I'm a big fan of Big Hero 6. It's a very conventional teen superhero/tokusatsu-like movie, but the execution is really good which makes it very enjoyable. After seeing it multiple times I thought to myself "This could perfectly be the first arc of an animated series with new villains, new themes and new plots". Disney must have been aware of it too, and because of that we're getting a BH6 series on Disney XD, with the TV film Baymax Returns serving as both a bridge between movie and the series and as an appetizer.
For the shift from cinema to TV, the CG animation of the movie has been replaced with more rough, traditional 2D animation. I don't have much problem with the change of technology and the lower budget., but in this case the end result is kinda generic and bland. It tries to be a bit more stylized with more geometrical shapes and lines and it kinda succeeds giving it a more distinct look, but this could be any other run-of-the-mill TV Disney cartoon. It's not bad, but it could have been much better.
But the thing that kinda kills the experience for me is the writing, pace and overall direction of Baymax Returns, and the reason for that is that I can't avoid comparing it to the original movie. I know I can't expect too much from a kids TV show, but Big Hero 6 was so tightly constructed and everything flowed so well that this in comparison feels like a heavy downgrade. I know it's unfair to say that because a movie of that size has way more planning and ambition behind, but nowadays there are animated shows that are a blast to sit through, specially if we look at anime, and Baymax Returns is just OK. Nothing terrible, but it just didn't engage me the same way the original did and it didn't leave me wanting more.
I'll keep an eye out for the series, because I want to see if they improve the quality and capitalize on the possibilites of the source material, but I'm kinda disappointed with this one.
