Disney Animation has been on a roll since Pixar’s creator John Lasseter stepped in to run it. Wreck-It-Ralph is close to the classics in my book. Frozen captured the nation more than any other film in recent memory. Now, Big Hero 6 gives Disney a super team to mass advertise to children. While lacking the emotional punch of the studio’s first two installments, Big Hero 6 is a fun origin story for a potential franchise. It also boasts Disney’s best non-human character of the new millennium: Baymax.
Loosely based upon the Marvel characters, Big Hero 6 starts in San Frantokyo (the 2 cities are combined) looking in on brothers Hiro (Ryan Potter) and Tadashi (Daniel Henney). The younger Hiro moonlights as a robot fighter for cash, wasting his aptitude for robotics despite graduating high school early. Tadashi is attending robotics genius Robert Callahan’s (James Cromwell) university; he shows Hiro all the crazy inventions which immediately imbue our young hero/Hiro (ah, I get it) with the desire to attend said university. After Hiro wins a science competition, a series of unfortunate events leaves his prize invention in the hands of a masked man. As a result, Hiro gathers his brother’s other nerd friends (voices of TJ Miller [Fred, the wanna be], Jamie Chung [Go Go the Go Getter], Genesis Rodriguez [Honey Lemon the bubbly], and Damon Wayans Jr [Wasabi the scared]) and Baymax (Scott Adsit), his brother’s healthcare robot, to uncover the mystery of the kabuki man.
While Disney has a knack for infusing humor into their stories, Big Hero 6 is by far the funniest effort I have seen from any animated film this millennium. The writing team probably instantly knew they struck gold with Baymax. A literal, well-meaning pleasant robot can be easily placed in situations for maximum comedic impact. Early on, long takes of Baymax having difficulty navigating chairs or cramped living spaces kill in their silence. Literal translations are sprinkled here and there and never lose their impact (eg “That’s Sick!” It is a robot, it cannot be sick.). There is a very amusing sequence about a robot version of coming home drunk. By far the best move though, was the simple use of the pleasant sounding “Oh No” from Baymax when a completely crazy situation was unfolding around him. Smartly, Hiro’s buddies don’t attempt to upstage Baymax, and they get enough personality to add some fun to the proceedings, the most fun of which are Wasabi and Hiro’s Aunt Cass (Maya Rudolph). Before the plot kicks in, Big Hero 6 packs more laughs than most of the “comedies” out there.
Big Hero 6 is an origin story, explaining how the team ended up together. The grief that triggers the plot is fully realized and doesn’t get cheated by a miraculous 3rd act return. Death has emotional impact, and Big Hero 6 milks this story through the interactions of Baymax and Hiro. The bond between the two is almost like pet and owner, with Hiro teaching Baymax about the world while Baymax helps him cope with his personal grief. The Baymax /Hiro relationship has some highs – the flight through San Frantokyo is a visual feast – and lows, but the emotions are well earned, and the threats to their friendship in the third act resonate and give Big Hero 6 extra heft. The rest of the story is mixed; watching the team montage learning their abilities is always a treat, but the villains were pretty predictable and cheat a little to keep the main characters in peril (with visually appealing consequences). In addition, the catalyst for the formation of the team is just a bit rushed which lessens Hiro’s drive.
Voice acting goes for common folk over big profiles. The most obvious voice is TJ Miller, as he has been pegged into the lazy friend role for some time now. Ryan Potter is fine as Hiro, giving the kid spunk, but not much else. Scott Adsit’s work as computer aided Baymax is wonderful; hopefully he gets more stuff to do. Damon Wayans Jr. breathes energetic exasperated life into Wasabi with about 10 minutes of audio time. Jamie Chung, Genesis Rodriguez and Maya Rudolph also make the most of their limited words.
Big Hero 6 gives Disney a multicultural group of young people to sell young kids on science and toys, lots of toys. Baymax is destined to become a Christmas present, and the costumes will be worn by boys and girls next to Princess Elsa and Disney’s other merchandise. I’m almost sure Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams were watching a Power Rangers episode, went to their writing team, and said, “Do this but animated.” I’ll give them this: Baymax is WAY cooler than Zordon.