Movie Review: Big Hero 6

Walt Disney Animation’s 54th film, Big Hero 6, is a fun, family friendly adaptation of a Marvel comic series which debuted in the late 90’s. I will try to keep my review of Big Hero 6 spoiler-free and will only mention details that have been released by Disney. In fact, over the last few months I tried to avoid most of the marketing for the film, and I think I may have enjoyed the movie more as a result. For me, the teaser trailer was all I needed to get me interested in the movie.

Following a similar path paved by last year’s massive hit Frozen, Big Hero 6 is built around a sibling relationship. However, this time around the film deals with a bond between brothers Hiro and Tadashi Hamada. Tadashi created Baymax with a singular focus – to take care of people. Hiro is a child robotics prodigy who graduated high school at the young age of 13. Rather than following in his older brother’s footsteps to a prestigious robotics school, Hiro prefers the world of underground bot fighting. Early on, Tadashi tricks Hiro into a tour of his lab which ultimately entices him into pursuing college.

Big Hero 6 takes place in the fictitious city based on San Francisco and Tokyo called San Fransokyo. A tragic event takes Tadashi’s life and vaults Hiro into the in the middle of a dangerous situation. Luckily, he has Baymax, as well as the fellow nerds from the school to help uncover the mystery of the kabuki mask wearing villain. With the support of Baymax and his new friends, Hiro goes to work transforming the team into a band of high-tech heroes called, Big Hero 6 to get to the uncover the plot of the mysterious villain.

We saw the film in RealD 3D and received a pair of the Big Hero 6 Baymax 3D glasses. It did take me a few minutes to get the glasses set just right over my glasses, but it was worth it as the film looked great in 3D. The colors will still bright and vivid unlike some 3D productions that make the film dark and dull.

Big Hero 6 Baymax Dolby Real D 3D Glasses

The Big Hero 6 soundtrack was composed by Henry Jackman who previously created the scores for Winnie the Pooh, Wreck-it Ralph and most recently, Captain America: The Winter Solider. Although Jackman’s score was created using a 77-piece orchestra, it is over powered by Fall Out Boy’s ‘Immortals.’ ‘Immortals’ is a rather catchy original song created for Big Hero 6. Don’t get me wrong; I’ve been enjoying Jackman’s score all week, but so far, ‘Immortals’ is the only track that sticks out in my mind as immediately identifiable to Big Hero 6. Although at times, I do sense a connection to Jackman’s Wreck-it Ralph score during some of the tracks. The soundtrack is available now digitally via iTunes and Amazon with a physical CD set to release later this month.

Big Hero 6 Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Henry Jackman

Overall, I really enjoyed Big Hero 6, as did my wife and daughter. My favorite part of the film and the part I found most hilarious was a scene where Baymax’s battery is low. Here is a brief clip of the scene.

On a scale of 1 to 10 – how satisfied am I with Big Hero 6? I’ll just say I am satisfied with my movie experience and I look forward to seeing it again! This will make sense after you see the film 😉 Big Hero 6 is definitely a film the entire family can enjoy.

Make sure you find a seat early, as you will not want to miss the adorable new short, Feast, that appears before the film. Feast is a fantastic film from first-time director Patrick Osborne featuring a lovable dog named Winston. I did get a feeling this short was somewhat connected to Paperman, the short which was attached to Wreck-it Ralph which Osborne worked on as well as the head of animation.

One final note on Big Hero 6; don’t be in a hurry to leave, stay in your seat through the end of the credits… there is a final scene that you will not want to miss.

We are grateful for the Disney Parks Blog for the opportunity to see Big Hero 6 during their meet-up last Sunday. The special event concluded with a Hiro and Baymax meet and greet photo op. Hiro and Baymax will be meeting guests at near the Starcade in Tomorrowland at Disneyland and The Magic of Disney Animation at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios.

Big Hero 6 DPB Meetup Meet & Greet With Hiro Baymax

One of the real treasures for each Walt Disney Studio’s release are the Art of Books that are created. These hard bound books offer a wonderful behind the scenes look at early ideas for the environments of each film as well as character development. Recently, I’ve found these books to be more interesting than the majority of the bonus features included on the blu-ray releases. I pre-ordered The Art of Big Hero 6 and it arrived earlier this week. So far, it has been an interesting read starting with John Lasseter’s preface which touched on how he essentially unlocked the door to Marvel’s catalog at the request of co-director Don Hall to explore new ideas and look for inspiration on his next project which would become… Big Hero 6.

The Art Of Big Hero 6 Book

By the way… I would love to know why there were no cruise ships in San Fransokyo… Seems like a perfect opportunity for a little product placement.

9 Replies to “Movie Review: Big Hero 6”

  1. Drew

    I’m looking forward to this too! Planning to not pay the local theater since we’ll be on the 1/3/15 DCL Fantasy cruise, where I’m sure it will still be going strong. Do you think it’s OK for a 4-year old? Anything too intense about it for her? Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Eric

    Thanks for the review Scott. I have run across quite a few reviews giving it so-so ratings. It’s funny to go back and read Rolling Stone’s review of Frozen. They barely gave it the time of day. After they reported that it was the highest grossing animated movie of all time, all they could conjure from their review was “we gave it three solid stars.” Keep up the good work.

    Reply
  3. Bill B.

    Scott, is it safe to assume this will be playing on the ship next week? We’re on the Dream that double dips Castaway Cay next week.

    Reply
  4. Dorothy

    Saw this in 3D on the Dream last weekend, and really enjoyed it. There are some scary scenes, but I would think a 4 year old will be fine.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.