Hailey’s On It!
Why you should check out this quirky and interesting combo of sci-fi and comedy encouraging everyone to try new things
For acute readers and long-time subscribers of Nerd Writes The World (Thank you for your support by subscribing, if you have not yet please do!), you probably have some sense that I am a big fan of the new Disney animation show Hailey’s On It. In case you missed it, here is what I wrote about the show the week it was set to premiere:
In case you didn’t have time to watch the video or want more context, the show centers on the titular character Hailey Banks starting to complete a to-do list throughout the new year after a time traveler named “The Professor,” traveled to Hailey’s time and saved her from a chaos bot that wanted to thwart Hailey’s mission. The Professor called Hailey’s to-do list the most important document in history and completing the list will save the world, sensing the gravity and urgency, Hailey agrees to complete her list.
Joining Hailey to complete her list includes Beta, a robot inserted inside a teddy bear who claims to be the world’s most advanced AI designed to help Hailey complete her list. The other person is Scott Denoga, Hailey’s best friend.
Plot twist! One of the missions on the list is for Hailey to kiss Scott! Something Hailey is very aware of, and in the beginning, wants it to be done later. As the show progresses, what will happen to Hailey and Scott’s already interesting and entertaining dynamic? Who can tell? What’s absolutely certain is that there is a lot of AAPI (Asian American Pacific Islander) representation in the show! Hailey’s voice actor Auli’i Cravalho is a Hawaiian native and was the voice actor for Moana, and Scott’s voice actor Manny Jacinto is Phillipino, you might recognize him as Jason Mendoza from The Good Place!
Based on what we know so far, I have a lot of questions. For example: Who is The Professor? Is she Hailey from the future? Or is she a friend or employee of future Hailey, future Scott, or some other person? Plus, who designed and sent the chaos bots to thwart Hailey’s mission, is it The Professor or some other person? There are so many questions and excitement inside my head!
Reporting a month since the premiere, I have enjoyed the show even more! Given that the show has not yet gained as much attention as it deserves, here are a few reasons you should check out the show, not just because of the AAPI representation and interesting questions.
Firstly, the character dynamics are fun to watch. Setting aside the friendship of Hailey and Scott for the moment, the titular characters have some friends and foes they need to keep an eye on. Kristine, the popular girl in school who is annoyingly nice to everyone, can cause tension in the relationship between Hailey and Scott. After episode 1, Scott started to date Kristine after she asked him out during a carnival, and their relationship over the episodes so far has been lukewarm. From Hailey’s perspective, Kristine’s relationship with Scott might impede her plans as one of her list items included kissing Scott Denoga, but nonetheless, she currently is still on friendly terms with the hat-loving teenager. Speaking of potential rivalries, A.C. is a boy much shorter than Hailey and claims he is Hailey’s bitter rival. Much to the disagreement of Hailey, as she sees the relationship as completely one-sided. As the show develops, these two characters will play an influential role in Hailey’s plans to complete her list and achieve her goals.
Secondly, The Professor’s occasional entrances into Hailey’s life are pretty interesting. So far, the show has not gone into the background of the character, but we do know she is able to travel back in time to talk with Hailey and partly assist her on the mission to complete the list. Knowing fully well that the consequences of not completing Hailey’s list are steep, The Professor’s role as a person from the future makes her involvement more mysterious and intriguing. If you can see the background of the screenshot below, you can see The Professor is an avid collector of Hailey’s works as she gradually completed her list. How did The Professor obtain the items? These items are probably not for sale in action so it must mean Hailey is related or is a family member of The Professor, which then prompts the question: What is the involvement of future Hailey given that she is probably not The Professor? Also, how far to the future is The Professor living in? Plus, do look out for the moments when she wanted to spoil Hailey with the jackpot numbers of the next day but miserably fails as she gets sucked back to her own time. Be attentive to The Professor, because I believe she is playing a larger role in the series than we currently think.
Thirdly, do check out the funny interactions between Scott and Beta. After Beta was unlocked by Hailey and Scott, the AI in a koala plushie developed an unknown bitterness towards Hailey’s best friend and future partner. Beta often picks on Scott by making sarcastic comments and taking vengeful pranks on him, and the methods of retaliation and crude commentary get funnier by the episode. On the subject of Beta, being obsessed with making Hailey complete her list sometimes inflames opposition by the human he serves, and their relationship takes time and learning experience throughout the episode to heal and grow.
On a wider picture, the animation and comedy are well mixed together. Despite some critics calling the show fast-paced, and others claiming the jokes are not funny, I personally enjoyed the intended puns and funny comebacks made by the characters. The sudden comedy generated by Scott’s interpretation or by Hailey’s shenanigans can have a punch-in-the-face feeling, but you will be laughing afterward instead of getting confused. While for the animation, it is nicely done and their depiction of character emotions and facial expressions are at times dramatic and humorous.
A key role in the show is examining the friendship and love between Hailey Banks and Scott Denoga. Best friends since childhood, the two are fiercely loyal to each other and have been extremely supportive of each other as Hailey completes her list. There are times when their friendship was tested, from Scott deciding to join a Rubix Cube group to Hailey desperately wanting to make a reunion of her favorite childhood show in order to prove to herself that true best friend friendships like that between herself and Scott can last forever, the good news is that in the end their empathy and support comes on top and solidifies their relationship even further. What gets interesting is how their friendship might turn into a love story, Hailey has admitted to Beta that she always had feelings towards Scott but had never said it out loud, adding to her hidden jealousy for Kristine after she successfully asked Scott out to be her date, she will find it difficult to directly tell Scott how much she loves him. Also, Hailey’s goal of kissing Scott is not specific, which leaves room for speculation on what kind of kiss between them it might be, as well as the nature of the kiss being incidental or accidental. No matter what happens, Hailey and Scott’s friendship and underlying relationship will be a key factor in both characters’ growth and development, as well as being the butterfly’s wings that will save the world.
Finally, we can all learn something from Hailey’s list. Despite writing an entire book on things she wanted to do, it took a long time for the introverted Hailey who was hesitant on trying anything new to start completing a challenging list she created for herself. The essence of the show is about trying new things. No matter how challenging and daunting it might seem, or how reluctant and hesitant you might feel, the process of trying new things might give you rewards and lessons about yourself and others that you previously might not have realized. For many, including myself, Hailey is a role model as somebody able to launch her first step, a risk-taker willing to take on anything through ingenuity, and her everyday smarts.
In conclusion, if you have not watched the show yet, please go watch it! The show can be more rewarding and entertaining than you might realize! You can watch all episodes using this link, and if you can support the show directly go check it out every Saturday at 10 am Eastern US time on Disney channel.
Two things are certain on my behalf: I will continue to be deeply invested in this show, and don’t expect me to stop talking about it anytime soon.