Big Hero 6 (2014) - Review
Might as well use that Disney+ to catch up on all the Disney movies I haven’t seen yet, but still had a slight interest in watching, right? Big Hero 6 looked interesting when it came out due to its flashy style and colorful anime look. It also was somewhat early in the Marvel/Disney relationship so it’s something of a time capsule in how there are inspirations taken from Marvel, but not necessarily direct comparisons—Marvel is thanked in the credits for assisting since it was originally a Marvel property, in fact. So Big Hero 6 is something of an anomalous “little project that could” that came out before the Marvel machine really started moving. The question is: how does it hold up?
Pros
Comedy and charm of the movie work well, with Baymax playing a big part in making this movie work
Colorful and flashy style
“Super powers” of the heroes are unique and not over-powered
Relatively short
Cons
Falls short in areas where there could have been a little more character development
Villain is just illogical and irrational; seems like the twist was thought up before the his motivation was
Almost too short: a few too many moments in which you just have to suspend your disbelief; feels like there are some scenes missing from the movie that would have made everything work a little better
Plot & Thoughts
Hiro (Ryan Potter) is a teenage genius living in the San Franciscokyo (a blend of San Francisco and Tokyo after an earthquake destroyed the California city and Japanese architects/engineers rebuilt it) with his Aunt Cass (Maya Rudolph) and brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney). Hiro has created a few robots for some illicit means, but his older brother, who’s a bit of a robotics expert himself, convinces him to try to use that knowledge to get into school and prove himself via a science conference. He goes along with it, comes up with a unique new robotic idea, demonstrates it with dramatic effect, and wows the crowd. Most importantly, he also wows the professor he was hoping to impress in order to get accepted to the university. However, tragedy strikes in the form of a freak fire at the conference, and Hiro’s robots and brother do not make it out.
Hiro is heartbroken and depressed about the event, but ends up finding unlikely comfort in the last robot that Tadashi built: Baymax (Scot Adsit). Baymax was meant to be a personal healthcare robot, capable of providing first-aid, as well as emotional support. Baymax’s AI is a friendly, somewhat naive personality, similar to that of Johnny 5 from the Short Circuit films. He seems like he would fit right in a Wall-E movie, as he still acts like an AI trying to fulfill his directive, but with enough personality and sentience that you can see a friendship form between him and Hiro as they investigate a mystery together involving Hiro’s old robots and their sudden reappearance under the control of a masked antagonist.
Baymax, as he appears prominently on the cover art for Big Hero 6, is the star of this film. Most of the humor and charm come from his interactions with the world and other characters. Some of the jokes are genuinely funny, like his immediate responses to Hiro’s grunts after he stubs his toe and get covered in toy models, or in how he tries to repair himself with some tape. He’s a well-defined character who basically carries the film from beginning to end.
I can’t say the same for the other characters, unfortunately. Hiro is a developed enough protagonist, as the death of his brother adds a layer of sadness to his character that defines and propels him through the movie until the point at which his motivations have to change into something more positive. However, when the moment comes for him to reconcile with his loss and stop looking for some sort of cathartic revenge over his brother’s loss, it happens just a little too fast. It’s handled well, but I think the speed at which everything transitions to the final act happens too quickly for the gravity of his decision to settle in.
There’s a lot of moments like that where it just seems like the movie is in a hurry to move on to the next part. In the hurry, some of the characters end up being underdeveloped casualties. The friends of Tadashi and Hiro all stand out among each other, but don’t really do much other than act like archetypes. They’re side characters, so it’s fine, since the focus is on Hiro and his desire to find out more about the man in the mask whom he assumes is responsible for his brother’s death. Perhaps there’s more to discover about each of them in the animated TV series they got, which is also on Disney+.
The villain is probably my biggest gripe with Big Hero 6. I think his design and his powers—using Hiro’s micromachines as extensions of himself—are awesome and straightforward. However, I think the twist around who is under the mask prevents him from making sense. It’s hard to discuss without spoiling the identity, but I just think the antagonist is poorly handled. His actions are overly aggressive for someone whose motivations, which are later revealed in the movie, are so specific and personal. It’s like the writers had the villain part worked out in terms of look and powers, and they were determined to make their twist work, but didn’t know how. So, some random motivation for the villain is thrown into the mix just before the final act that is supposed to help it all make sense as to why he’s been doing such nefarious things. The villain is just inconsistent and would have been better off as just some Joker-like psychopath if they couldn’t have come up with something better than they did.
TL;DR (Conclusion)
Despite the somewhat weak villain and the film’s propencity to move on a little too quickly, Big Hero 6 is still a fun time. It’s slick and stylish with some good humor and charm to combat the darker tones. Baymax makes the movie far more enjoyable than your standard superhero kids movie. It’s not the most unique movie you’ll find on Disney+, but it’s still worth a watch.