Big Hero 6 Movie Review

I’ll confess—a true Marvel-Disney movie collaboration about a team of teen science enthusiasts of all races is very, very exciting to me. I walked into the theater and tried to push back happy tears simply because I was so stoked. About an hour and fifteen minutes later, I found myself pushing back emotional tears because of the unexpected plant-and-payoff sentiments in the movie.

Hiro Hamada is your typical 14-year-old-robot-lover—except the fact that he already graduated from high school, is a science genius, and goes bot fighting with his robot in his spare time. Fortunately, his older brother Tadashi gives him a push in the right direction by introducing him to a university where science is cool. When a freak accident occurs, Hiro puts together a group of crime fighters along with his brother’s adorable robot, Baymax.

Big Hero 6 is everything I wanted it to be. The characters are racially diverse but their races don’t matter—the characters’ personality comes first. Every character is completely lovable, from Hiro’s cockiness to Tadashi’s protectiveness to GoGo Tomago’s need for speed. Even Baymax has dimension—his robotic-ness creates a boatload of hilarious moments especially juxtaposed with Hiro’s teenage exasperation. I only wish that the supporting characters have more screen time, but with a runtime of only 90 minutes it is impressive that the filmmakers gave each character time to show their little unique quirks.

On top of that, BH6 touches on so many aspects beyond the typical coming-of-age movie such as death, revenge, and grief. Disney is starting to take more and more risks, and I whole-heartedly approve. Hiro’s evolution from a cocky boy to a selfless leader is completely rewarding to watch. His friendship with both Tadashi and Baymax brought me to tears, and the way he deals with loss is completely relatable and heartbreaking. In many ways BH6 is not just a kid’s movie—it impacts us all on a deeper, poignant level.

The filmmakers also created a hybrid city of San Francisco and Tokyo that felt very grounded and alive. The aesthetics of San Fransokyo blow me away, blending traditional Japanese elements with San Francisco landmarks. Henry Jackman’s orchestral score plus Fallout Boy’s songs are spot-on perfect. There are certain movie soundtracks I listen to over and over again, and I believe that BH6 is on its way to becoming one of my favorites. BH6 is a five-star PickIt, and parents will absolutely love the message that being a nerd is cool. First Published @ Crixit.com