BIG HERO 6 {Movie Review}

When a criminal plot threatens the hi-tech metropolis of San Fransokyo, brilliant young robotics whiz Hiro Hamada (voice of Ryan Potter) leaps into action with his tech-savvy friends, and his robot companion Baymax (voice of Scott Adsit) in Disney Animation's adaptation of the popular Marvel Comics series. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Today the kids (12 & 13) and I went to see Big Hero 6. We were all pretty excited about it because we've loved pretty much every Disney/Pixar movie, and if you add Marvel to that, how can you go wrong?

The answer is . . . you can't.

I don't think the kids and I have laughed so much in the theater together, ever. I mean, there are times when they've cracked up at silly kid movies with their cheesy potty humor, but a movie where we're all giggling like idiots? Yeah, I can't think of anything.

Of course it can't be a Disney movie without a terribly emotional death or two. Oh Disney, you know we can still be motivated without you killing off family members! But, I have to admit, they handled the topic of grief really well, and Baymax was absolutely perfect!

 
Hiro Hamada was an awesome main character. I loved how he made nerdy look cool. I mean, a big theme of this movie is that being a nerd (read: smart) is basically awesome. Also, the girl power is pretty refreshing. I've seen people say that they should've gone a step further making Hiro a girl, but I don't really understand why having a smart guy means that somehow girls are diminished. Personally I liked the messages it gave to both my kids.

Another thing I loved was the mashup of Japanese and American cultures. The city they live in is called San Fransokyo, and there was a really amazing mix of the cities represented, including the Golden Gate Bridge with traditional Japanese accents.

I do wish that there was a bigger representation of Japanese people in the movie. I mean Hiro is supposed to be hapa, Japanese and Caucasian, and I'm guessing Go Go is as well, but there weren't any (that I noticed) Japanese people, as main characters or as "extras" (are they called extras if they're animated?) With the amount of Japanese influence, I just thought that was a little lacking. But, overall I thought the diversity represented was at least a step in the right direction.

Bottom line: This may be one of the best animated movies I've seen, if only for the fact that I totally and completely loved laughing so hard with my kids!

What did the (pre)teens have to say?

Rea: It was really funny & cute! And it had a good message.
B: I loved how hilarious it was. I just want to see the funny scenes again.

This is definitely one we'll be seeing again! I think you should too, even if you don't have kids!!

Get Your Tickets to Big Hero 6 Now!

And if you're into the whole Pixar timeline of movies theory, I think this movie fits in VERY well!

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