If the plot of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY taught us anything, it's that sometimes just throwing a bunch of outsiders with a common goal together results in a workable team. While the plot is much different, the concept is the same in the animated superhero story BIG HERO 6, based loosely on a short-lived Marvel team from Japan. Instead of setting the story in Japan proper, the filmmakers have based our heroes in a hybrid of Tokyo and San Francisco (called San Fransokyo) that is actually quite stunning. And the story itself is a celebration of intelligence being the real hero of the day.
But in addition to all the expected fight sequences, cool characters, and inventive animation, BIG HERO 6 also has moments that deal honestly with loss and the ever-loosening definition of Family. The story opens with teenager Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter) at a back-alley robot battle, in which his tiny bot decimates a much larger one, which does not sit well with the losing side. Thankfully, his older, wiser brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) rescues him, and it's quickly established that this is a family that is not only close but also incredibly smart.
Tadashi introduces Hiro to his latest invention, a health care robot named Baymax (voiced by Second City alum and "30 Rock" cast member Scott Adsit), a hulking, balloon-like being that can give you a full body scan to determine if you are injured, or he can just hug you, since he is programmed to cure your mental woes. Tadashi encourages Hiro to invent something next level in robotics and submit it to a science competition whose winners get to attend the same prestigious tech institute that Tadashi does, run by robotics innovator Robert Callaghan (James Cromwell).
Hiro's invention—micro-bots controlled by a neurotransmitter worn around the head that can combine by the thousands to make or do pretty much anything the wearer wants. Naturally, Hiro's invention is the most highly regarded, but before he can celebrate, tragedy strikes, his invention is lost, and more importantly, Tadashi is killed, leaving Hiro to live with their Aunt Cass (Maya Rudolph).
Hiro finds friendship in, of all places, the still-functioning Baymax, who upgrades his abilities to include grief counseling, and eventually brings Hiro into the company of Tadashi's classmates—Fred (T.J. Miller), Go Go (Jamie Chung), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), and Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez)—who soon discover that the disaster that resulted in Tadashi's death was no accident, and someone wearing a kabuki mask has stolen Hiro's micro-bot design for nefarious purposes. The students suspect the corner-cutting tech industrialist Alistair Krei (Alan Tudyk).
In order to solve the mystery of Tadashi's death and retrieve the micro-bots, Hiro retrofits Baymax with armor, wings and weaponry and programs him with martial arts fighting skills, turning him into a powerhouse of a superhero (still with the same overwhelming desire to heal people). Before long, Hiro's four new friends (all with specialties in unique technology fields) cook up costumes and weapons of their own (none of the especially lethal, but there are real threats in the film), and before you know it, the team is formed.
Aside from it's lessons about not letting technology be used for evil, BIG HERO 6 is just a flat-out fun action adventure from co-directors Don Hall (WINNIE THE POOH) and Chris Williams (BOLT). There are more subtle lessons about trusting your friends, not letting anger get the best of you, and personal sacrifice that I think both kids and adults will respond to in equal measure. Plus, the animation is breathtaking, especially the battle sequences and the vast cityscapes, which we get to tour on Baymax's back (along with Hiro) in a couple dizzying flying exercises.
I love that BIG HERO 6 is from Disney Animation Studios, a company on a major streak right now with TANGLED (that film's producer, Roy Conli, also produced this film) and FROZEN, and I hope that now that we've experienced the origins of this team, they'll make another adventure featuring these creative teens that will focus solely on the mission. You could quibble about the fact that the film's strongest messages are all encased in the first half of the story, and that the rest of the film is just one fight scene after another, but I didn't mind that. I think the lessons learned in the first 45 minutes are utilized in the back half quite effectively. The bottom line is, BIG HERO 6 could give the live-action Marvel superhero movies a series run as far as entertainment value goes.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention two things. One, there is a post-credits tag at the end of BIG HERO 6 that is kind of cute. More importantly, before the feature, we get a fantastic short called Feast, which will likely lead the Oscar pack for animated shorts next year. And much like the feature it precedes, it isn't afraid to deliver messages about friendship and emotional fortitude in its brief running time.
