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BIG HERO 6 – The Review

By Melissa Howland | November 7, 2014

I don’t care who you are, where you are from, or how old you are… Everyone needs a Baymax in their life.

BIG HERO 6 is more than a tale about a young boy. It’s a tale about a boy and his robot. After Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) loses his brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) in, what he thinks is a terrible accident, he turns to a puffy, inflatable personal health care robot named Baymax (Scott Adsit) for comfort… and then for help in seeking truth and revenge. With the help of his robotics loving friends Go Go Tomago (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez), and Fred (T.J. Miller), they go on a quest to uncover the mystery of what really happened to Tadashi.

If Baymax doesn’t warm your heart with his soft, cushy waddle and dry, innocent jokes then you might want to check your pulse… or get your very own personal health care companion, because you clearly need it. Disney stayed true to their new theme of steering away from princess romance tales (BRAVE, WRECK-IT RALPH, FROZEN) and present audiences with a story about family and friendship. BIG HERO 6 isn’t a revenge story, although it may seem that way on the surface. Instead, it’s a story filled with love. Disney impressed me, once again, with their ability to go to a dark place and bring something beautiful out of it.

They couldn’t have done a better job with the voice cast. The relationship between the characters of Hiro and Baymax is very organic and natural feeling. Adsit does an incredible job of conveying compassion and care, while also adding some fun to the character. I’m almost positive your kids will never fist-bump the same after seeing this movie. (I’m not telling you why. Go see it for yourself!) T.J. Miller really steals the show when it comes to supporting roles. His improv skills were well lent to Fred, and he added some very light-hearted moments to a story that was, at times, quite dark. I’ll admit that I cried a few times. Aiding the story is a terrific soundtrack with songs by Fall Out Boy and St. Louis band Greek Fire.

One of the most impressive things about this movie is that Disney created a beautiful, make-believe city that I would be completely happy to live in. The city of San Fransokyo (a combination of San Francisco and Tokyo… duh!)is a rich, well detailed world with wondrous architecture, and exquisite skylines. The amount of research they put into their background locations and settings is mind-blowing! Although this film is based on a Marvel comic, Disney made it their own.

If you like action, friendship, humor, and big squishy robot hugs, then BIG HERO 6 is for you! If you don’t… maybe you should go talk to someone about that.