San Fransokyo's Personal Healthcare Companion.
Baymax! is a short-form animated series focusing on the adventures of the titular health care robot from Big Hero 6. It marks the second television spin-off of the film after Big Hero 6: The Series and the first television series production by Walt Disney Animation Studios (all prior television series were produced by Disney Television Animation). It premiered on Disney+ on June 29, 2022.
The series follows Baymax as he wanders the streets of San Fransokyo, aiding those in need. Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, and Maya Rudolph all reprise their roles from the film and previous series as Baymax, Hiro, and Cass.
Baymax! provides examples of:
- Accidental Misnaming: Because of her old age, Kiko mishears Baymax introducing himself and calls him "Borax", even if he corrects her.
- Afraid of Needles: Mbita flees when Baymax offers to inject him with something to help alleviate his allergy symptoms, though it's understandable that Mbita wouldn't exactly trust the strange balloon robot with a needle coming out of his finger. He relents when Baymax saves both him and his van from a crash.
- All There in the Script: Yachi's name is only mentioned in Episode 5's title.
- Ambiguous Situation: It's unclear if this series takes place before, during, or after Big Hero 6: The Series, or if it's in an alternate continuity, especially considering all the returning characters are ones who debuted in the original film (Hiro, Baymax, Cass, Mochi). The closest the show ever comes is acknowledging that there is a "Big Hero 6" team when Mbita declares the group to be "Little Hero 6" after rescuing Baymax, who then says it's funny because there is a Big Hero 6. If it does take place in the same continuity as the previous series, it at least takes place after the original series' premiere "Baymax Returns," which was an extension of the film's ending. The reformed mascot villains are never shown, despite ending the original show working as staff at the Lucky Cat Cafe, indicating that either "The Mascot Upshot" hasn't occurred yet or they went back to their old owners after Big Hero 6: The Series concluded.
- Amplified Animal Aptitude: Yachi the cat is able to manipulate the volume setting on a phone, can recreate a mouse toy from random objects, and understands humans well enough to problem-solve based on their situation.
- Arrow Catch: Baymax does this with a knitting needle thrown at him by Kiko.
- Astonishingly Appropriate Interruption: At the end of Episode 6, Baymax introduces himself to his patients with his catchphrase, only for Aunt Cass to say his name for him and ask if he's alright, coincidentally completing it.Baymax: Hello, I am—
Aunt Cass: Baymax! Are you alright? - Back for the Finale: Everybody Baymax helps throughout the series bands together in the season finale to look for Baymax after he goes missing.
- Baffled by Own Biology: In Mbita's debut episode, Mbita's surprised and befuddled when his hand swells up while he's cooking. When Baymax explains to him that he must have suddenly gained an allergy to fish, Mbita's in denial because he wants to uphold his father's legacy and tries to reassure himself that it'll go away on its own.
- Blue-and-Orange Morality: If Baymax sees a person needing his assistance he will treat them, regardless of whether they're asking for it or even refusing. This leads to him doing some annoying or even dangerous things like getting into a Car Chase with Mbita or trespassing on Kiko's property.
- Breather Episode: The show focuses on the non-superhero aspects of Hiro and Baymax's lives, featuring no supervillains or action scenes.
- Call-Back: In Episode 6, when Hiro's team arrive at the abandoned warehouse that Baymax wandered inside, Hiro is reminded of when Baymax last entered it when he was looking for the Microbots.Hiro: What is it with Baymax and warehouses?
- Car Chase: Baymax engages one with Mbita when Mbita refuses to get a shot to combat his fish allergies.
- Cats Are Mean: Zig-zagged with Yachi: He attacks Baymax repeatedly, but only because he thinks Baymax is attacking him. Then, at the end of his episode, he sees that Baymax was trying to plug himself in when he lost power, and reaches over to... take the lolipop. Then he does do his bit to help Baymax in the following episode after all.
- Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Aside from Big Hero 6 being mentioned, Go Go, Honey Lemon, Wasabi, and Fred are neither seen nor even mentioned, with no clue to as what they are doing during this series. Particularly noticeable in the final episode: when Baymax is missing, Hiro doesn't call in the others, or even don his Powered Armor, because it's just not that show. Adding to this, none of the characters who debuted in Big Hero 6: The Series appear.
- *Crack!* "Ow, My Back!": This happens to Kiko as the start of the second episode.
- Determinator: Baymax won't stop until he's treated his patient, even if that means engaging in a cross-town car chase.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Yachi the stray cat briefly appears in Episodes 1 and 4 before becoming the Character Focus of Episode 5.
- Everyone Has Standards: The demolition crew refuses to let the team in to save Baymax due to Baymax being a robot, mistaking him for being a toy and saying that they can't help them. However, when they see Yachi on the roof of the building that Baymax is in, the leader postpones the demolition as he draws the line on blowing up cats.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Mbita's food truck is called "Just Fish Soup" and sells nothing else, until his new fish allergy forces him to change the menu and name.
- Face Your Fears: Episode 2 revolves around Baymax helping Kiko overcome her aquaphobia so she can go swimming for her physical therapy. In the end, it's revealed that Kiko wasn't afraid of water, but was afraid of the community swimming pool because it reminded her of her late husband, who tried encouraging her to swim with him. Baymax reminds her that it's never too late to try new things because she's "now in good health", so Kiko takes the dive both literally and figuratively.
- Family Business: It's implied by Cass the Lucky Cat Café was originally run by Hiro and Tadashi's parents before they died.
- Faux Horrific: "Yachi" parodies horror tropes, particularly Implacable Man slashers, by using those same tropes with Baymax chasing a cat so he can gently burp him.
- First Period Panic: Sofia knows full well what's going on, but she wasn't prepared, and the bathroom is out of pads. Later she locks herself in the bathroom and wants to stay there, and when Baymax talks it out with her she reveals that she's scared everyone will treat her different and that her childhood is over. Baymax reassures her that she's still a child, and that growing older doesn't mean everything will change.
- Foreshadowing:
- The beginning of Sofia's episode has Baymax be part of a demonstration and covered in bandages. He'll end up having to put bandages on himself in Yachi's episode.
- There are several hints that Kiko isn't really afraid of water like Baymax assumes. She goes through her day using water without fear, like washing dishes and only reacting with annoyance whenever Baymax puts water on her.
- Friend to All Living Things: Baymax considers animals part of his purview, telling a bird that "You are in good health." Hilarity Ensues when he tries to treat a cat as, despite having veterinary knowledge, he doesn't know how to handle animal patients.Baymax: Please remain calm. (cat claws him and runs away) You did not remain calm.
- Grumpy Old Man: Kiko is a female version, being cantankerous and snarky. It's implied her attitude is at least partially thanks to her being in some level of physical pain most of the time. She's also lonely and missing her husband.
- Gym Class Hell: Subverted. When Sofia panics about getting her period, Ali tries to cheer her up by saying that she now has a free pass to skip gym class once a month. Unfortunately, Sofia is an athletic girl who really likes gym, so this doesn't make her feel better.
- Hero Antagonist: Baymax, whose role in most episodes is pressuring the protagonist to get care they need but don't want.
- Heroic Sacrifice: While the situation thankfully gets resolved another way, Kiko was ready to do this in the last episode. When the warehouse is about to be blown up and Kiko can't get through the vent with Sofia and Baymax, she shoves the other two through before throwing herself onto the door, presumably to try and protect them from the demolition.
- Implacable Man: Nothing will stop Baymax from giving you health care. Nothing.
- Ironic Allergy: Mbita, the fish soup salesman, has developed an allergy to fish. He naturally panics at the thought of suddenly losing his livelihood and his connection to his parents.
- iSophagus: In Episode 5, Yachi the cat plays a man's wireless earphones at maximum volume to distract him long enough so he can steal his food. However, Yachi accidentally swallows one of the earphones, prompting Baymax to come to his aid when he hears the radio coming out from his mouth.
- Late to the Punchline: After Baymax gives her some encouragement, Sofia (whose menstruation has been the driving conflict of the episode) says that she'll "kick some serious butt in the talent show, period". A few seconds and one hug later, Baymax remarks, "Ah. 'Period'. That is humorous."
- Left the Background Music On: The Chase Scene in Mbita's episode has Italian opera music playing about, most likely coming from his radio.
- Lighter and Softer: A much calmer, less superhero-centered take on the Big Hero 6 universe and more focused on personal health and emotional well-being.
- Lured into a Trap: As part of his Face Your Fears treatment, Baymax allows Kiko to follow him, letting her believe she's being stealthy, only to lead her into the community pool without her realizing it. Inverted from Baymax's perspective, since he wants to help Kiko and has no intentions of doing her any harm.
- Meaningful Echo:
- In "Kiko", the titular character mentions how her late husband would always tell her to "live a little". Baymax repeats this phrase to have Kiko willing to swim in the community pool.
- In the final episode, as Baymax looks upon everyone he helped who came to help him in his hour of need, he has only one thing to say:"I am satisfied with my care."
- Mundane Made Awesome: Mbita driving away from Baymax giving him histamine shots wouldn't be so epic if it wasn't for the Italian opera music playing about.
- My Sensors Indicate You Want to Tap That: At the end of Episode 4, Baymax detects that Mbita is asking Yukio out for a date because the former's pituitary gland is secreting hormones.
- Never Say "Die": Averted. Baymax clearly tells Mbita that he will die if he keeps working with fish due to his allergies.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: Baymax's recharging station suddenly has wheels and the ability to move independently, allowing Baymax to drive to his destination and conserve energy, while also remaining close to a power supply if the need arises. He also has an extendable power cord that he can use to charge himself if he's too far from his recharging station and low on power.
- No Periods, Period: Averted in Episode 3, where the plot centers around Baymax aiding a middle school girl as she gets her first period. Baymax himself acknowledges that it can be an uncomfortable subject to discuss, but he adds that it is nothing to be ashamed of as it is just simple AFAB biology, as a trans man also recommends the pads he uses for Baymax to buy for Sofia. In fact, this is the second Disney-produced show to directly deal with the subject since Sydney to the Max.
- Now, Let Me Carry You: The final episode involves Baymax being damaged and out of power. Everyone he helped over the events of the season joins forces to find and help him.
- One-Word Title: Each episode is named after the focus character with the final episode titled after Baymax himself.
- Plot Allergy: Mbita works in a fish soup food truck. However, that changes when he develops an allergy toward fish. The premise of his episode is him learning to accept that he can no longer work with fish.
- Pubescent Braces: Sofia is a twelve-year-old middle school girl with braces.
- Queer Colors: In the third episode, a male customer who gives Baymax recommendations for pads wears a shirt patterned after the transgender flag.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Baymax assumes that Kiko doesn't want to go to the community pool due to a fear of water. He's right that she is afraid to go to the pool, but not because she fears water. It's because the pool reminds her of her late husband who loved swimming there and always tried to encourage Kiko to join him.
- Rotten Robotic Replacement: Baymax himself ends up being a minor example of this when he volunteers to run Cass's cafe while her ankle heals: while there's no fault in his actual service or ability to run a cafe, he's shown as being agonizingly slow when things don't go as expected, such as when he struggles to push the coffee cup lid in, and it keeps popping up from the opposite side. Convinced that he'll end up driving away all his regular customers with his slowness, Cass worries about the cafe so much that she keeps trying to sneak around by crawling on the floor and secretly helping Baymax out, only for him to catch her and carry her back upstairs multiple times over the course of a single day. She finally relents and lets Baymax handle things when her regulars convince her that Baymax can handle the situation and that he's slowly improving.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Baymax tells Mbita he needs histamine shots for his fish allergies, Mbita kicks Baymax out of his van and drives the hell away, both because he's not ready to get shots from a random balloon robot and also because he's in denial of being unable to continue his job as a fish soup salesman.
- Slice of Life: The series is less concerned with saving the city and more with life lessons and Baymax helping strangers with medical and personal issues.
- Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Kiko is a grumpy woman who has a fear of water. In reality she doesn't fear water, it's that the community pool next to her home has painful memories about her husband always swam there and always asked her to do the same, even though she never took the leap. Baymax reassures her that she still has a chance to live a little.
- The Stinger: Each episode ends with Baymax recharging in Hiro's room, with Hiro reacting to some odd thing Baymax is doing as a result of his adventures that day. The only exceptions are the fifth episode, where Baymax didn't come home, and the sixth episode, since Hiro actively participates in that one.
- Symbolically Broken Object: Mbita's most prized possession is a wooden ladle with the words "Love. Life. Fish." carved onto it. During the chase, the section with the word "Fish" gets broken off, representing that he can no longer run the fish soup shop due to his allergies. However, it also represents that his future is open-ended and that there's a world of possibilities for him.
- Tampon Run: Baymax makes one in the third episode, going to fetch some menstrual products for Sofia. However, the trope's usual use is turned on its head; the only embarrassed person is Sofia herself. Baymax is very casual about it, since getting medical supplies for a patient is the most normal thing in the world for him. The regular gag of a wall of products is played straight, as Baymax is baffled by the selection and turns to the other shoppers for help. He gets an array of suggestions from all across the spectrum, who all treat shopping for menstrual products as a completely normal thing to do, openly discussing it, to illustrate the episode's Aesop that periods are nothing to be embarrassed about. Baymax ends up purchasing every product recommended to him, since it's her first time needing them and he has no baseline to judge the best option for her.
- Timmy in a Well: In the finale, Yachi leads the others to a drained Baymax.
- Twofer Token Minority: Mbita is a gay African-American fish soup salesman.
- Unusually Uninteresting Sight: Just like in the film, the citizens of San Fransokyo are apparently completely used to robots, and don't really treat Baymax's presence as anything abnormal. When he asks a random woman in the store for help choosing menstrual products to bring to Sofia in the third episode, she gives him a slightly bewildered look, but quickly recovers. Her look doesn't exactly say "What's this eight-foot-tall robot doing here?", it's more like, "What's this eight-foot-tall robot doing here, shopping for tampons he presumably doesn't need?"
- Unwanted Rescue: Baymax's patients don't always want to accept that they need his help.
- Kiko refuses to let Baymax help her, and he has to trick her into it so she can get the help she needs for her hip. Once he finally gets her to open up about what's really bothering her, she finally accepts his help and begins to swim and do water therapy like he suggested.
- Cass keeps trying to work on a sprained ankle against Baymax's advice, which ultimately only makes her injury worse. She then swallows her pride and admits she should've just taken a couple days off like he told her from the start.
- Sofia is so embarrassed by getting her first period that she tries to deny anything's wrong. Baymax, of course, doesn't fall for it. Downplayed, as while she's still embarrassed, Sofia accepts his assistance and lets him go find pads for her.
- Mbita literally drives away from Baymax to avoid getting an allergy shot. Partly because he is Afraid of Needles, but mostly since he doesn't want to accept that he's developed a fish allergy and can no longer continue the family business. He realizes his mistake when his allergic reaction causes him to crash, and outright asks Baymax to give him the shot.
- Yachi runs away from Baymax since he's a cat and doesn't understand what Baymax is trying to do.
- Wearing a Flag on Your Head: The trans man who offers Baymax advice in the menstrual hygiene aisle is basically wearing a trans pride flag for a shirt.
- Workaholic: Cass's plot deals with her spraining an ankle and Baymax forcing her to take a week off while he runs the shop. Cass then runs herself ragged trying to help her customers while also avoiding Baymax, who puts her back on the couch each time he catches her.
