San Diego Movie Review: Big Hero 6

I have to admit, I went in a bit biased the first time I saw Big Hero 6, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a film boasting quality more than what I had expected. After a pretty bland year in animation for Disney, loosely based on the identically named graphic novel series was quite enjoyable, to say the least.

The story follows child prodigy Hiro Hamada, a 14-year-old high school graduate, who spends all his time gambling in illegal robot fights in the back alleys of futuristic San Fransokyo. After a close call nearly gets Hiro arrested, his older brother Tadashi urges him to find a new activity where he can harness his gift: applying for the robotics lab at a prestigious university, run by robotics pioneer and mentor to Tadashi, Dr. Calahan.

Hiro is convinced on his first visit after instantly befriending his brother’s four lab partners: Fred, Wasabi, Go Go, and Honey Lemon, but getting into the school requires inventing something that blows the judges away. Hiro does exactly that and more! But on the same day, the university catches fire, killing Tadashi. As a result, Hiro isolates himself from his friend and family. Things seem bleak for his future, until he discovers Baymax, a large marshmellowy balloon-shaped medical robot and Tadashi’s legacy. He also finds a mysterious clue, a connection to who caused his brother’s death.

One might wonder, what would be the most logical thing to do in this situation. For Hiro, it was assembling Tadashi’s lab partners, Baymax, and himself into a team of superhero vigilantes. Not a very rational conclusion, but it sure made an action-packed exciting movie.

Big Hero 6 follows one of the most generic plots of all time: Protagonist loses loved one, wants revenge; all clues point to one person but then, surprise! The person whom you least expected was the villain all along! But because of this bland, tasteless format, everyone already saw it coming.

Of course, this film isn’t really about the plot, as are most modern-day action movies. The visual effects were the main focus of the film, and one thing I did find interesting about the visual design was the design of the city. San Fransokyo, an amalgam of the cities San Francisco (the heart of technologically advanced Silicon Valley) and, you guessed it, Tokyo, the original locale of the comic book that the film is based on. The metropolitan – suburban contrast of San Francisco with Tokyo’s neon decorations, flowering cherries, and Japanese architecture provided a beautiful city landscape that had absolutely no impact on the plot whatsoever.

Big Hero 6 was a great film, overall. Baymax’s robotic personality and lack of understanding of human society provided endless opportunities for play-on-words and slapstick humor. This movie is something that younger children and adults alike would enjoy for its humor and its action packed scenes. Despite some minor flaws, I give this movie 3.5 starfish.

Additionally, I don’t think that there would be a sequel to Big Hero 6. If there were, what would they call it? Big Hero 6 2? Big Hero 7?

Moral: Revenge is never the answer.

I want to thank Arclight La Jolla for comps for the screening.
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Perry Chen is the youngest award-winning film/ entertainment critic & animator, artist, speaker, and entertainment personality. He started writing movie reviews at 8 using a kid-friendly starfish rating system, under the guidance of his mom Dr. Zhu Shen and his 3rd grade teacher Ms. Harris. Perry’s debut on the CBS Evening News in 2009 made him a national sensation. He has been featured extensively on local, national, and international media, including NPR, Fox, CNN, NBC, The Guardian, The China Press, and many more. He has interviewed prominent filmmakers at film festivals, red carpet premieres, and press junkets. He won a prestigious “Excellence in Journalism Award” at the San Diego Press Club in 2010 as its youngest member. Perry currently writes movie reviews for the Animation World Network, San Diego Union Tribune, Amazing Kids! Magazine, and his own Perry’s Previews website with a combined readership of over 2 million worldwide.  Perry and his family live in the community of Carmel Valley San Diego.

Dr. Zhu Shen’s love for the movies started when she was a young girl, growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution where watching movies was the only entertainment available to the masses. Her journey to become a filmmaker took a convoluted path. She studied medicine at Peking Union Medical College before coming to the US and earning a Ph.D. in biochemistry from University of Colorado, and then an MBA from Cornell University’s Johnson School. She is a producer of the upcoming documentary feature “Average Joe on the Raw,” about journey into raw food and health. Dr. Shen is also an award-winning biotech executive, author, speaker, China business expert featured on national and trade media including CBS, Fox, Business Week, Pharmaceutical Executive, and more. She has worked at IBM, Bayer, Chiron, Immusol, and is the CEO of BioForesight, consulting on cross-Pacific life science business.