Big Hero 6 (***½)
Directed by: Don Hall & Chris
Williams
Starring (voices): Ryan Potter, Scott
Adsit, T.J. Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans, Jr., Génesis Rodríguez, Maya
Rudolph, James Cromwell, Daniel Henney, Alan Tudyk, Stan Lee, Katie Lowes
Seen: January 17th 2015
***½ Out of ****
In an age where it feels as if
Hollywood is losing the plot in consistently making good and entertaining
movies, it also seems that the animation studios have us covered. Big Hero 6 is
another highly entertaining and magnificently realised animated feature that
produces not a sequel or a reboot or a remake, but a bit of originality. It
rides the current wave of superhero movie hype, this one being Disney’s entry
into the genre. It’s both a great standalone story and the start of a new
series (it’s based on a Marvel comics superhero team); a fun and energetic
story well told while culminating in the promise of more to come. Oh, and a post-credits
character is voiced by Stan Lee who, for the uninitiated, is pretty much the
original comic book writer. He is credited as the co-creator of Spider-Man,
Hulk, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, The X-Men, and many more. He also has
a cameo appearance in just about every Marvel movie to date.
Big Hero 6 ends with the relevance of its
title fully revealed. It starts far from it, with a fantastically entertaining
journey in-between. Hiro Hamada (Potter) lives in the fictional San Fransokyo
with his older brother Tadashi. While Tadashi excels at the university’s
robotics lab, Hiro hasn’t yet seen the bigger picture and wastes his time with
illegal back-alley robot-fights. He’s also a bit of a hustler, as is evidenced
in the movie’s opening minutes when Hiro first loses to, then destroys the
robot of a much feared street-king. Tadashi saves Hiro in the ensuing madness,
and en route to the next robot fight Hiro hopes to hustle, Tadashi takes him to
his university lab. Here Hiro sees a glimpse of a better future for himself,
and a dream is ignited in him that sees him forego the allure of the robot
fights to pursue a career in advanced robotics. Hiro develops very capable micro-bots
in his quest to enrol at the university, and on the big night his demonstration
is impressive enough to convince the faculty head, Professor Callaghan
(Cromwell), to invite him to join them. Things go awfully wrong however, as an
explosion claims Tadashi and the Professor.
Hiro goes into a depressed slump, and seems
to not be so keen on joining the robotics program anymore. The other faculty students
rally around Hiro, but can’t convince him. It’s only when Hiro discovers his
brother’s big project, Baymax (Adsit), that the spark is ignited again. Tadashi
developed Baymax as a medical assistant, and in their interaction surrounding
Hiro’s micro-bots Baymax leads Hiro to an abandoned warehouse, where they
discover that Hiro’s micro-bots have been stolen and mass produced before they
barely escape with their lives. Hiro starts upgrading Baymax as a war-machine
of sorts, and enlists the help of Tadashi’s friends in his quest to defeat the very
menacing man in the Kabuki mask.
Big Hero 6 is a visual treat, with the
combination of San Francisco and Tokyo beautifully realised as the backdrop for
action and adventure and some really touching drama. The action sequences rival
some of the best yet seen in animation, and in scale and impact I was reminded
of The Incredibles. Even though this movie is, in my humble opinion not
entirely as good as The LEGO Movie (which didn’t receive an Academy Award
nomination in the Animated Feature category, while Big Hero 6 is nominated), I
believe the nomination to be wholly deserved. Big Hero 6 is a fantastic little movie
and I thoroughly enjoyed every inventive minute of it.
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