Walt Disney Animation Studios had one major goal for the release of the Baymax! TV show, and although the series did fulfill that goal, it still didn't live up to its full potential. Baymax! is the third spinoff series from the Academy Award-winning Big Hero 6 franchise, following on from Big Hero 6 The Series and Baymax Dreams. With the film's same director and voice actors on board, including Scott Adsit reprising the titular role, the series was released on Disney + on June 29.
Baymax! follows the healthcare companion as he helps people around the city of San Fransokyo, scanning their bodies to check their health and offering his unique brand of emotional support. The series introduces many new characters, with only short post-credit cameos from Baymax's best friend, Hiro. The plots of each episode are simple yet still funny and well-executed, coupled with its signature beautiful animation style.
Baymax! is the first series in the lineup of Walt Disney Animation Studios TV productions, which will also include spinoffs of Zootopia, Moana, and a hand-drawn The Princess and the Frog series. It seems likely that the main goal here was to prove that Disney's main animation studio could create TV series that match the same quality of their films. Baymax! has certainly proved that they can do this, yet despite the positive reception that the series has received thus far there is one thing that makes Baymax! feel like a wasted opportunity: the episodes are much too short.
The series has six episodes, none of which have a runtime of longer than 12 minutes. That's 72 minutes in total for the Baymax! series when the original Big Hero 6 movie was 102 minutes long. For Walt Disney Animation Studios to really cement themselves in the TV space, they should have taken advantage of this new format to allow the audience to explore the world of San Fransokyo further and spend more time with Big Hero 6's loveable robot character, Baymax. As it is, the short runtime of each episode makes the series feel more like a proof of concept than a fully-realized series, which is a shame.
Walt Disney Animation Studios long ago proved its mastery of the short-narrative format, since it has been releasing short films for as long as it's been releasing features. As wonderful as Baymax! is, it still feels like a familiar series of short films rather than a cohesive TV narrative. Ultimately, the success of Baymax! feels like it's come from the studio playing it safe and sticking to their tried and tested short film format. Hopefully, with the next round of TV series that they have lined up the studio won't be afraid to try something new with a longer, more satisfying runtime.