Title: Big Hero 6
Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Starring: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Daniel Henney, T.J. Miller, Damon Wayans Jr., Jamie Chung, Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk, Maya Rudolph
The original intentions for transforming ‘Big Hero 6’ from an obscure Marvel comic to a feature length animated picture made sense. Disney is at the height of their popularity and wonderful collaboration with their Marvel Studios brethren. It’s obvious that the studio would want to take advantage of any property that they can get their hands on, transforming it into the next big superhero that people around the world would fawn over. Unfortunately not every movie that Disney collaborates on with Marvel turns into instant movie magic, and while ‘Big Hero 6’ proves to be a decent family film, it feels a little stiff in the overall execution.
The story begins with our hero, who is literally named Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter), taking part in seedy battle bot matches. Hiro is a genius, but ever since he finished high school at an early age he’s got nothing better to do with his time than easily take the money from pig headed competitors who think they can outdo his bot. Tadashi (voiced by Daniel Henney) quickly talks some sense into his younger brother, bringing him to his university and displaying the kind of fantastical things he could be doing with his time rather than wasting it away. Hiro takes the bait rather quickly, and he must make a new creation in order to wow a professor that’ll give him the golden ticket, better known as an acceptance letter, into the school.
Hiro’s microbots are an immediate success, but disaster hits when the building where his creations are is suddenly set on fire. Tadashi makes a run into the building, worried that Professor Callaghan (voiced by James Cromwell) might not be able to make it out of there on his own. Tragedy strikes when the building explodes, leaving Hiro without his brother. As weeks go by, Hiro is stuck in a deep depression over the loss of his brother, but the emergence of Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit) snaps him back into reality when he discovers that his microbots are still around, but a mysterious man in a kabuki mask is using them for his own evil purposes. With the help of his friends, Hiro gets to the bottom of this mystery to seek out who did this and to right the wrong done due to the loss of his brother.
The skeletal plot structure of ‘Big Hero 6’ appears to be the great makings of a fantastical superhero origins story, but the takeoff is a little rougher than expected from this film. In no way, shape or form is the animation bad at all. The animators who were hard at work at Disney Animation Studios continue to do a stellar job as their skill and talent whisks viewers away to the cool and integrated world of San Fransokyo. The overall production design on meshing the two metropolitan cities together works out a lot better than one would think, thanks to a whole lot of research from the team who put it together. Perhaps the most breathtaking portion of the animation isn’t the characters, but the environments. When Baymax and Hiro are sitting around, staring at the sunset, the coloration and the subtle flickers of light and wind make it appear as if it’s the real thing. The windy streets covered with various Japanese advertisements are fun to look at, even though most of the time the characters are hurriedly whizzing through them.
But the heart of the problem in ‘Big Hero 6’ doesn’t lie in the animation, the voice work or the direction. It’s the story that ultimately buckles under the pressure of creating a top notch superhero origins tale. They’re trying to spoon-feed the viewers an abundance of information, but at the same time leaving various plot points out of the equation. It leaves people wondering how certain events would transpire to get the characters to where they are in the story. After the loss of Tadashi, Hiro begins jumping all over town at random times at night and daytime, yet his aunt Cass (voiced by Maya Rudolph) is none the wiser. He’s already had enough loss happening in his life between the obvious death of his parents and now his older brother. Wouldn’t she be ultra-protective over his well-being, wanting to make sure she doesn’t lose what could possibly be the last surviving member of her immediate family?
The sweet attitude and heart of tending to a person’s loss is there, but in some ways ‘Big Hero 6’ appears to be a little hollow. There’s something missing in the story, and that could be the plot holes that are sprinkled about in the movie. The villain’s motive appears as if it came out of left field. When the plot point appears in the third act, it doesn’t entirely fit. Not all the pieces of the story connect, but at least there’s some good characters in there to wash the taste of so-so storytelling out of the viewer’s mouths. Baymax completely steals the show with his lovable, kind and almost ‘Iron Giant’-esque personality. He serves as a great support system for Hiro, giving him the necessary cushion he needs in order to get his life back in order.
‘Big Hero 6’ is still a film worth a watch for those who have a youngster in their family. It’s a great superhero animated romp for families to watch and enjoy, but it’s storytelling leans a bit on the generic side.
Techincal: A-
Acting: B+
Story: C+
Overall: B
‘Big Hero 6’ is out in theaters now, presented in 2D and 3D.