Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Distributor: Disney
Duration: 98 minutes
Big Hero 6 (DVD) – Movie Review
With the immense hype surrounding Baymax, the following movie will require little introduction. Nonetheless, we were psyched to have the chance to take a closer look at Big Hero 6, because we felt it was more than meets the eye. Thus, our journey in a Marvel-meets-Disney world adventure with feel good moments and buckets of tearjerkers began. Prepare yourselves for an entirely new generation of superHiros, albeit very clumsy ones.
Hiro (Ryan Potter) and Tadashi Hamada (Daniel Henney), two teenage brothers who lost their parents at a very young age, live together with their smothering aunt Cassie (Maya Rudolph), who acts in their best interest. Hiro, who is an extremely bright kid, spends his days hassling strong (remote controlled) robot fighters, with his seemingly weak looking drone. Sadly, his last ‘cheating’ attempt did not go all too well, as his target decided to take back his money and shortly after, police arrived on scene. Whilst this should have been a great lesson to leave this shady circuit behind, Hiro is already scheming for his next battle. Luckily for him, his trustworthy brother, who is attending a school for the very gifted (no, he’s not a part of the X-men), does his best to convince Hiro to use his brains for the good of mankind, instead of scoring simple pocket change.
When Hiro is about to head off to his next petty fight, Tadashi offers him a ride, with a small detour in mind. Tadashi still ‘had’ to pick something up in the laboratory, where he’s working on a personal project. After some complaints, Hiro walks into the lab with Tadashi and he immediately gets bombarded by awesome looking projects, one even more amazing than the other. After taking everything in, Tadashi shows him his own creation, namely Baymax (Scott Adsit), the mechanical ‘nurse’, a kind robot designed to help people with their injuries, physical as well as emotional. When the head of the gifted department, Robert Callaghan (James Cromwell), tells Hiro that this is a school only for those who are willing to work, instead of looking for an easy way to overcome obstacles, Hiro becomes fired up, so he can prove himself worthy. He works day and night, with his brother and their friends on his project, namely small micro-bots that work together, with the power of thought. Sadly, disaster strikes during the grand showcase and Hiro’s world will collapse once again.
Big Hero 6 maintains just the right pace, to keep things interesting from start to finish, with the proper balance of action, tearjerkers and information. It’s clear that the movie by the many Marvel series, with the superheroes theme it is aiming for. Whilst this movie might be more lighthearted than some of the other Marvel IPs, the same witty humor we are used to from movies such as the Avengers remains intact. Overall, a great mix of different elements, that come together as one big adorable whole.
Animation wise the movie is pleasant to the eye, thanks to the fluent movements, detailed yet cartoonish characters and an overall realistic feel to a fairly unrealistic story. The colors are bright and there are more than plenty of them, whilst the grim moments have their fair share of bland colors to set the mood.
Voice acting is something else that was handled exquisitely in Big Hero 6. All characters come to life, not only thanks to their amusing appearances but also with the more than matching voice every person in the movie has. Again, this seemingly small piece of the puzzle, contributes to a great whole.
An interesting extra the DVD release of Big Hero 6 has is the short film ‘Feast’. This five minute snicker-fest is about a small stray dog that is being picked up off the streets and put into a loving home. With royal meals and plenty of toys, all is well, until some changes happen once again. We would rather not spoil this one for you, but beware, it might hit a sensitive nerve.
Conclusion
Big Hero 6 is a great addition to the Disney universe and it will certainly be considered a classic further down the road. Overall the movie has everything it needs to be great, thanks to the grand animations, the superb cast and of course a story that stays fresh from the beginning, until the credits start to roll. It seems we have a new puffy superhero in town.
Big Hero 6 (DVD) - Movie Review,
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