When I heard Disney was basing an animated feature on a comic from Marvel, I was intrigued. I had never heard of Big Hero 6, so I had no preconceptions going into the film. I think the Disney animators did an excellent job bringing this story to the big screen.

Our protagonist, Hiro Hamada, idolizes his older brother, Tadashi, a student at the local “nerd school”, the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. After being convinced by Tadashi to enter the science fair at the school, Hiro wins only to have a huge tragedy happen. He mopes about a few months before Tadashi’s medical assistant robot, Baymax, prompts him to come out of his funk.

Just in time, too, as a villain known only by the kabuki mask he wears has started harassing the city. Together with his friends at SFIT, Hiro forms a superhero group using suits he designed, including a suit and programming upgrade for Baymax. After the team discovers a secret lab, Baymax almost kills the villain, who turns out to be Tadashi’s former professor.

The story in Big Hero 6 was excellent. Each of the characters had depth, and I could easily understand the motivations of all of them, including the villain. While the characters and story are not the same as those found in the original comic, the changes made by Disney were effective and helped the story in a positive way.

The animation was excellent. I am a huge fan of all kinds of animation, and Disney’s animators made the world of Big Hero 6 real and interesting. “San Fransokyo” was a brilliant naming move, and the unique blend of American and Japanese cultures shown in the city really made this world stand out from those in other films.

The music by Henry Jackman fit the film perfectly. Many of the pieces had a distinctly Japanese feel to them while still maintaining a grounding in the west coast of the States. While I am not a huge fan of Fall Out Boy, I really enjoyed their “Immortals”. I thought it captured the spirit of the young superheroes as they worked to set things right.

There were a couple plot holes which weren’t specifically addressed, but they only had minor impact and didn’t detract from the enjoyability of the film. I really enjoyed Big Hero 6, and I strongly encourage you to see it and buy it. It is definitely joining my collection.

Release Date: November 7, 2014 (USA)
MPAA Rating: PG

MySF Rating: Four point five stars
Family Friendliness: 100%

Content:

Alcohol/Drugs: 1 (brief social drinking)
Language: 0
Nudity: 0
Sexuality: 0
Violence: 2 (peril, super fighting, massive damage due to super powers)

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