Don’t worry, you haven’t missed the first five movies. As a brand new Walt Disney animation, can it rival its production partner Pixar’s output?
When Hiro loses a loved one he finds an escape in what is left behind: a personal healthcare companion robot called Baymax. With its help, he tracks down his enemies but to confront them he’ll need his friends by his side.
Big Hero 6 looked extremely promising from the trailer especially due to visual gags that seemed innocent enough for kids without appearing too silly for the rest of us. Luckily the film stands by this with the excellent character Baymax, creating most of the laughs. His huge balloon-type body is largely contrasted by his considerate manner and attempted grace at moving around obstacles. Not since Wall-E has an animated film so easily entertained without the help of dialogue.
However the film isn’t all laughs. Big Hero 6 centres on Hiro, a disobedient boy genius who develops a connection with his guardian, Baymax, while he mourns the loss of a family member. The film allows moments of grief to engulf certain scenes and the result is touching, and helps us associate more with Hiro. Baymax himself is naturally loveable too, with his core personal healthcare programming making him eager to heal Hiro’s grief in any way necessary. His to the point phrasing and unstoppable need to help make Baymax impossible to dislike but easy to laugh at when something goes wrong.
Action also has its moments due to Hiro creating a makeshift superhero team and while none of the heroes are particularly notable (the team rarely do anything right) the enemy hovering on a sea of nanobots is visually wondrous. There are moments where fight scenes become a little more interesting but Hiro and Baymax flying around and adventuring together are the real strengths to the more energetic moments. This is a film where characters come first.
Baymax is one of the best Walt Disney characters we’ve seen in years, and with his growing relationship with Hiro the film is a touching one. What’s more, Big Hero 6 manages to blend the Superhero action of The Incredibles with How To Train Your Dragon’s imaginative freedom. This is highly recommended.
Author – Matt, Cardiff store
