BIG HERO 6 MOVIE REVIEW

In general, Hollywood 'superhero' movies tend to be extravagant efforts, that appeal visually, but, set on a wafer-thin story line. And, their animated ventures turn out to be stories of personated non-humans and toys, which some may find repelling because of its distance from reality. However, 'Big Hero 6' takes the best of both worlds and weaves a narrative that will appeal to everyone.

 

'Big Hero 6', in a nutshell, is about an adolescent robotics prodigy, Hiro Hamada and the fight between his team of superheroes and the new masked villain in town. It takes us through the transformation of geeks, who are 'just nerds', to a high-tech vigilante team capable of putting up a fight against the evil. 

 

Kudos to the writers - Robert L. Baird, Dan Gerson, Jordan Roberts - for making the team as diverse and stereotype-breaking as they are - the biracial (Japanese and White) Hiro Hamada; the strongest human of the team, Go Go (she says, "Stop whining ... Woman up..."); the physically big, yet rule abiding, Wasabi, a brown man; the bespectacled Honey Lemon; the team's mascot and a laid-back comic book fan, Fred; and the robot, which is so unlike any other automaton ever seen, Bayamax. Even the city of action is San Fransokyo, a supposed mash-up of San Francisco and Tokyo. Not just in the names, even the architecture and settings is a mash-up between the west and the east.

 

Bayamax is big, puffy, potbellied, beautiful, white and instantly likable. Its one principle is to be a healthcare companion - to bring around its patients. And, when it is given commands that are against its rule, it asks, "I fail to see how that makes me a better healthcare companion." And, Hiro's reply to that is what the audience's reply would be too, "I fail to see how you fail to see how awesome you are."

 

On a subtle level, the movie is lot more than the fight between the superheroes and the villain - it explores the development of the unlikely friendship between Hiro Hamada and Bayamax. It also shows how personal loss clouds judgement, and makes people stand against every good thing that they had believed in and done so far. And, then and there, the movie throws in words of wisdom too, like "Seatbelt saves lives."

 

Finally, to point out - there are a lot of similarities between Chitti (from Superstar Rajinikanth - Shankar's Enthiran) and Bayamax, in their constructive reasons of origin. And the destructive actions they produce, in the later half, when fitted with a 'red chip'.

 

Big Hero 6 is a yet another impressive 3D computer-animated movie from the Disney camp, and their directors, Don Hall (director of 2011's Winnie the Pooh) and Chris Williams (who directed 2008's Bolt). And, like always, the movie will impress the kids and adults alike.