Big Hero 6 is the first animated movie based on a Marvel property and hopefully, if this film is any indication of what they can do, it won’t be the last one. Very loosely based on the Marvel comic book series of the same name, but with a Disney spin on it, it is completely different form the original concept. In fact it seems they chose an obscure title so they could truly make it their own, and they sure did, resulting in one of the most fun movies I’ve seen since Guardians of the Galaxy. It seems that Marvel at the movies can do no wrong and Disney may have received a bargain, when they bought Marvel for 4 billion. This is just the latest in what is sure to be a smashing success.
The basic story is about a young teenager named Hiro Hamada, who lives in the fictional futuristic city called San Fransokyo. Hiro is an aimless robot prodigy who spends his days and nights hustling people in robot fighting underground events. Hiro is extremely close to his older brother Tadashi, who has more noble goals when it comes to applying his own brilliant scientific mind. Tadashi has invented a robot health care companion named Baymax, to help heal the world. However, due to an event that may be too scary or intense for very young children, Hiro decides to take Baymax and seek justice. Using his incredible scientific brain, he basically “Iron Manizes” Baymax to make him more formidable. Hiro and Baymax are far from the only stars of this film and his brother’s friends and schoolmates are all geniuses in their own right. They soon join the fight, with Hiro using his genius to improve their inventions to give each of them mechanical superpowers. And a brand new superhero team is formed.
There is tons to like in this movie, and a lot of humor (which I’m glad to see returning to superhero projects). Some minor annoyances were as follows:
- the term “health care companion” was repeated over and over and over again to the point that a more paranoid man might find as brainwashing children. The sheer amount of times it was used, plus the term itself, made it seem odd.
- scenes that seemed to be for the express purpose of eventual Disney rides, a little too blatant for my taste.
Other than those minor complaints, the movie was extremely enjoyable. Not sure I’d take someone under 5 or 6 to it due to a couple of scenes, but then again the classic Disney cartoons were also intense too so maybe I’ve been wussified as a parent. All in all, a great movie that will hopefully result in more Marvel animated films in the theater.
FINAL SCORE:
B+
