Baymax brings the best medicine a healthcare robot could provide: laughter. 

Well, it was about time that Walt Disney made its own Marvel film, seeing how Disney did in fact bring us Marvel Entertainment. And here we have it – Big Hero 6, which puts aside the conventional Disney fairy tale for an exciting super hero adventure full of twists and turns. Just as you’d expect from Marvel and Disney, it’s big, fun and action-packed. It has got a little something for everyone in the family.

The characters are compelling and enjoyable especially main character Hiro Hamata. Assisting him on his journey is his robot companion Baymax, easily the best thing about the movie. He doesn’t cross the WALL-E territory of a robot having emotions, but instead operates within the bounds of his programmed logic. Although we may think he gets
excited when he is flying with Hiro, (sadly) he really is only reacting to Hiro’s emotions.

Throughout the years, superhero films are becoming more complex and character-driven delivering thought-provoking, messages to the audience. The same could be said for Big Hero 6. It displays the excitement of learning and innovating new things. Furthermore, it is packed with mature themes such as dealing with grief and loss of loved ones and the choices we make in life by letting go and forgiving those who have wronged you.

Another great aspect was the fact the characters were mixed race, and that their lives incorporated aspects of both Western and Eastern culture. Although that was also partly due to the portrayal of San Fransokyo. I’ve never been to Tokyo, but I’ve seen San Francisco enough times to recognise the construction. It was fun to see it get a Japanese architectural twist. It successfully created a great sense of ‘East meets West’. I’d loved to have seen more East, but hey, it’s a start!

Despite all the good points, the film does have its flaws. I feel that the supporting human characters are quite underdeveloped and it feels like we hardly know much about them by the end of the film other than the fact they’re friends with Hiro. And yes it lacks the original songs that Frozen performed, but the plot and creativity in this film more than make up for the lack of ‘top of the chart’ tunes. However, this is certainly not significant enough to hurt my enjoyment of the film.

Overall, this film was much more than I was expecting it to be, and I’m so pleased it turned out this way. So, if you enjoy Disney films, superhero films, animated films, kids’ films, or even family films, Big Hero 6 will have something for you. Without a doubt, one of the best animated films of the year.