Following Disney’s acquisition of Marvel in 2009 it was only a matter of time until the comic book giant’s more family friendly characters started making their way onto the Disney Channel and into Disney films, especially seeing as the MCU was on an unstoppable trajectory upwards following 2012’s Avengers Assemble. But I don’t think anyone ever expected an adaptation of a Marvel comic to be one of Disney’s in house Animated Classics, especially one as niche as Big Hero 6.
Child genius Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) is a robotics expert and thanks to a little help from his older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) uses his talents to create ‘microbots’, a super-intelligent and ultra-versatile material that can be used for almost any purpose. Tragically Tadashi dies in a fire, leaving Hiro his own creation, Baymax (Scott Adsit). Baymax is a medical assistance robot who aids Hiro overcome the grief of losing his brother. However, when Hiro discovers that his microbots have been stolen by a masked maniac with nefarious purposes, Hiro and his friends Fred (T.J. Miller), GoGo (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), and Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) set out to find out who this masked man is and what connection they have with Tadashi’s death.
Child genius Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) is a robotics expert and thanks to a little help from his older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) uses his talents to create ‘microbots’, a super-intelligent and ultra-versatile material that can be used for almost any purpose. Tragically Tadashi dies in a fire, leaving Hiro his own creation, Baymax (Scott Adsit). Baymax is a medical assistance robot who aids Hiro overcome the grief of losing his brother. However, when Hiro discovers that his microbots have been stolen by a masked maniac with nefarious purposes, Hiro and his friends Fred (T.J. Miller), GoGo (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), and Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) set out to find out who this masked man is and what connection they have with Tadashi’s death.
Big Hero 6 released at a peculiar time in Disney’s slate of Animated Classics. Following the unprecedented success of Frozen, basically any other animated film, including any made by Disney, was overshadowed and pretty much forgotten about. Despite this the studio had invested so much time and money on their 3D animation technology and finally got a team of animators talented enough to get the best out of the software that from Frozen onwards they were once again among the best in the industry. So Big Hero 6 was a film that truly allowed the Disney animators to flex their muscles because of the fast pace, action heavy screenplay, and crowded scenes, but is often not given the recognition it deserves because it lives in the shadow of the most profitable animated film of all time.
The story is very good and hits all the necessary emotional extremes you would expect of a Disney film, and the core cast of characters are all very compelling, well fleshed out, and great fun to be around. However, there’s one crucial aspect of the film I find problematic…it doesn’t feel like a Disney Animated Classic. It should come as no surprise that it feels like a Marvel film, and whilst that’s fine, especially because it’s a good one at that, I’d appreciate it Disney if you hadn’t spilled your Marvel all over my Animated Classics. Sure, a change of pace is no bad thing, look at films like Atlantis, Wreck-It Ralph, and The Emperor’s New Groove; but they retained the Disney charm in a way that Big Hero 6 doesn’t. Whilst this may sound like I’m not a fan of Big Hero 6, I can assure you that’s not the case, but it feels out of place in this film series.
The story is very good and hits all the necessary emotional extremes you would expect of a Disney film, and the core cast of characters are all very compelling, well fleshed out, and great fun to be around. However, there’s one crucial aspect of the film I find problematic…it doesn’t feel like a Disney Animated Classic. It should come as no surprise that it feels like a Marvel film, and whilst that’s fine, especially because it’s a good one at that, I’d appreciate it Disney if you hadn’t spilled your Marvel all over my Animated Classics. Sure, a change of pace is no bad thing, look at films like Atlantis, Wreck-It Ralph, and The Emperor’s New Groove; but they retained the Disney charm in a way that Big Hero 6 doesn’t. Whilst this may sound like I’m not a fan of Big Hero 6, I can assure you that’s not the case, but it feels out of place in this film series.
For me what makes Big Hero 6 so awesome is the huge technological leap that Disney have taken in their animation. Whilst Wreck-It Ralph had the early stages of this improvement noticeable, and Frozen gave us improved character models and particle effects, Big Hero 6 is the ultimate culmination of everything Disney had been missing for the past nearly ten years. Environments are heavily populated with objects and people; lighting has been vastly improved with animators even able to replicate realistic shadows, reflections, and bloom effects; character models move in a more natural way than ever; and water reacts more realistically to disturbances. Big Hero 6 looks phenomenal and sets the standard for Disney moving forward, even rivalling their sister studio Pixar who have been industry leaders in 3D computer animation since the mid-nineties.
Big Hero 6 is a mighty fun time, and an excellent way for younger viewers to dip their toes in the superhero genre thanks to its more family friendly approach than the live action Marvel films. It’s also a technical powerhouse that re-establishes Disney as a studio at the top of their animation game. But it does feel out of place when lined up next to the other Dinsey Animated Classics, an odd one out that whilst thoroughly enjoyable, for me, simply doesn’t belong with the House of Mouse’s other iconic titles.
Big Hero 6 is a mighty fun time, and an excellent way for younger viewers to dip their toes in the superhero genre thanks to its more family friendly approach than the live action Marvel films. It’s also a technical powerhouse that re-establishes Disney as a studio at the top of their animation game. But it does feel out of place when lined up next to the other Dinsey Animated Classics, an odd one out that whilst thoroughly enjoyable, for me, simply doesn’t belong with the House of Mouse’s other iconic titles.