Are you ready for Big Hero 6? It arrives on DVD and Bluray today, and won the Oscar for best animated film on Sunday. I must say, I wasn't sure what to expect when I first watched this movie, but I loved it. It was funny, and sad, and heartwarming, and just a really good family film. Read on for my review. Caution: Spoilers Ahead.
The movie takes place in the city of San Fransokyo. Hiro Hamada is a brilliant 14 year old robotics creator. He lives with his brother Tadashi and his aunt above her cafe. Hiro builds robots to fight in underground fight clubs. Tadashi worries about Hiro, so he tries to convince him to come to the University's robotics lab. There, he meets Tadashi's friends GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred. He also introduces Hiro to the personal healthcare robot he's building: Baymax. Hiro is inspired to create microbots that can work together to create amazing things, but unfortunately, a fire breaks out at the university just after his demonstration. Fearing for his professor, Tadashi runs back into the burning building, just before it explodes.
Hiro is devastated and withdraws from everyone, until one day when he hurts himself and accidentally activates Baymax. Baymax wants to help Hiro to overcome his grief, so he follows the one remaining microbot, which seems to be leading them to others. In an abandon warehouse, they discover millions of microbots, along with a masked man who tries to attack them, as well as Tadashi's friends who've been called by Baymax to help. Hiro decides to catch this villain, who he feels is responsible for Tadashi's death. GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred decide to help, but only if they can be superheroes too.
While trying to catch the masked man, they discover who he is and what is driving him to commit crimes. They also discover what lengths Hiro is willing to go to to seek revenge for his grief. Baymax then shows Hiro that Tadashi is still with him, in recordings found in Baymax's programming chip. After an amazing battle, all is set to rights, and everyone finds a way to honor the past and move into the future.
I loved this movie. It was sad, but overall, it was a very good movie about the power of friendship in overcoming grief. And be sure to keep an eye out for signs of Frozen creeping into the movie. The statue that Baymax destroys while demonstrating his rocket fist is actually Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. As Baymax and Hiro take their first flight over the city, you can see an Olaf statue off to the right after they fly over the train. Finally, one of Arendelle's ships is in the harbor. And be sure to watch the scene after the credits, where Fred discovers a secret about his father, who is voiced by Stan Lee.
