Big Hero 6. Most Disney fans had never heard of it before 2013 when Walt Disney Animation Studios announced that it would be the next animated feature after Frozen. Most Marvel Comics fans had also never heard of it because amongst the vast Marvel universe, these characters were pretty obscure. That’s past tense because after November 7th, everyone will know Big Hero 6.
Loosely based on this Japanese Marvel superhero team, Big Hero 6 conceptually sounds like something WDAS would have made ten years ago when the studio was bending over backwards to appeal to boys with films like Treasure Planet and Atlantis: The Lost Empire. Around that same time, Pixar had a blockbuster with The Incredibles, an amazing animated film and a great superhero film in its own right. If Guardians of the Galaxy taught us anything, it’s that source material doesn’t have to be well known to make a successful film. The same holds true with this film.
Have you been to San Francisco? Have you been to Tokyo? Unlike in the comic, this story is set in the fictional city of San Fransokyo, a mishmash of the two. It feels mostly like San Francisco with added pagoda rooftops, an elevated train, and digital billboards throughout the city. It’s a really awesome setting and adds a lot of character to a film already full of interesting characters.
The main protagonist is Hiro, a fourteen-year-old boy genius who has already graduated high school. His brilliant older brother Tadashi encourages him to apply for the genius tech program and introduces him to his friends, a group of eccentric brainiacs. Hiro impresses the university with his invention of telepathic microbots that can do anything you think of, but after the sudden death of his brother he isolates himself. Tadashi left behind his latest invention, a personal healthcare assistant inflatable robot named Baymax. When Hiro and Baymax discover that his microbot invention has been stolen, he assembles his new friends to form Big Hero 6, a superhero team bent on solving the mystery of the masked kabuki man to save San Fransokyo.
Big Hero 6 is an awesome superhero team. Every kid will want to be Hiro and everyone will wish they had their own inflatable healthcare companion like Baymax. When assembling the team, Hiro gives Baymax a few upgrades, including a red metal suit that can fly and transforms this loveable, huggable, gentle giant into a lean, mean, kung-fu fighting machine. Fred gave all his friends nicknames and this skateboarding school mascot is given a three-eyed monster suit that can breath fire and super jump. Go Go Tomago uses phrases like “Woman up” and gets around with wheel discs on her feet. Wasabi is the scaredy-cat of the group, but his laser hand blades give him the courage to face his fears. Lastly, Honey Lemon is a girly girl with a messenger bag that can spit out transforming balls that she uses for different effects.
The mystery of the film is similar to any episode of Scooby-Doo, Where Are You?, but I still enjoyed watching it unravel. The film is full of humor, which is what you would expect from both Disney and Marvel. It also has a lot of heart, more than I was expecting. There are some deep themes in this film, including loss of a loved one and staying true to your morals. It comes with a PG rating, which is for intense action and the darker themes. It’s refreshing to see a film be this funny without resorting to bathroom humor (the closest it gets is a discussion about reusing underwear to be environmentally friendly).
Tangled started a new renaissance of Disney animated films that has continued with Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen. Big Hero 6 is on par with these recent instant classics. The characters are so memorable and the world is so inviting that I would love to see a sequel in the near future. The closest film it can be compared to is The Incredibles and even though I love that film, I like Big Hero 6 more.
I give Big Hero 6 5 out of 5 personal healthcare companions.
Bonus Tip: Stay through the end credits for a hilarious tag that pokes fun at the teasers at the end of Marvel Studios films.