Big Hero 6
DIRECTED BY: Don Hall, Chris Williams, WRITTEN BY: Jordan Roberts, Daniel Gerson, Robert L. Baird, BASED ON: Big Hero 6, CREATED BY: Paul Briggs, Joseph Mateo, RUN TIME: 102 minutes, RELEASE: 2014
From Walt Disney Animation Studios, the team behind Frozen (2013) and Wreck-It Ralph (2012), comes Big Hero 6, an action-packed comedy-adventure about the special bond that develops between Baymax (Scott Adsit), a plus-sized inflatable robot, and prodigy Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter). When a devastating event befalls the city of San Fransokyo and catapults Hiro into the midst of danger, he turns to Baymax and his close friends adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago (Jamie Chung), Neatnik Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), chemistry whiz Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) and fanboy Fred (T. J. Miller). Determined to uncover the mystery, Hiro transforms his friends into a band of high-tech heroes called Big Hero 6. ~ Walt Disney Animated Studios.
Big Hero 6 is the 54th animated feature film from Walt Disney and is based on the Marvel Comics superhero series. Next to my initial pre-viewing thoughts of the amazing Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), this is by far the next most unlikely superhero team. That being said, Big Hero 6 at least has the advantage of being an animated production to help with the suspension of disbelief, not that made the slightest difference to just how awesome GotG was.
I must admit I had very high hopes for this film, and it certainly did not disappoint. Big Hero 6 is undoubtedly one of the strongest animated features to come out in recent years, not just for Disney, but in general. It's easy to watch an animated film and enjoy it (or not) without really ever fully appreciating the work that goes into making it, but it's one of those things that you shouldn't just ignore (in my opinion). The technology into making animated projects is growing evermore sophisticated and in BH6 that shines through wonderfully. Visually it is beautifully crisp, smooth, colourful and sublime to watch. The attention to detail and the usage of light and shadow is fantastic.
BH6 has a great and really enjoyable storyline. Disney are masters of the art of successful animated filmmaking, and have easily adapted with the times from the old days of wide-eyed, musical wonderment of heart-warming and moralistic tales to creating pictures more fitting of the modern-day audience, whilst still maintaining the charm, the marvel (no pun intended) and the humour (albeit more epigrammatic than it used to be) of the classics that we know and love, and the humour in BH6 is just perfect.
BH6 is one on the funniest films that I have seen in quite some time (animated and live-action). It is full of wit and ridiculously chucklesome moments, due mainly to the uniquely lovable Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit). This outstanding character easily gets the best lines throughout the entire film and will have you laughing out loud from start to finish. I think he is, hands-down, one of my favourite animated characters of all time. Kudos to the writing team.
This is of course a Disney film, so you should probably go in expecting moments of heartbreak, feel-good goosebumps, unforeseen surprises, corporate evil bad guys and lots of subtly crept in messages of morality and common-place life issues.
Big Hero 6 stands out way ahead of countless that come before, as one of the most delightfully perfect animated films ever made. The story is fantastic and will have you hooked in from the very start to it wonderful end. If you are looking for laughs, great characters, beautifully crafted artwork and visual design, and a great way to while away 102 minutes of your time than there is no way better than to watch Big Hero 6. The whole family will absolutely love this gem of a film. Bring on the sequel.