Movie Info
Movie Name: Big Hero 6
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Genre(s): Animated/Comic Book/Action/Adventure/Comedy/Family
Release Date(s): October 23, 2014 (Tokyo International Film Festival)/November 7, 2014 (US)
MPAA Rating: PG
Here they come to save the day!
Hiro Hamada is a technology prodigy who could follow in the footsteps of his brother Tadashi at the elite university of robotics in San Fransokyo by inventing microbots. When tragedy strikes and his brother Tadashi and Professor Callaghan are killed in an explosion, Hiro sets out to find who is responsible with the help of his brother’s medical robot invention Baymax. Hiro and Baymax find themselves teamed with his brother’s friends Fred, GoGo, Honey Lemon, and Wasabi in a quest to find a shadow masked man who intent is unknown.
On a scale of 1-10, how much did you like Big Hero 6?
Directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams, Big Hero 6 is a computer animated adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Big Hero 6 characters who first appeared in Sunfire and Big Hero 6 #1 (September 1998). The film is the fifty-fourth film in Walt Disney’s Animated Classic series following Frozen in 2013. The movie features the vocal talents of Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Jamie Chung, T.J. Miller, Damon Waynes, Génesis Rodríguez , Alan Tudyk, Maya Rudolph, and James Cromwell (with the obligatory Stan Lee cameo as Fred’s father). The film was released to strong box-office returns and critical acclaim went on to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
I bet Hiro claims Baymax is releasing air to cover his own farts…
I can remember when the Big Hero 6 comic was released by Marvel. It was kind of a jokey team with a lighter feel to it. This version of Big Hero 6 primarily takes the name of the team but for the most part reinvents the characters for the film.
The story for the film is rather classic superhero fodder meets Disney. I can’t say it is horribly original nor is it surprising for older viewers, but I still argue that children’s films don’t have to entertain adults (but still can). As an adult, I can see most of the twists and turns of the story, but younger viewers will find the story original and fun (which it is). The film sometimes feels like The Incredibles lite, but the story has a lot of heart.
It is the heart of the story which makes the movie work. Primarily this heart develops from the lovable Baymax character and his relationship with Hiro who is in mourning after the loss of his brother. A robot without emotions, Baymax is relentless in his attempts to “fix” Hiro and much of the film’s emotion is with this bond.
Who doesn’t want to give Baymax a hug?
The film also has fantastic animation. The rich land of San Fransokyo is loaded with a blend of Japanese culture and the great city of San Francisco. This world is populated by the fun character designs of Big Hero 6 and a supervillain who’s essentially Green Lantern (with robots).
Big Hero 6 is a solid family action film, and of the nominated films for Best Animated Picture nominated for the year, it is probably most attainable for all audiences (How to Train Your Dragon 2 is a close follow-up but much darker). I can see franchise written all over Big Hero 6 and with the origin movie out of the way, another adventure by Big Hero 6 might not be a bad thing. Disney Animated Features follows Big Hero 6 with Zootopia in 2016.
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