There have been so many comic book movies since Disney and Marvel hit it big with The Avengers in 2012, so it figures they’d eventually make an animated one: We’ve seen billionaires like Batman and Iron Man, patriotic, near-perfect heroes like Superman and Captain America, and anti-heroes like Deadpool, Daredevil, etc. Does it work? Yes, it does. We open with a robot fight club where some big guy’s robot is trampling any other one that gets in his way, until Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter), our hero (Get it?), shows up pathetic like. He loses what I assume is intentionally, because when he bets more on a rematch, his little robot tears the big guy’s bot apart (literally). After losing makes big guy hulk-out (No, the Hulk is not in this), Hiro runs for his life, and his brother Tashadi (Daniel Henney) sweeps him onto his motorcycle, and after some expository arguing, they get arrested. Enraged, their Aunt Cass (Maya Rudolph) picks them up, and to get Hiro on the right path, Tashadi brings Hiro to San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, where he shows off the robotics there and introduces him to GoGo (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez), and Fred (TJ Miller): The tough girl, the wimpy guy, the sweet girl, and the non-scientist slacker who asks the other three to turn him into a fire-breathing monster or make an invisible sandwich to mess with people. Fred is undoubtedly the most interesting of these four who later become members of Hiro’s team (Especially in a certain scene). They are mostly background characters with the exception of Fred, though each one has his/her moment by the final act. Finally, Tashadi shows off Baymax (Scott Adsit), “your personal health care assistant.” Hiro and Baymax are the main focus after a tragic event that ends Hiro’s student expo where he shows off the microbots (micro versions of the robofighter), which are “destroyed,” but resurface after a few months (A time jump happens, which can be noted by Hiro’s age being referenced as thirteen early on, and then fourteen later on). This leads to the formation of the team. All of this is animated beautifully, looking so tangible, even if you know it’s all created by a computer. You could get a realistic sense from the robot-fight-club opening scene to the exciting last act. Henry Jackman provides a score that is techno in robot and/or humor heavy scenes, as well as touching in the intimate moments you expect from Disney these days. Big Hero 6 has big laughs throughout, and feels like a CGI anime with its setting in San Fransokyo, a hybrid of San Francisco and Tokyo. I am (beyond) satisfied with this movie (you’ll understand that line when you watch it).
