- Overall rating ★★★★☆
- Child Friendly Rating ★★★★★
- Diversity Rating ★★★★★
- Diversity:
- Trans Character
- Gay Character
- Black Character
- Latina Character
- Japanese Character
- Topics:
- Self care
- Grief
- Periods
- Confidence
- Loneliness
BAYMAX! Review
The new show BAYMAX!, which was released on Disney+ on June 29th, 2022, is a huge breath of fresh air of diversity and representation in children’s media. Between this series and the early 2022 release, Turning Red, shows that Disney (and Pixar) are finally focusing on accurate representation for children. The six episode-first season, while short, with episodes only lasting about 12 minutes including very long credits, packs a punch with many short but important lessons with a diverse cast of characters. The show follows Baymax, the loveable character from the Academy award winning film from 2014, Big Hero 6, as he tries to follow what he was coded to be, a personal healthcare companion. Each episode introduces a new patient for Baymax to help, each one resistant at first to the overstepping robot.
Episode one focused on a familiar character: Aunt Cass who was in the Big Hero 6 movie and owner of the Lucky Cat Café. When Cass, busy with work and accommodating every customer, trips and sprains her ankle, Baymax steps in to tell Cass to close the store and take care of herself. What follows is the chaos of a robot running a café and Cass trying to make everything perfect, which ultimately leads to further injuries. In the end, Cass learns that her customers care for her and will be there when she gets back, they just want her to take care of herself. In a world where we are trying to learn to actually take a step back from work when injured or sick, this first episode sends home that we need to take care of our bodies and our friends will be waiting for us to heal.
Episode two is an episode that hides its message under hilarious sequences of Baymax trying to get Kiko, an elderly Japanese woman, to not be afraid of water in order to swim as a form of exercise. In the end, Baymax, and the audience, learn that the fear of going to the pool to swim is not really about water, but about an important lesson of grief. Often, grief and death are talked about as being an “adult” topic that should not be discussed with young kids, but in reality, grief is something that many children face. In BAYMAX! Children viewers can learn that grief can affect how you feel even about places that remind you of a person who is gone, but if you ask for help, those around you can help you learn to cope with your grief and find fun in those places again.
Episode three is the episode that has received the most criticism due to its subject matter and characters. Baymax’s patient in this episode is 12-year-old, Latina, Sofia. This episode features the scary feeling half the population gets when they get their period for the first time. Set in an all-gender bathroom, Sofia is appropriately and accurately embarrassed and nervous about getting her first period, especially as she does not have any hygiene products. Baymax, decides to run to the local drug store and is met with a wall of products so he asks what he should buy, here many people weigh in with different options including tampons which are often looked down upon for young girls, and even a Trans-Man customer weighs in with his opinion showing that many different people can experience menstruation. The customer is even wearing a Trans flag, something that does not pop up often in children’s media. Baymax goes back and with the help of Sofia’s male friend who talks about periods in a very matter-of-fact way, convinces Sofia that she should not be embarrassed and should go join the school talent show. This episode also covers the important topic of growing up and how leaving your childhood can be scary, but that you can still cling on to the things that make you happy.
Episode four changes the tone once again as Baymax is introduced to Mbita, a Black fish vendor who learns he is allergic to fish. After a wild and out-of-this world street chase scene, Baymax teaches Mbita to be aware of how dangerous his allergy can be and supports him in the path of moving away from his family legacy into trying new things and being confident, including asking out the apple guy from the market. Not only is Mbita gay, but his voice actor, Jaboukie Young-White is openly gay as well, creating an authentic acting experience.
Yachi in episode five is the last patient Baymax treats in the series. Yachi is a hungry, scared cat who swallowed an earbud that must be taken out. The episode makes clear that while Yachi keeps running away from Baymax, what she truly wants is to have a loving family. After a chase into a warehouse, Baymax finally gets the earbud out and gives Yachi a lollipop, but soon runs on low batteries and loses charge, while Yachi runs away, leaving the episode on a cliffhanger.
The final episode brings all of the characters back to emphasize how we all help each other and that your friends will have your back. Overall, the series focuses on many important lessons that are not often talked about in children’s television and they depict characters that are often not represented in television. I would recommend this series to anyone no matter their age.