In case Disney’s aggressively cute, friendly marketing campaign didn’t drill it into your skulls already, yes, Baymax from Big Hero 6 is your new favorite character of the fall. Voiced perfectly by 30 Rock‘s Scott Adsit, Baymax is sweet, inquisitive, and stubborn like a kid or a dog. He’s designed to be nonthreatening and accessible, and he is; it’s a marvel (no pun intended) that what must have been a design committee of fifty artists came up with a character so simple-looking that I feel like I could have drawn it. Baymax’s face is another triumph of minimalist design – he has no mouth, and blinks occasionally, but nevertheless he’s expressive and engaging (this is due in no small part to Adsit’s wonderful performance).
But there’s more to Big Hero 6 than Baymax – or at least Disney wants there to be. When broken down, the plot seems pretty formulaic. Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter, of Supah Ninjas, whatever the hell that is) is doing well for himself in the undergound bot-fighting circuit of San Fransokyo (the opening scene is particularly delightful), but after an arrest, his brother Tadashi takes him to his “nerd lab,” otherwise known as the robotics laboratory of San Fransokyo’s robotics institute. After Hiro successfully demonstrates his “micro bots,” which get him offered a spot at the school even though he’s only 14, a fire breaks out, killing not only his brother but the sagely Robert Callaghan (James Cromwell), head of the robotics department and a kind of mentor to Tadashi.
Look, I already told you the plot isn’t shifting any paradigms, so do I really need to go over all of it? Hell no. The thrust is, some villain in a kabuki mask is using Hiro’s micro bots to attack the city, so it’s up to Hiro and Baymax to stop him. Sound familiar? Yeah, it’s called a movie.
So why then did I give Big Hero 6 such a good score? Because this is the most enjoyable animated film since How to Train Your Dragon 2. The energy, the verve, and the sheer joy of this picture are undeniable. The colors pop off the screen, almost landing in your lap (this is easily the most colorful film since Speed Racer), which make the blacks and whites stand out even starker. BH6 wears its anime influences on its sleeve, but not in an obnoxious way (yes, I’m talking to you, anime fans; 90% of you are obnoxious).
The team element is great, too; Hiro teams up with Tadashi’s college friends Fred (T.J. Miller), Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), Go Go (Jamie Chung), and Honeylemon (Genesis Rodriguez). All four acquit themselves nicely, especially Miller, who played a similar role in the Dragon movies, and has a ball here with his goofy exclamations and unhidden desire to transform into a fire-breathing lizard (which he does, in a way, donning my favorite costume of the film).
But there’s another, deeper level to Big Hero 6 that makes me like it even more. It’s an action movie, sure, and it’s funny as hell, but at its core it is a love letter to creativity and inventiveness (which makes sense, considering John Lasseter’s involvement as a producer). The heroes and even the villains are nerds and brainiacs (so is Tony Stark, for that matter, but none of BH6‘s characters are quite as charming or smooth).
When Disney bought Marvel, the honeymoon phase lasted for a while, but that’s because Marvel was pumping out their own work on Disney’s dime. As the first co-production between the two companies, Big Hero 6 is where the honeymoon officially ends. It’s time for the work to begin, for two giants to find a way to live in the same house. Luckily, they’re off to a good start.
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