Back in 2009 when Disney bought Marvel, CEO Bog Iger told the staff to have a look through some of Marvel’s properties to see if anything jumped out at them for an adaption. Three years later, the staff at Walt Disney Animation Studios has begun an adaption of the obscure title Big Hero 6. Set in the fictional city of San Fransokyo, 14 year old Hiro Hamada is a genius when it comes to robots and spends his time hustling people for money in underground robot fights. His older brother Tadashi sees this as wasted potential and introduces Hiro to his friends at University where they are building robots to help others. He introduces Hiro to Baymax, an inflatable robot Tadashi has designed to help people with first aid etc. When a mysterious masked man steals the most impressive robot Hiro has ever created, it’s up to Hiro and his new found friends to find out what he’s up to and put a stop to it.
You can safely assume that the Big Hero 6 we see here is pretty far removed from the story that inspired it, so much so that technically this isn’t even a Marvel film. This is the next film in the long line of pictures from Walt Disney Animations Studios, number 54 to be exact. Baymax is obviously the highlight of the film and is set to become another of Disney’s memorable characters along the lines of Wall-E. He constantly wants to help Hiro and others, and when his batteries run low he starts to act and sound like he’s had a few too many at the bar. Everything he says or does get a laugh out of both the kids and the adults in the screening I went to. Hiro himself is also feels like a fresh take on the usual hero of the Disney movie. Instead of wanting to do his best and help everyone, he’s out for revenge and crosses the line more than once by putting his friends in danger. The friends themselves are fairly formulaic, but they provide a few laughs and it does end up feeling like a rag tag bunch of friends who decided to have a go at being superheroes and realized they weren’t half bad at it.
A sequel is all but guaranteed after the success this has had so far in the US, and it’s racking up the nominations for Bes Animated Feature at multiple award shows. Don’t let the “from the creators of Frozen” scare some of you away, there is no singing. Instead you get a funny and heartwarming film with one of the most memorable Disney characters in years. I was lucky enough to get a look at Big Hero 6 at a preview screening back at the start of January, but Big Hero 6 goes on full release in the UK & Ireland this Friday the 30th January.
Hey Atkins! 