Movie Review: Big Hero 6

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Animation, characters, Baymax

Cons: Darker than expected, slow start, Fred

The Bottom Line:

Animated film

With Marvel superheroes

Slow start, late action

Heart and Superheroes

Confession time – this DisNerd missed going to see Big Hero 6 in the theaters.  I know, I know, I’m considering having to turn in my certification.  I just don’t seem to be making it out to the theaters much these days.  But based on the high recommendations the movie was getting, I did buy it and watched it this weekend.

For those who have missed it, the movie is based on Marvel characters and tells the story of Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter).  He’s a boy genius who is wasting his talents and time on illegal robot battles.  However, after a tragedy, he finds himself connecting with Baymax (Scott Adsit), the medical robot that his brother created.  Together the two get caught up in an adventure when they realize that something Hiro had created has fallen into the wrong hands.  Can they defeat this villain?

If I knew this animated movie was based on Marvel characters, I’d forgotten about it.  In fact, when I sat down to watch it, I think I knew less than what I just put in that teaser, so I didn’t go into the film with any expectations at all.

So when I say I found the first third a little slow, it means I really did find it slow.  It wasn’t that I was waiting for the story to get to the point I didn’t know what was going to happen next, it was that it seemed to be moving slowly.  Now, I do realize they had to establish the characters and set up the plot, and stuff from that first third came into play later on, but it still felt slow to me.

However, once the story got going, I really did get into it.  The action was great and the mystery was well done.  I thought I had things predicted early on, but I didn’t.  A couple twists caught me by surprise and I like that.

I will say the film is darker than I was expecting.  I probably would have known it was coming if I had realized it was Marvel.  It’s within normal superhero story realm, but a bit darker than I was expecting from a Disney animated movie.  It is rated PG, and that rating should be taken seriously, but most kids will probably be fine with it.

On the flip side, one attempt at comic relief is a character named Fred voiced by T. J. Miller.  Unlike the geeky rest of the main cast, he’s supposed to be a slacker.  However, many of his lines and antics annoyed more than amused me.

However, the laughs we get from Baymax are genuine.  This robot is pretty funny as he is going well outside his original programming, and that clash if wonderful.  Plus there’s a scene as his battery is dying that is hysterical.  Disney was smart to market the movie around him because he is wonderful.

As the movie progresses, we get some more dark and emotional moments, but the film has earned them by this point because of the story and characters we’ve gotten to know.  The mix of light and dark winds up working well here to further pull us into the story.

The voice cast is wonderful.  While I do recognize a few names, most of them are unknown to me, but that doesn’t make their work any less impressive.  In fact, I like the fact that Disney casts the best voice for a part and doesn’t rely on big names to bring in an audience.  Anyway, you will get lost in the story as the actors do amazing jobs bringing their characters to life.

Likewise, the animation is top notch.  There are a few beautiful shots and another few wonderfully fun sequences.  A lot of work went into making this movie, and it shows.

While this movie is not part of the official Marvel Cinematic Universe, it does have a final scene after the credits, so be sure to sit through them.

If I’d realized this was Marvel going into the film, I would have had different expectations and might have loved it as much as everyone else seemed to love it.  As it is, I did enjoy Big Hero 6 even if I didn’t love it.