Big Hero 6 (2014)

The Rundown: Big Hero 6 is the story of Hiro Hamada, a robotics genius who has graduated high school at 13 and now spends his days bot-fighting. Hiro’s brother, Tadashi, dreams of something bigger for his little bro, and decides to help motivate him by showing him his amazing tech school and better ways to use his talent. Along the way, intrigue ensues, and with the help of Tadashi’s robot project, Baymax, they try to save the world.

So I did a little research on the comic book source material for Disney’s latest animated masterpiece, Big Hero 6. Now, it seems like it’s exactly how a Japanese super hero team developed by Marvel would be: tons of huge monsters, crazy super powers, dragons, and tentacles. To say that the movie deviates from the source material a bit is an understatement.

Still, some things ring true from the movie to the comics.

Hiro, the main character (he’s the ‘hero’, get it?), is still a boy genius and is a pro when it comes to robotics. Hiro lives in the city of San Fransokyo with his aunt and older brother Tadashi. Hiro has graduated high school at 13, and spends his days in the underworld of San Fransokyo fighting robots for money. Tadashi, worried that Hiro is squandering his talent, shows Hiro the world of higher education, and the future of robotics. Hiro is so enamored with what he sees that he decides to devote his all toward gaining entrance into the premier science college located in his hometown. Along the way, sinister forces plot to take Hiro’s new inventions away from him and turn them to much darker purposes. With the help of some plucky college geniuses, and Tadashi’s robot project Baymax, Hiro and friends are able to recover the stolen technology and save the city.

When compared to what I read about the source material for Big Hero 6, the movie is missing a lot. I think that Disney was able to filter the best parts of what Big Hero 6 was and put those concentrated bits into a movie that is action-packed, and yet still has an emotional message about the responsibilities inherent in the power you wield, as well as the slippery slope of seeking revenge. It is full of vibrant characters that have some of the most solid design I’ve seen. After watching the movie, like a good consumer, all I wanted was a video game where I could control each of those heroes with their distinctive looks and powers.

A lot of that can be traced to the concepts derived from the original, such as Honey Lemon’s power: a purse that can produce all sorts of explosive, corrosive, and metallic orbs each with its own abilities. While in the comics it led to another dimension, I do like that they gave it a scientific twist by making it a machine capable of mixing many elements very quickly. After reading about them, I could see where they took some of the most intriguing bits of the characters from the original and incorporated them into their new vision of what Big Hero 6 could be.

Despite the fact that no character, apart from Hiro, gets a lot of screen time to themselves, each feels distinct. You get a very strong impression through the limited dialogue, appearance, and movement of these characters that connects you to them in a strong way as you watch. When they are in danger, and trying to defeat insurmountable odds, I felt the tension for each character because they all felt like real people. Still, no characters make you fall in love with them harder than the Hamadas and Baymax. Hiro and Tadashi’s Aunt Cass is vibrant and engaging to watch, and Baymax’s innocence and desire to help are heartwarming and often hilarious. Tadashi serves as a great moral compass for Hiro, whose genius has made him somewhat headstrong. Tadashi tries to temper this by injecting some of his maturity into Hiro with mixed results.

Not only are the Hero’s fun to watch, but the villain is also awesome. He has everything I want in a villain, namely ruthlessness. When on-screen, he never gives the heroes a chance to catch their breath, going in for the kill whenever possible. He is silent for most of the film, simply appearing and wreaking havoc at what seems to be random times and places. Even when he is eventually revealed, and you discover the who and why of what he was doing, he is relatable without taking away his menace. Definitely an example of simple design done very well; and his weapon of choice, the microbots, are a thing to behold.

The science is fun and loose, the visuals are stunning, and the characters really pop. There is very little not to like about Big Hero 6. If you are a movie veteran you may find the foreshadowing a bit heavy-handed, but overall Big Hero 6 is one of the most enjoyable movie experiences I’ve had lately. Definitely check this one out in theaters so you can see those gorgeous visuals in massive detail! Keep ‘em coming Disney! The…. Bronze? Age of Disney films is in full swing.