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Making its premiere on June 29, fans received a chance to return to the heroic world of San Fransokyo through Baymax!, a series of shorts based around characters from Big Hero 6 with the series’ titular character, Baymax, helping out wherever he can in the big city. Each short focuses on its own problems, but they ultimately wrap around in the final episode, with each story intertwining with one another thanks to Baymax’s generosity as he traverses through the city.
So far, the show has received good reception with some fans acknowledging the show’s interpretation and take on serious topics like health and mentality through the interactions between Baymax and the characters he meets throughout the series. Watching this series, I felt a charm that was always present in the original Big Hero 6 through the comedy between Baymax, Hiro, and the other heroes that are part of this iconic team. However, taking a closer look at Baymax! and each short separately, this series perfectly encapsulates taking serious issues that people have everyday while making it fun and exciting for all ages.
In one short, Mbita, the main character of this short, doesn’t know he suffers from a fish allergy even though his family has worked with fish their entire lives. He also has feelings for someone he’s seen for a while, but he has hesitations about going through with it. The usual hijinks ensue with Baymax ultimately catching up with Mbita and trying to get him help through these new changes. Usually, the shorts here focus on one issue in particular, but with this episode, the two main issues actually play a bigger role in this short’s theme of courageousness as Mbita tries to find his own courage. The car chase throughout the city is the main “hijink” that occurs in this film to give it that comedy while the interactions between Mbita and Yukio as well as Mbita and Baymax provide that charmful seriousness needed to tackle this issue. The way that the writers utilize these serious and comical moments throughout the episode help balance the short’s tone in a way that keeps the viewer pulled in. Thanks to the added aspects of the music and quick animation style, this episode will definitely be memorable not only for its moments, but for everything in between,
There’s one short that everyone, including me, is highly praising for its presentation of its issue: the third short, Sofia. This episode’s main focus is adaptation to new bodily changes and the responses to these change. In this episode, Sofia and her friend are preparing for their talent show act until Sofia experiences her first period. Throughout, Baymax tries to help Sofia out by providing supplies and eventually helps her understand that change is normal and she will always be her.
This short in particular felt really wholesome from Baymax’s calm and nurturing demeanor to Sofia throughout the short to its comedy and energy in each and every scene. The interactions between and Baymax and Sofia felt like a caring parent who actually wants to help their child out and the writing in this didn’t feel like it was trying to force any perspective down, but rather trying to get its main idea to the viewers. The dialogue felt very realistic, if anything a bit contrived at some moments, but this short definitely hit beyond what I expected from the previous shorts. The animation style and expression present in each and every character also gave them their own personality and felt like I could understand where they were coming from in a realistic way.
Overall, each short, though different in its message, puts their all into creating a unique story with all these different characters. Through the lovable Baymax, these characters not only share a common connection through him, but also their love and perspective on their newfound knowledge thanks to Baymax. The show perfectly blends these real life issues that people face everyday with the world and charm of the Big Hero 6 universe and it’s through this charm that fans have come to enjoy this universe since the original movie came out in 2014. Through the power of change and adaptation, Baymax! has made itself memorable for its thought-out, overarching story, its wonderful animation, and its power to share care.
