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| "Are you satisfied with your care?" |
A small title like Big Hero 6 has always been a proverbial no-name comic among the A-grade sorts of Marvel, but one that I loved immensely because of its distinct Japanese flavor. It has never experienced any level of success remotely comparable to the likes of other properties such as X-Men, Spiderman, or The Avengers, so when news broke of this being Disney's first major animated outing based on a Marvel IP, I couldn't have been happier. This was the reassuring testament to the fans of how Disney was going to be bold and daring with their purchase of Marvel. They weren't just going to stick to the safe-zones, giving us the same old drivel we've come to expect. We were going to see a new side of Disney moving forward in a big way.
At least that was my hope with the announcement. As the trailers came, and the ads began to roll in, I found my enthusiasm for Big Hero 6 dying. The more I looked at what the film was becoming, the more I felt like it didn't resemble what it was based off of. In the comics Big Hero 6 is essentially Marvel's love letter to Japanese film, animation, and comics. After watching the film adaptation I have to wonder if they ever even read the comic, let alone even cared about what the point of that comic was.
Fourteen year-old robotics genius Hiro Hamada lives his day to day life competing in the underground robot battles of San Fransokyo. While the lifestyle proves lucrative, it's also incredibly dangerous, and it's only when Hiro's older brother Tadashi becomes involved that Hiro finds his true calling in life. Tadashi helps Hiro to enroll in the local Tech University to push his robotic skills to the limit and help him grow in ways he never thought possible. When a fire breaks out at the university though, Tadashi is tragically killed. Hiro then dedicates himself to finding out the cause of the fire, and to bring the one's responsible for it to justice. He can only hope to do that though with the help of Tadashi's former classmates Honey Lemon, Gogo, Wasabi, Fred, and Tadashi's robot creation Baymax. Together they form the Big Hero 6!
While I expected some liberties to be taken with the source material, I do have to say that the film adaptation really does distances itself from the comic. In fact, I think I read somewhere that the creators of this movie wanted to have as little to do with the comics as possible, and that the goal was to (for lack of a better term) "Disney-fy" the work into what it currently is. If that's the case, then I'll say mission accomplished. They managed to make Big Hero 6 almost unrecognizable, barring a few of the names being carried over. Seriously, when I watched this for the first time, I practically didn't see anything resembling the original Big Hero 6 in this flick.
They changed the setting (originally Tokyo in the Yoga, Setayaga suburbs) some of the names for characters (such as Hiro's last name from Takachiho to Hamada) the overall powers and designs of the characters (Baymax isn't a shape-shifting badass robot, but a marshmellowy medic-bot, Fredzilla now is just a guy in a costume as opposed to actually changing into a Kaiju, along with Honey Lemon no longer being a cross dimensional spy with her superpower'd purse) and that's just to name a few of them. There were numerous edits that were taken in this movie's creation that I feel it's fundamentally Big Hero 6 in name only. This is clearly a new product that is really just working off of some of the names from the comics and using the Big Hero 6 title for some level of market visibility.
It isn't all bad. The story in and of itself is a decent (if slightly predictable) one for a more conventional Disney movie, and even though it's been "kidified" to a major degree the story doesn't exactly shy away from matters when it comes time to do some heavier stuff. The death of Hiro's brother is shown to be impacting and far reaching, so much so that his death is still relevant even by the film's end. The characters play off of each other fairly well, but that brings me to another problem. For a flick called Big Hero 6, there really isn't much of them being said team. We don't really get to see the team to even begin forming until almost the half-way mark, and as the team proper until the top of the third act. It's clear the main focus isn't so much on the team, but on the relationship between Baymax and Hiro.
The actors for Baymax and Hiro stand as the heart and soul of Big Hero 6, and while I do enjoy their relationship throughout the flick, I can't help but feel that it hurts the overall appeal of having a team movie. We don't get to see much of the cast outside of a handful of moments, so most of the characters come off as fairly two-dimensional. Lacking any real depth, they simply spout catch phrases or jokes most of the time, with Honey Lemon being the only one to slightly stand out. She only stands out mostly due to the fact that she speaks with a proper accent for Japanese names/words, and actress Genesis Rodriguez injects a good deal of personality into her.
Of course the biggest attraction for Big Hero 6 isn't really the plot or the characters; it's the outstanding visuals. Despite my criticism of the changes, I can't deny that this is one hell of a good looking flick. The character models all look fantastic, and emote incredibly well. Easily the best and most impressive thing about this film is its cinematic/visual presentation/direction. Every action sequence feels appropriately large and kinetic, with the chase scenes probably standing as some of my favorite parts. Thankfully the characters do get to show off what their cool power suits can do, but it's only by the third act that that happens. By the time the climax rolls in though, the team is in full force and Big Hero 6 begins to feel more like an actual superhero team piece.
In regards to the score, I think it's pretty damn solid. Henry Jackman's composition feels like a nice cultural mix of both western and eastern influences that I feel reflects the film's somewhat "cross-pollination" vibe and thematic. I really do enjoy the Big Hero 6 theme itself, and I can only hope that in the inevitable sequel that this theme gets to come back. Unlike a lot of other movies I've seen recently, the music here is most certainly catchy and memorable. The single "Immortals" from the band Fall Out Boy is a pretty good track for the credits, and I won't hesitate to admit that I've found myself singing it quite a few times since watching Big Hero 6.
Overall, I don't hate this movie. Even though I do think a golden opportunity to do something very different from the standard Disney fare has been somewhat wasted, this is still an entertaining watch. I guess I just would have liked to seen the movie take on a more anime-inspired aesthetic, or at least bring in stronger plot elements from the comics themselves. The clear and obvious distancing being done with the comics almost makes it come off as if there is a level of shame to be had from those comics. As far as I'm concerned, the Big Hero 6 comics were great reads, and it would have been awesome to see some of those panels brought to life with the power of a Disney animation team. It just wasn't to be I guess, but at least the final product isn't something that I find downright offensive. It's just somewhat generic.
Fourteen year-old robotics genius Hiro Hamada lives his day to day life competing in the underground robot battles of San Fransokyo. While the lifestyle proves lucrative, it's also incredibly dangerous, and it's only when Hiro's older brother Tadashi becomes involved that Hiro finds his true calling in life. Tadashi helps Hiro to enroll in the local Tech University to push his robotic skills to the limit and help him grow in ways he never thought possible. When a fire breaks out at the university though, Tadashi is tragically killed. Hiro then dedicates himself to finding out the cause of the fire, and to bring the one's responsible for it to justice. He can only hope to do that though with the help of Tadashi's former classmates Honey Lemon, Gogo, Wasabi, Fred, and Tadashi's robot creation Baymax. Together they form the Big Hero 6!
While I expected some liberties to be taken with the source material, I do have to say that the film adaptation really does distances itself from the comic. In fact, I think I read somewhere that the creators of this movie wanted to have as little to do with the comics as possible, and that the goal was to (for lack of a better term) "Disney-fy" the work into what it currently is. If that's the case, then I'll say mission accomplished. They managed to make Big Hero 6 almost unrecognizable, barring a few of the names being carried over. Seriously, when I watched this for the first time, I practically didn't see anything resembling the original Big Hero 6 in this flick.
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| The original Big Hero 6. |
It isn't all bad. The story in and of itself is a decent (if slightly predictable) one for a more conventional Disney movie, and even though it's been "kidified" to a major degree the story doesn't exactly shy away from matters when it comes time to do some heavier stuff. The death of Hiro's brother is shown to be impacting and far reaching, so much so that his death is still relevant even by the film's end. The characters play off of each other fairly well, but that brings me to another problem. For a flick called Big Hero 6, there really isn't much of them being said team. We don't really get to see the team to even begin forming until almost the half-way mark, and as the team proper until the top of the third act. It's clear the main focus isn't so much on the team, but on the relationship between Baymax and Hiro.
The actors for Baymax and Hiro stand as the heart and soul of Big Hero 6, and while I do enjoy their relationship throughout the flick, I can't help but feel that it hurts the overall appeal of having a team movie. We don't get to see much of the cast outside of a handful of moments, so most of the characters come off as fairly two-dimensional. Lacking any real depth, they simply spout catch phrases or jokes most of the time, with Honey Lemon being the only one to slightly stand out. She only stands out mostly due to the fact that she speaks with a proper accent for Japanese names/words, and actress Genesis Rodriguez injects a good deal of personality into her.
Of course the biggest attraction for Big Hero 6 isn't really the plot or the characters; it's the outstanding visuals. Despite my criticism of the changes, I can't deny that this is one hell of a good looking flick. The character models all look fantastic, and emote incredibly well. Easily the best and most impressive thing about this film is its cinematic/visual presentation/direction. Every action sequence feels appropriately large and kinetic, with the chase scenes probably standing as some of my favorite parts. Thankfully the characters do get to show off what their cool power suits can do, but it's only by the third act that that happens. By the time the climax rolls in though, the team is in full force and Big Hero 6 begins to feel more like an actual superhero team piece.
In regards to the score, I think it's pretty damn solid. Henry Jackman's composition feels like a nice cultural mix of both western and eastern influences that I feel reflects the film's somewhat "cross-pollination" vibe and thematic. I really do enjoy the Big Hero 6 theme itself, and I can only hope that in the inevitable sequel that this theme gets to come back. Unlike a lot of other movies I've seen recently, the music here is most certainly catchy and memorable. The single "Immortals" from the band Fall Out Boy is a pretty good track for the credits, and I won't hesitate to admit that I've found myself singing it quite a few times since watching Big Hero 6.
Overall, I don't hate this movie. Even though I do think a golden opportunity to do something very different from the standard Disney fare has been somewhat wasted, this is still an entertaining watch. I guess I just would have liked to seen the movie take on a more anime-inspired aesthetic, or at least bring in stronger plot elements from the comics themselves. The clear and obvious distancing being done with the comics almost makes it come off as if there is a level of shame to be had from those comics. As far as I'm concerned, the Big Hero 6 comics were great reads, and it would have been awesome to see some of those panels brought to life with the power of a Disney animation team. It just wasn't to be I guess, but at least the final product isn't something that I find downright offensive. It's just somewhat generic.
Positive Factors
- An overall entertaining plot that does take itself seriously when it needs to.
- Chemistry between actors/characters is good. Baymax and Hiro are the heart and soul of this movie.
- Fantastic CGI and action scenes. One of the best looking CGI Disney films yet.
- Solid and very catchy score that reflects the film's themes and aesthetics well.
Negative Factors
- Anyone looking for some level of accuracy to the comics may want to look elsewhere.
- Plot is slightly predictable and doesn't really focus much on the team aspect as it probably should.
- The rest the cast outside of Baymax and Hiro don't get much to do.
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