Props to Disney – they’ve done something right. The premiere of their latest animated film, Big Hero 6, was followed by a striking piece in the New York Times regarding Disney’s exponential success in the last year, attributed almost entirely to their animated-musical, Frozen (2013). Breaking out of the type-cast animated-musical aesthetic Disney has treasured for so long, Big Hero 6 brings a new atmosphere to the theatre in a similar fashion to Wreck-It Ralph (2012).
Big Hero 6 presents a new take on family and technology in a poignant manner: the film introduces us to Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter), a super-genius 14-year-old with an affinity for inventions and robotics. His older brother, Tadashi (Daniel Henney), attends the San Fransokyo Institution of Technology (SFIT), where he and his peers invent brilliant tools for everyday life. Tadashi, keen on aiding people, creates Baymax, a personal healthcare assistant who resembles the Pillsbury Dough Boy and is just as lovable.
The Hamdas are orphans, cared for by their kooky aunt Cass (Maya Rudolph), and Tadashi, worried about Hiro’s direction in life, convinces him to enroll at SFIT. Things take a turn for the worse when a masked man steals Hiro’s scholarship-winning invention and begins using it for evil. The development of his peer’s technology into personal units helps the team fight this villain. Filled with twists and sometimes caught in limbo, the film packs in a range of innovation, reflective of it’s protagonist that entertains any moviegoer and pleases any movie lover.
The impressive feat of Big Hero 6 is its accomplishment in wholesome family-focus and the power of education. The Bechdel test evaluates a film based on if there are two main female characters that discuss something other than men – very difficult to achieve in the majority of films, but BH6 passes the test. The focus is instead on family values: trust, companionship, loyalty, sacrifice. It scored a 94% approval rating from audiences and 89% from critics on Rotten Tomatoes – if that doesn’t give Big Hero 6 a seal of approval, nothing will.
A film peppered with fantastic one-liners and a phenomenal plot, Big Hero 6 is worth the watch; even more so if you’re in a crowded theatre of small children who do not understand the throw-away jokes that keep you laughing till the cows come home. Or in this case, the robots.