‘Big Hero 6’ Movie Review – Very Versatile
Animated films sometimes get unfairly lumped into a more juvenile category. Most people assume an animated movie is for children and children only. Yes, they are designed to tap into the children demographic but the good ones also have something to offer the adults bringing them there. Big Hero 6 is the best of both worlds as it creates a thematically-rich story for the children while appealing to older audience members.
Big Hero 6 starts us off in a futuristic city cleverly titled San Fransokyo. In this metropolis, technology has advanced to the point of flying cars, robots, and even teleportation portals. Our main character, Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter), is a 14-year-old genius that starts the story out wasting his robotics talent in an underground robot fighting ring.
However, once he is taken aback by his brother’s (voiced by Daniel Henney) robotics university, Hiro decides he’s going to use his prodigal skills for the greater good.
Then, like seemingly every animated film, tragedy strikes.
In some ways, Big Hero 6 becomes a revenge story…for more than one character. In other ways, Big Hero 6 is a coming-of-age story. It can also be billed as a superhero movie. Any way you look at it, this is a versatile movie. It really does need the tragedy, in this case, making it a little more justifiable than some other similar plots.
Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit) – a personal health care robot – is a key cog in the plotline, too. He also is the inspiration for a lot of the film’s humor. With superhero films, we’re so used to seeing human superhero characters, making Baymax a needed departure. Although some parts of this movie feel like Iron Man (and How to Train Your Dragon), there’s enough different to make this film feel original. Yes, they’re ultimately trying to stop a masked villain but at least they’re using a different model.
A big part of children’s movies is the moral (or message) of the story. If we’re judging Big Hero 6 solely on its message, it definitely passes the test. Comparatively speaking, it is almost like a children’s version of the found-footage film Chronicle. It makes us question whether powers should be used for revenge or not.
Big Hero 6 is Marvel and Disney’s first real collaboration – it’s a Marvel property (with the franchise starting back in 1998) using Disney’s studio and marketing. If this is a sign of things to come, Pixar (and other animated studios) are undoubtedly sweating.
After seeing Don Hall and Chris Williams’ animated film Big Hero 6, a bunch of other movies came to mind. I’ve already mentioned Iron Man, How to Train Your Dragon, and Chronicle, but parts of the movie reminded me of Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and one scene in particular actually reminded me of this weekend’s Interstellar. This puts Big Hero 6 in some very good company for very good reasons. Whether you’re looking for a movie that’ll appeal to children or an animated superhero movie for adults, Big Hero 6 is the movie you’re looking for.
Rating: B+
Big Hero 6 is out in wide release now. Check your local listings.
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