Big Hero 6, Big Fun

When we are young we are told we can be anything.  Well, being a comic book reader, all I ever wanted to be was a superhero.  But, I'm not an alien who gets juiced up by the sun, a billionaire with a drive for justice, and I was never struck by lightening and developed super speed.  The only was we could ever develop super powers in real life is if we are smart enough to make ourselves super.  With that in mind, I present, Hiro Hamada.

Hiro is young teen who just so happens to be a genius.  He graduated high school before he hit puberty and spends his days betting on robot fights, which he obviously wins.  But his big brother Tadashi has another idea.  He introduces him to his friends at 'nerd school' where young minds are creating tech for the future.  Sadly, Tadashi is suddenly taken from Hiro's life and only leaves behind his health bot; Baymax.  To find out who is responsible for his brother's fate Hiro must turn Baymax and his friends into super powered heroes and save their city; San Fransokyo.  When you walk out of the theater you're going to want your own Baymax, trust me.  

This film is nothing but Disney at it's best.  There are only a few notable voice actors, but it doesn't matter because the film is on a level all other movies should aspire too.  It centers around Hiro, who has to deal with the loss of his brother, who he adored and looked up too.  You can literally see Hiro going through the five stages of grief as he builds weapons to fight a super villain. The other center point of the film is the relationship between Hiro and Baymax.  Baymax is like the loyal dog who you learn to love throughout the film, but you know it can't be all roses and candy by the end of the movie. Old Yeller taught me that lesson a long time ago. 

There are some really sad moments in this film that I feel might be a bit dicey for really young kids.  However,  I think almost every great Disney film has some great loss in it.  Meanwhile, the animation and action are phenomenal.  I'm almost tempted to go see it in 3-D just to get the full experience of Baymax taking flight for the first time.  And I hate 3-D movies. 

Big Hero 6 is why I love going to movies.  Because in less than a two hour period I've felt everything from sadness, to laughter, to fear; all while being entertained and amazed.  The characters are all diverse and gel really well together. If I had to choose one super suit to steal I'd definitely want Go Go's skate armor.  

I only have a few gripes. And even these are small things.  I felt like the set-up was a little long. Like it took too long to get to the meat of the film.  The ending also seemed to wrap up too neatly.  Anything unsolved was resolved.  Maybe I've just become accustomed to sequel teases.  This is a film families should go see together, and then spend dinner, or the car ride home, discussing it.

This weekend I chose to see Big Hero 6 over Interstellar.  So far, I think I made the right call.  Ever since Pixar's John Lasseter took over as chief creative officer for Disney animation they have put out the high quality films that make me feel like I'm back in the early 1990's.  Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, and Big Hero 6 are all terrific films and I can't wait to see what comes next.  But I for one hope it's a sequel!

RATING: A