Fresh from the defeat of Callaghan, Hiro starts his time as a student at the San Frosokyo Institute of Technology. Determined to knuckle down and do his best to follow his brother’s footsteps, a reunion with everyone’s favourite Healthcare Assistant throws his plans into disarray. But will the rest of the gang reunite to fight crime once again?

Following on pretty soon after the events of the film, this one hour pilot serves as a refresher to the characters and their abilities, as well as an introduction (of sorts) to our newest villain and a reminder that in spite of what the gang achieved in the showdown with Callaghan, they are all still just students.

Most of the voice cast from the movie return (only Wasabi and Fred getting new voice talent to replace Damon Wayans Jr and T J Miller respectively) and this really helps with the sense of continuity, especially given the more traditional ‘flat’ animated look as opposed to the film. It really is a joy to see the characters again, and the pilot goes to great lengths to ensure that we get to see everyone do their thing.

The plot is relatively simple – Hiro, overexcited at the prospect of being reunited with Baymax, allows his impatience to get the better of him, resulting in a big mess involving old nemesis Yama and a scheme by which the big bad (remaining in the shadows and giving Yama his orders) tries to obtain a McGuffin from the new principal of the Institute. It won’t win any awards for groundbreaking ideas in fiction, but it serves well enough to remind us of the characters and their various capabilities and qualities.

This is further helped by the lack of enthusiasm of the team (with the notable exception of Fred) for taking up the superhero mantle. Gogo, Wasabi and Honey simply want to carry on being college kids and leave the hero stuff up to someone else, and much of the thrust of the episode is on the efforts of Fred to persuade them otherwise, while Hiro tries to perfect Baymax while clearing up the mess he’s made. There’s plenty going on, but it’s all straightforward enough that younger audiences won’t feel lost by it. It lacks perhaps the subtlety and nuance of the film, with much simpler humour and no double meanings for the adults, but the core qualities of the characters haven’t changed, and it still tugs at the heartstrings whenever Hiro’s brother is mentioned, and evokes appropriate laughs at the antics of Fred, the variable cowardice of Wasabi and the frankly adorable Baymax with his trademark high five and tendency to exclaim ‘oh no’ in his comically monotone way as danger and high jinks aplenty befall him.

Verdict: It’s not as sophisticated as the movie, in either appearance or tone, but this is still well worth a watch for fans. That the plot ties in so closely with the movie, together with having mostly the same cast, is welcome, and the simpler, more child-centric tone is to be expected. All in all, a pleasure to watch. 8/10

Greg D. Smith