And Thunder SPOILER FREE Review. All Lightening, No Thunder
DC vs. Vampires: HUNTERS #1 Spoiler FREE Review – The Hunt Begins
