Big Hero 6

Honestly, I didn't have very high expectations for 'Big Hero 6', considering that I'm usually not a fan of Marvel's works, but I was gladly proved wrong.

Story wise, 'Big Hero 6' is rather formulaic and not too outstanding, but it's still very entertaining due to the way it balances all aspects. You have everything: drama that's not over the top but still touching, thrilling action, great comedy, and some okay twists. And more importantly, they all mix together perfectly, so you'll never get bored or frustrated, and at the same time, you will feel connected with the characters as they deal with some mature conflicts rarely seen in recent Disney products. A huge part of this accomplishment is thanks to the character Baymax. The guy is amazingly likable, steals every scene he's in, and has great contributions to every part of the movie. When the movie needs drama, he provides the sensitivity and cuteness, when it needs action, he's the coolest, and when it needs comedy, he's the funniest. His voice acting by Scott Adsit is also great as he sounds both emotional and cute, despite the robotic voice effects.

The rest of the characters, however, are hit and miss. Hiro is cool, and I like the way he deals with grief: quite mature and not excessive, though his voice doesn't sound like a 14-year-old. The other two boys in the group are okay because they tend to break away from stereotypes. But the others, including the main villains, are just cliché and forgettable.

Visually, 'Big Hero 6' is very stunning, mainly due to the lively San Fransokyo and the impressive effects. Personally, I find some of the action scenes in this to be the most cinematic and thrilling I've ever seen in animation. All of the camera movements, slow-motions, and lighting and explosion effects easily rival the best live-action blockbusters out there. Moreover, the characters' visual designs are also more imaginative than other recent Disney products'. This is especially true for Baymax, who is surprisingly expressive despite the minimalistic looks.

'Big Hero 6' is no masterpiece, and it may not be up to the standards of Pixar's classics or Dreamworks' 'How to Train Your Dragon', but nonetheless, it's still a greatly entertaining and well-made movie. I also love that it still leaves a lot open for the sequels as I now really look forward to them.

Honestly, I put off watching this because I didn't feel like I would enjoy it so much. I was proved wrong. Right from the start, the fresh animation of this film along with the brilliant editing and voice acting had me engaged. Though the plot is pretty flat and for kids, the concept is pretty new (in that it hasn't been totally overdone), dealing in robotics which allowed them to show some cool stuff. But the story being from Disney, did have moments of it being 'too easy' as well as a few stock characters but it wasn't such a big deal. The story was told well, and wasn't cheesy or boring at all. The freshness of the voices and the animation really put this film together.

The connection between the voices and animation really showed on screen the chemistry between the characters, and this worked to gain the sympathy of the viewer's at certain scenes. I thought that was well done, the characters were developed well in relation to each other. And I know I keep saying this, but I just really like the animation, and the effects. Baymax is so cute, and the other character's have a kind of Asian feel to them. It's also quite cool how the animated characters almost always resemble the actors voicing them (I guess this is intentional).

However, watching the trailer again, I notice that they miss some of the scenes out. I mean if you put it in the trailer, you've got to put it in the film! I would've liked to have seen the scene with Baymax and the soccer ball.

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It didn't really hit me why I eagerly anticipate animated films each and every year, whether they be from high stakes studios like Pixar and Disney or low-key efforts from Blue Sky Animation or Rainmaker Entertainment. To me, every animated film is an opportunity to showcase different writing and directing talents, as animated studios rarely keep the same director for every single project. Sure you have directors like John Lasseter or Pete Docter that frequently direct films for certain studios, but often, you get a solid variety of films made by people you've never heard of and that provides for a film experience akin to watching a filmmaker's directorial debut.

I only noticed this when I reflected on the bulk of Disney's films at the turn of the decade, from the enjoyable "Tangled," to the joyous "Winnie the Pooh," the incredibly fun and, my personal favorite in years, "Wreck-It Ralph," and the beloved and cherished "Frozen," the studio has consistently churned out a wide variety of films from a barrage of talented people. Disney's latest, "Big Hero 6," as expected, is no exception; this is a briskly-paced and different film for the animation studio, as it adopts a structure more akin to the one we've seen Marvel take on in recent years, and creates a film from the ground up that keeps its morals in check and its checklist of adventures in mind every step of the way.

The film follows Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter), a fourteen-year-old technology prodigy from San Fransokyo, a city built and thriving on technological innovation. Hiro, despite having the intelligence and time to spend on debatably more significant projects, enjoys the concept and strategy of "bot fighting," or the act of two small robots dueling until ones destruction. Hiro is kept in line and motivated by the work of his older brother Tadashi Hamada (Daniel Henney), a skilled engineer, who has created a tubby white robot named "Baymax" (Scott Adsit), who is designed to monetize the healthcare system in America by providing non-threatening and responsive care upon hearing the expression "ow" from a person.

In the midst of all this, Hiro gets in contact with Professor Robert Callaghan (James Cromwell), a renowned technology guru who becomes attracted to the fourteen-year-old upon viewing a tutorial of his invention of "mircobots." Microbots" are tiny, metallic links that swarm and fit together to create whatever the human mind can imagine, proposing immense innovations and efficiency in architecture and transportation. However, after tragedy strikes, Hiro's motivation flatlines, and it's only him, Baymax, and a group of Tadashi's loyal workers that can stop a potential threat to technological and scientific evil.

When Hiro and his band of inventors band together to form a group of superheroes, "Big Hero 6″ easily could've opted for a sound and lights show, disregarding all the potential morals and ideas it laid so neatly on the table. However, despite a narrative structure that reminds us of the many Marvel superhero films we've seen this year, "Big Hero 6″ keeps key morals in place, some of which are understanding the differences between external and internal pain, as brought on by the presence of Baymax and how unprecedented scientific innovations can be used simultaneously for good and bad. We see all of these ideas pan out and develop over the course of the film's runtime and never does the film become too rushed or too simplified to the point where lofty morals are sacrificed for rock-em sock-em action; the balance is delicate and well worth commending.

On top of great, sound morals, "Big Hero 6″ instantly wins thanks to a cuddly and lovable hero, Baymax, who finds ways to charm with his straight-forward nature and his strive to make everyone around him comfortable. Baymax steals almost every scene he is in, and meshes quite well with the other characters, working germane to their characteristics and never undermining the true force of Hiro as a character. The film, in addition, is predictably gorgeous, with eye-popping colors and wonderfully animated surroundings, effectively delivering the aesthetics as well as the morals in a neatly-wrapped package. "Big Hero 6″ may not rank as highly as "Wreck-It Ralph," but seeing as it operates on a minefield of pitfalls and destructive forces, the fact it succeeds this well is a small miracle in itself.

I have always loved animated films, whether they be by Walt Disney, DreamWorks, Marvel, Miyazaki or any other storytellers out there, but of late I haven't enjoyed the anime style and artwork that has been delivered. Personally I thought Frozen was so over rated, sure there was a couple of good tunes, cool, characters, interesting storyline, but it lacked that special something Mr. Disney and his crew always managed in years gone by to bring out in me. Don't get me wrong I do really like frozen but nowhere near as much as I am supposed to according to everyone else on the planet. I'm not sure what it is that I love about animated films or where the love developed from but I find myself far more attracted to them in my later years than I ever did in my earlier life. So when I heard about Big Hero 6 and the fact that both Disney and Marvel were collaborating together I pretty much had instant tingles, my expectations without seeing a single thing went higher than any film I have anticipated before. What the hell was Big Hero 6 and why hadn't I heard of it up until now?!? Why did I ever stop reading the comics!?!?

Hiro Hamada is a young 14 year old boy genius who knows how to make things work, he loves his gadgets and robots. Hiro lives in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo with his brother Tadashi and his aunt who has taken the boys in after the loss of their parents when Hiro was three years old. Hiro spends most of his days creating and then destroying robots in underground robot battles for cash, the robots he creates devastate the competition without any mercy. After being arrested for attending one of these illegal battles Tadashi on the promise of taking Hiro to another back alley for another fight detours to his university where Hiro discovers that the genius gene doesn't fall far from the tree at all. Tadeshi introduces Hiro to his five Uni friends who each are working on their own scientific breakthroughs. Wasabi, Go Go, Honey Lemon, and Fred. Tadeshi then shows Hiro his latest work, a personal walking talking health specialist named Baymax who can cure all with his sweet soft tones and loving temperament. Hiro instantly loves what he sees within the university and decides he must attend. To get into the university the heads of the campus hold a special talent show where potential applicants can show their work and hopefully the university board are convinced enough to sign up the entrants giving them a scholarship to attend. Hiro creates a way to revolutionise life as we know it and wins his way into the university to the joy of everyone. While celebrating and getting ready to leave a tragedy strikes the university and Hiro loses far more than his exciting new project. With the help of his new five friends from the Uni Hiro reinvents Baymax and together the team of 6 become heroes ready to find the truth to what really happened…

I thought this film had it all, I loved it from its beginning to its after credits surprise. I laughed pretty much all the way though, Baymax really grabs hold of you by your heart strings, you can't help but fall in absolute love with him. The way the animators make him move and react is adorable and will definitely keep you smiling throughout. The animation is outstanding and deserves so much applause, everything from the 3D art work to the colour to the rendering is perfect, there is nothing to pick at here in the way the film is made. The voice acting isn't any different either, the directors Don Hall and Chris Williams have chosen an amazing cast and all do a fantastic job for their individual characters as well as their group dynamics, with a couple of recognizable voices amongst the fray as well you will totally love everyone. Staring the voice talents of Scott Adsit as Baymax, Ryan Potter as Hiro, Daniel Henney as Tadashi, T.J. Miller as Fred, Jamie Chung as Go, Damon Wayans Jr. as Wasabi, Genesis Rodriguez as Honey Lemon, James Cromwell as Robert Callaghan and Alan Tudyk as Alistair Krei. It's a film that really surpassed all my expectations and hopefully will do the same for you. If I had to pick on one thing the story was a little weak and predictable but not enough to concern anyone, you will still thoroughly enjoy every second of Big Hero 6.

Big Hero 6 is a compassionate feel good loving caring and fun time adventure you're entire family will love. Get your popcorn ready and fall in love with Baymax.

A little over a year after I took my granddaughter Catrin (then almost three) to her first ever movie "Frozen" (which she utterly adored), I took her (now just four) to see this very different film from the same stable (Walt Disney Animation Studios) and I'm delighted to record that she loved it. We saw it in IMAX in 3D and we were both blown away.

Although this time the central character is a young boy - Hiro Hamada of the city of San Fransokyo - rather than two princesses, my granddaughter had no trouble relating to it because Hiro is so cute, his inflatable robot Baymax is androgynous, and two of his four friends - making up the six heroes - are very capable girls.

I reckon that "Frozen" plus "Big Hero 6" - with a few films in between - will give her a lifelong love of the movies.