Big Hero 6 is about a young robotics geek named Hiro who turns from aimless geek to hero of San Fransokyo. He is joined by some other nerd friends and a robot, built by his brother named, Baymax. When an invention built by Hiro appears to be stolen and used for villainous purposes, this group of unlikely heroes put their brains to work to save San Fransokyo and beyond.
I will admit that when this movie was initially announced, I was a bit skeptical about it. It seemed weird to me that Disney Animation Studios would need to dig into the Marvel comics to look for an obscure comic that they could use to create a film. The second thing that worried me was that this would end up being another origin story. Frightening scenes of an animated Peter Parker started flashing through my brain as I imagined another Spider-Man-esque movie that the world didn’t need (or want) to see. Thankfully, within moments of the movie starting, all of this had changed. Big Hero 6 is a movie about a 14 year old genius struggling with emotions in a very 14 year old way. Yes, it is an origin story but it is more a story about heart, friendship, loss, sacrifice, and redemption.
The characters in Big Hero 6 are all surprisingly enjoyable. From heroes to villains to the supporting characters, nobody drifts through the movie without purpose. Instead, each character has a part to play and contributes to some part of the story. Baymax is easily the biggest star and is destined to be a fan favorite for years to come. I also really enjoyed the villain in this film, which is possibly another reason I enjoyed the film so much. A villain can make or break a movie.
The quality of this film shouldn’t be surprising but I will admit, I was still impressed. The animation looked great. Some of the scenes of San Fransokyo were nothing short of beautiful. This quality also applied to the characters which is good because poorly animated characters can drive me crazy. The soundtrack that accompanies the movie fit with the tone of the movie and helped move things along (read Murray’s Big Hero 6 soundtrack review here). It also seemed like the music that one would expect to come out of San Fransokyo. Overall, effort and care were clearly put into making a movie that the Disney Animation Studios would be proud of.
Big Hero 6 is a movie that definitely takes the viewer on an emotional journey. There are moments of both comedy and tragedy. Through the course of the movie the audience I viewed it with were laughing, crying, and cheering. It found a nice balance of ups and downs without being exhausting. One word of caution for parents with kids that are younger or more sensitive, there are some heavy moments in this film as the characters struggle with how to deal with death that might be difficult for some. For me however, it made for a very enjoyable movie that I think is one of the strongest of the non-fairytale animated films to come from Disney (like Wreck-It-Ralph, Bolt, etc). I would definitely give Big Hero 6 a hat tip and have no problem encouraging people to go and see it. I personally can’t wait to see what comes from Disney Animation Studios next!
What did YOU think?
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