Review: Big Hero 6 The Series “Baymax Returns Part I & II”

Ba-la-la-la.

Disney XD continues its rollout of a new series with an adaptation of 2014 hit Big Hero 6 (seriously, does ANYTHING happen on the main channel anymore?). Something not well known about this property is that it’s actually loosely based on a Marvel superhero team from the late 90’s created by Man of Action, known for productions such as Ben 10 and Generator Rex, that was associated with relatively obscure X-Men member Sunfire and likely created to cash in on the anime boom in America around that time. When it came time to adapt it into a Disney movie, major changes ended up being made to the backstories of the characters, not the least of which being that the group (being a team of superhuman operatives brought together by the Japanese government) would now be a group of smart and inventive college kids from many more multi-cultural backgrounds thrust into a mystery and creating colorful and toy-friendly costumes and gadgets to beat the mastermind, all in the glorious east-meets-west aesthetic of San Fransokyo. The movie was a critical and financial hit (which I totally recommend), leading to this series being put into development and released this year, giving Disney a chance to take the reins on a Marvel property for a change. This pilot expands on the last few moments of the film and sets up a new enemy for the team to face over their first 21-episode season (and possibly second, which it’s already had greenlit).

As these first episodes require the viewer to have seen the movie’s events (which Disney was kind enough to re-air right before the premiere) to follow the show’s plot, here’s a brief recap:

Tech prodigy Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) loses his brother Tadashi to an explosion caused Prof. Robert Callaghan, who sought revenge for the disappearance of his daughter due to experiments helmed by Alistair Krei and used Hiro’s invention, Microbots, to do it. He enlists the help of Tadashi’s own invention, an inflatable healthcare robot named Baymax (Scott Adsit). Concerned for Hiro, Tadashi’s college friends, GoGo (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans, Jr.), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez), and Fred (TJ Miller) also get wrapped up in Hiro’s investigation and uncover Callaghan as the mastermind, then stop him from fully executing his revenge while also rescuing his daughter from a portal that was used in Krei’s experiments, but Baymax is damaged and sacrifices himself to save Hiro and Callaghan’s daughter. Hiro mourns Baymax but goes on to attend Tadashi’s college with his new friends. And now, on with the show.

OVERVIEW (SPOILERS)

We start with home movie footage on Hiro’s phone of Tadashi pushing him on a bike and letting go, acting as a good metaphor for his brother giving a good push to go on his own adventures. He bittersweetly gets up to start his first day at his new school, but bruises his finger, which only reminds him that Baymax is also gone. On the bright side, having back to back reminders that both your big brother figures are dead means things can only go up from here!

More redos of 3D film scenes in 2D as news channels quickly mention the climax of the film, showing each of the characters in their hero suits saving the day and Hiro leaves the house/diner for school. Arriving at school, Hiro gets nervous about having to live up to his brother’s legacy and dealing with a new dean. Fred gives him a proper tour, which unfortunately brings him back to Tadashi’s lab. He combs through his brother’s things, along with (in another replication of one of the last scenes from the movie) Baymax’s projectile fist from the film’s climax. And just like there, he affectionately fist bumps it to find that Baymax’s personality chip is clenched in the fist. Inspired, Hiro gets to rebuilding Baymax’s body…only to be interrupted by the new Dean, Professor Granville, who urges him to get to class before anything else.

Later that night, Fred (now played by Brooks Wheelan) is still gung-ho about the group being honest to goodness superheroes and chomping at the bit to go on patrols in their costumes. The others (like Wasabi, now played by Khary Payton), being sensible, understand this is a risky gig that cost them a friend already (guess they didn’t read the title), assuring Fred that this is the real world, and the real world doesn’t have supervillains (insert topical political joke here). Cut to supervillain-to-be Yama, who Hiro fought in back-alley robot fights at the start of the film, shaking a guy over a building for money when he gets a call from his boss Obake to get a certain item located at the university.

The next morning, Hiro boots up Baymax again on his computer but swears he’ll get him a new body soon. One montage later and the endoskeleton is complete, though Baymax suggests a test phase of 7-10 days just as Tadashi would do. Eager to be done as fast as possible, Hiro ignores this, which leads to the skeleton bugging out and wrecking the place before crashing through the window and into the city streets. Hiro tries to chase after it but is stopped by Granville. She tells him (and partially the audience) that she thought Hiro would be distracted by other things but seems to be doing well in his classes so far. He takes this opportunity to flee and chase the skeleton.

Meanwhile, Fred has worn down the rest of the team to be heroes again, but they plan to call it a night when nothing happens. Not helped by stopping a speeding car that turns out to be a husband getting his in-labor wife to a hospital, but it does show us that everyone still knows how to use their cool gadgets. Hiro runs right past them as the skeleton runs right into an alley and Yama, who wants revenge on Hiro for putting him in jail (again, from the beginning of the film). But seeing his badge for the school leads him to make a deal: if Hiro gets the thing Obake wants, he gets his robot back. Luckily, hero hopeful Fred is right nearby to help with the heist, which is made easier after a precision strike of awkward affection gets Hiro a copy of Granville’s ID. The two attempt to make the trade and are naturally double-crossed but are saved by Baymax alerting Gogo, Honey, and Wasabi about their location and saving them as heroes. Hiro apologizes to his friends, returns the rock thing, does the proper work for reuploading Baymax and we recreate the end of the film with the two properly reunited. But unbeknownst to them, the time during the diagnostic phase also gave Yama enough time to build an army of Baymax skeletons.

(Plinkett Voice): PAAAAAART TWOOOOOOO

Hiro’s aunt Cass (Maya Rudolph) gets unexpected help from the newly rebuilt Baymax. Yama arrives at the place of his employer and gets a Tower of Terror style fright telling his boss he didn’t get the “item” but DID get a robot army, so that’s a plus. Back at Fred Manor, Fred unveils the team’s name and tries once again to get them to be heroes again, but the group is still hesitant. Hiro, however, seems all for it, even giving Baymax a “hero chip” to help stop bad guys and save innocents. They are then interrupted by Granville, who properly lectures Hiro on the importance of balance and avoiding distractions. This convinces him to hit the books instead of hero stuff, despite Fred’s insistence. Going solo, Fred begins to lose hope…until Yama’s robot army shows up, shooting evil purple beams and whatnot, conveniently getting everyone back in gear. You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if a future episode is about Fred creating dangers for them to fight just to keep them being superheroes, but for now, this is a real threat.

The team fights off the robots in their own scientific and comedic ways and begin getting back into the flow of things, while Hiro gets Baymax suited up. Luckily, Yama arrives at the school to get the item, but they have to go it alone against him. The first thing they learn is that Baymax, having the same endoskeleton, can blend in easily with the rest of the bots and get the item out, but he soon outs himself when responding to Yama hurting his finger. He drops the item, which cracks and releases some bright green energy that overloads whatever it touches. Hiro and the rest of the team fight over it against Yama throughout the city in a death-defying action sequence, but the thing explodes on them. The team take their in, accept their roles as heroes, and Granville decides to give hero Tadashi’s lab after Hiro tells her that he’s going to commit to taking things the long way, no matter the mistakes he makes along the way. Meanwhile, Obake, who continues his mysterious plans.

OUR TAKE

This was a pretty standard set up for a show based on a movie as far as I could tell, though that’s not to say it’s without its merits. While the film was based around how loss can affect us and how to move past it, these episodes provide a short lesson about not taking shortcuts to get to an important goal, highlighted mainly in how Hiro’s impatience in wanting Baymax back inadvertently almost ended up causing a robot apocalypse. The science-based action of the film is also back in full force, though I am hoping they learn more interesting additions and don’t just rely on things from the source for very long. Not being handcuffed to source material means Disney is free to do what they wish, though that’s not to say the original comic couldn’t provide ideas for future characters and storylines.

The majority of the cast from the film return for this and sound just a good and the two replacements fit right in. Wheelan does a decent TJ Miller impression, and Payton does fine with Wasabi (even if it sounds more like a softer Cyborg from Teen Titans, though that could just be me since I’ve heard him in so many projects).

My one major downside would have to be the art style and its blockiness, compared to the smooth and curvy designs from the film, but I’m sure it’ll grow on me in time.

All in all, a fine start to much-anticipated series. Check it out when it starts early next year.