Big Hero 6 (2014) - Reviewed and Analyzed

After Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen, I was so waiting for the next great Disney movie - and I'm still waiting. Big Hero 6 introduces the city of San Fransokyo (a conspicuous fusion of two metropolises) and Hiro, a young genius Bot-Fighter. His older brother Tadashi wants Hiro to use his brilliant mind on more productive things and takes him to his university, where he meets Baymax, Tadashi's health care robot, and the acclaimed Professor Robert Callaghan. Hiro is inspired by him and decides to showcase his inventions called 'microbots' at a science show to impress the professor. (Honestly, microbots are way more ingenious than any other thing in this movie). But an unfortunate accident at the fair turns Hiro's life around. Eventually, he joins with his brother's lab friends and Baymax to save the day!

Expectations were high-up for this movie and were boosted higher by the people around me. One of my friends said it's a must-watch-in-theaters and another said he even cried. But... Why? I don't blame my disappointment on the fact that my expectations were pretty high - I simply didn't really enjoy watching it. In fact, I only enjoyed the first 20 minutes, which is summarized above. Many people may disagree with me, I know. Big Hero 6 was a box-office hit and accumulated fans all over the world. It started a new catchy fist-bump. (Apparently the key to a movie's success!) But overall, the whole thing wasn't original at all. It incorporates the classic story-line of an animated movie, which I thought was done being used. Apparently not. The characters - Hiro is a young genius, a hackneyed main character. This type of character can always solve any problem and his only weakness is emotional attachment. The rest of 'Big Hero 6' is equally uninteresting, except for Wasabi, a muscular black guy who is a morally-uptight, cowardly perfectionist. Baymax was by far the most original thing in the movie. He's not an awesome fighter robot that kicks ass - he's a chubby, slow, kind, health care giver. I was intrigued to see how they will use such an 'incapable' (and I mean this only in relation to fighting skills) character. Maybe he will be an original type of super hero, who actually saves people instead of destroying buildings and putting people in more danger. But when they put on that Ironman suit on him, my hope was crushed. My point is, there's little originality in these 90 minutes. Some positives are... it was well animated. And Baymax, until they turned him into fat Ironman.

Analysis [Spoilers Ahead]

Before we start, I want to note that Big Hero 6 is based on a comic book. I have no knowledge of its content, so please understand if I don't compare comic book with the movie, say whether it was a good adaptation and whether or not they followed the book well, etc. I am actually thankful that I don't have an extensive knowledge of comic books. I think this allows me to view and analyze the movie simply as the movie itself without bias from previous information. Let's get started.

One of the first scenes shows the setting, reading 'San Fransokyo'. I am unsure what the makers meant to convey with this strange mix of San Francisco and Tokyo. Did they simply mean that it's a place full of some white people and some white-looking people with Asian names, because the characters show that well enough. This is not necessarily a fault in the movie - I was just curious.

Bot Fighting was a great opening scene. It reminded me of a miniature version of Real Steel - a brilliant way to introduce Hiro as a mischievous genius who has interests in things other than academics and seeks some lucrative profit off of his hobby. I was disappointed that that was the last of bot fights for the movie, and I still wonder if they could have made a better movie concerning those robot fights.

Hiro's brother is the classic caring, mature brother that is characteristic of older siblings grown up without parents. I have no complaints about him though - this character, while trite, is necessary for the story. Hiro meets Baymax, an inflatable robot nurse. Baymax is cute and funny unlike the other people Hiro meets in the lab. Tadashi has four friends - Gogo is a tough girl with a short haircut. (How many times have we seen that before?) Wasabi is pretty unique, as mentioned above. Honey Lemon is a quirky girl with big round glasses and a 'nerdy' hairstyle. Again, not very fresh. Fred gives the others nicknames and loves fire-breathing reptiles. (How did he get into that school?) The super-suits/upgrades they receive are also boring. Gogo can throw disks around and uses them to move around very quickly. Wasabi has extended laser limbs. Honey lemon's was curious, because programming each ball at the spot seemed new, but the power itself is somewhat useless. And finally, Fred is a fire-breathing reptile... Most, if not all, of these 'powers' are direct copies/combinations of existing superheros from X-Men, The Incredibles, etc. It's a fair argument that so many superpowers exist that it's nearly impossible to create new ones. However, a movie can give a new feeling to the same super power if it is used in a new way. There wasn't much of that here.

Let's talk about Baymax. I think the main reason many people liked this movie was largely due to Baymax. He was a great original character, so likable and humorous, and above all, he was a nurse with no 'superpowers'. As I said, I was disappointed when they dressed him up, but he was still Baymax due to his personality. His ultimate purpose was still to take care of people and that's why he couldn't hurt anybody. They completely got rid of any sign of Baymax when Hiro exchanged the programming chip. This turned him into an invincible, violent robot, which I have seen in countless movies and didn't want to see in this one. His relationship with Hiro is somewhat genuine and the end scene where he saves Hiro while sacrificing himself was heartfelt, but still mediocre.

The weak plot didn't help the lack of originality of the characters. When the fire destroyed the fair and killed Tadashi and Prof. Callaghan, you immediately knew it wasn't an accident and that one of the two characters was going to come back as the twist. When they showed the abandoned factory scene with thousands of microbots being made, the movie told us it was the professor. Then, when he finally showed up as the villain, it was for the oldest reason in the book: a scientist involved in an experiment that has gone wrong seeking revenge on those he blames. I'm sure you can think of examples yourself.

During the fight scene, there is a point at which all the Heroes are in trouble. Then, Hiro says one phrase which enlightens everyone and they quickly and easily escape danger.  I don't know if you have a problem with this kind of happening in a movie, but I do. Problems in movies should feel like real, dangerous situations. They shouldn't be solved with one phrase, not even in an animated movie. The viewer gets the impression that they are not really in danger, which is the whole purpose of a fight scene.

What did I like about this movie? There were a few things that I've mentioned: Baymax before he changed, the opening scene, and Wasabi's character. Microbots can be added to this list. One scene not in the first 20 minutes that I liked was the scene in which Hiro and Baymax go into the abandoned warehouse. I got nervous and worried about their safety because I could actually feel them in danger, largely due to Baymax's physical handicaps - his size, slowness, and constant effort to improve Hiro's health, which didn't help during a dangerous situation.

I did not want to give Big Hero 6 a bad review, and before watching it, I had no idea I would. But I have to be honest.

6.5/10 - I don't recommend watching it unless you're in a situation in which you have to supervise a group of children. Play it for them, they might enjoy it.