‘I am not fast…’
A Disney film with no singing in it? Yes. Please. A rare treat. There also isn’t a princess in sight. Big Hero 6 instead feels closer to a Pixar film than your traditional Disney fare, and it is all the better for it…
Hiro (Ryan Potter) is a troubled orphan who uses his considerable robotic skills to compete in underground robot fights despite the protestations of his older brother and guardian Tadashi (Daniel Henney). When a cataclysmic event befalls the city of San Frosokyo, Hiro must band together with a rag tag group of nerds from the nearby university and a huge cuddly robot named Baymax (Scott Adsit) in order to restore the equilibrium.
So far, so Marvel. And there is no denying that there is something very MCU about seeing a disparate group of distinct personalities coming together to defeat a common cause. The third act in particular, whilst spectacular, cribs directly from the Marvel songbook. That’s not to say that the action sequences aren’t wonderfully animated and inventive, but there is no denying that a lot of it feels… familiar. So too does the reveal of the antagonist. A revelation surely obvious even to the children that this film was aimed at.
That being said, Big Hero 6 looks fantastic, features a pair of spirited voice performances from Potter and Adsit (as well as boasting James Cromwell and TJ Miller in the supporting cast) and it is also a film that delivers emotionally. The big sad moments feel earned rather than forced and Baymax is a genuinely wonderful creation – indeed, the big white robot is the ace in the hole for what would otherwise be a fairly generic superhero movie.
With Big Hero 6, directors Don Hall and Chris Williams have created something nuanced and charming in a genre that so often leaves no room for either. While it can’t be said to be wholly original, this is a thoroughly successful kid’s movie. And that’s all that really matters.