Review: ‘Big Hero 6’ From The Editor

With “Big Hero 6”, Walt Disney Animation Studios once again proves why they are heroes to generations and legions of fans the world over. Tapping into the recesses of the Marvel vaults, directors Don Hall and Chris Williams bring this somewhat obscure gem of heroes to life in what is destined to be the newest franchise in the Disney-Marvel universe…..not to mention my pick for Oscar gold. But setting “Big Hero 6” apart from the super heroes and fantasy we have come to know from Marvel is that the heroes of “Big Hero 6” are regular kids who use the special talents of their tech and science savvy brains to show us what is really means to be “heroic”, with brains over brawn and education and friendship being king! Soaring with action, adventure charm, heart, soul and a whole lot of fun – not to mention Baymax, one of the most adorable heroes ever (I see the need for “Guardians” Groot and Baymax to join forces) – “Big Hero 6” is the new big screen hero!

Based on a little-known comic pulled from Marvel’s apparently endless vaults, directors Don Hall and Chris Williams create a smart, forward-thinking and yet emotionally old-fashioned world. Like the video-gaming battles in the 2012 Disney hit “Wreck-It Ralph,” “Big Hero 6” is a little edgier, its humor a little grittier and its sensibility very 21st century, setting it on a different path than the studio’s classic fairy tale staples. Screenwriters Robert L. Baird, Daniel Gerson and Jordan Roberts handled the adaptation, expanding and embellishing the origin comic.

The film is very clear about its international influences. It starts with “Big Hero 6’s” pan-Pacific setting, the city of San Fransokyo, a hybrid of San Francisco and Tokyo in landmarks as well as name. It extends through the animation itself, a mash-up of old-school style and Japanese manga. While all the mushing and mixing make for images that seem to leap off the screen, the subtext is that the future will be multicultural and the sensibility pop, so get over it.

Welcome to San Fransokyo! Home to 14-year old Hiro Hamada and his science nerd elder brother Tadashi, San Fransokyo is the best of the East and the West, and a place where science and technology are king thanks to a futuristic Cal Tech/MIT style state of the art science and robotics university. Orphaned at a young age on the death of their parents, Hiro and Tadashi have been raised by their Aunt Cass. And did I mention that Hiro and Tadashi are both geniuses?

While Tadashi puts his brain to use developing a robotic home health diagnostician/nurse/doctor/caregiver named Baymax, Hiro uses his smarts building mini-robots and then illegally betting in back-alley battle-bot matches a la “Fight Club” for robots. Despite Tadashi’s best efforts to redirect Hiro to use his talents for good, Hiro pooh-poohs education and the whole idea of college; that is until Tadashi arranges a little field trip for him.

To take Hiro from smart boy to superhero, calamity must fall. It does right in the middle of Hiro’s demonstration at an elaborate science fair. As impressive as the morphing microbots are, the explosive destruction of the fair is tailor-made for animators to go crazy, and “Big Hero 6’s” massive crew does.

In the wake of the fair’s ruin, Hiro and Baymax are thrown together to, as all superheroes must, seek justice, unmask villains, solve mysteries. Hiro enlists four of his brother’s friends to help (and to make six big heroes). They include Fred (T.J. Miller), the resident slacker who may be more than he seems; GoGo Tomago (Jamie Chung), sarcasm and spinning wheels are her specialty; Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), kind of a Wolverine with dreads, a paunch and slightly different but no-less-lethal blades; and Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez), your basic chemistry chick in short skirts and glasses.

Directed by Disney veterans Don Hall and Chris Williams who brought us “Winnie the Pooh” and “Bolt”, respectively, with story and script by Hall, Paul Briggs, Jordan Roberts, Robert Baird and Daniel Gerson, “Big Hero 6” is flawlessly constructed as not only a story, but an origin story. With a strongly written and involved plotline, major themes of friendship, the value of hard work, value of education, a celebration of science and technology, grief, love, loss, self-sacrifice and even revenge, are all prominently addressed through dialogue and visuals, creating a wonderful moral compass for all. Delving deeper into self-examination and exploration than is typical in a Disney film, darkness is no longer reserved for Disney villains/villainesses as the darkness within ourselves brought on by grief or loss is met head on.

Valuable lessons in this day and age. Interesting is the story construct in that every day Hiro and company face new challenges, new battles; just like we do in real life, be it work, homework, the car doesn’t start. Battles may be small aggravations but they are still thing one must deal with. “Big Hero 6” embraces that. Celebratory is the wittiness of the dialogue as the writers not only call on life and well known situations, buildings, cities, etc., for humor and wit, but infuse traits and known histories from the voice actors themselves not only into the characters they portray but with specific dialogue, tailoring it to the vocal skills of each.

Standout is the reality of the technology. Spending extensive time with robotics experts, Robert Baird and Paul Briggs have insured that the science, and particularly the robotics is accurate. As producer Roy Conli noted, “The technology is here now. We had to move fast to stay ahead of science and maintain a futuristic sense” while still grounded in the reality of the present. Also notable is the sentient development of Baymax. A fine line to walk, Baird and Briggs found the right balance of humanity without making Baymax “too human”.

While a robot designed to be the ultimate medical caregiver might not sound like the right superhero stuff, from the first time Baymax pops up from his container like an inflatable jack in the box (the real deal, not the fast food franchise namesake), he’s irrepressible and irresistible.

Surprisingly, some of the attraction is Baymax’s synthesized voice. So annoying when it’s a telemarketer, so soothing when Scott Adsit is at the controls. The actor, best known as the droll producer who kept “30 Rock” sane opposite Tina Fey, is able to shift from concern to bone-dry humor in the blink of Bay’s very big eye.

Hall and Williams keep the pace fast, yet not too furious, with an ebb and flow of emotion and action that tugs at the heartstrings and the tear ducts. But again, it’s the humanity of the story, and the fact that it’s the human knowledge and special talents of each of our gang that prove to be more heroic than super-hero technology, that truly showcases who and what a “hero” truly is.

Wildly imaginative, creative to the core, you’ll fall in love with Baymax and definitely, cry for more! My pick for Best Animated Feature of the Year, a family film that’s truly for the whole family – “Big Hero 6” is my huggable hero this week.