Hiro Hamada is a bright young teen with a promising intellect, but leaning towards a slippery slope with his affinity for danger and easy gains.
Seeing his young prodigy of a sibling potentially wasted, Hiro’s brother Tadashi introduces him to his university, encouraging him to channel his skills into more productive areas. Despite his youthful arrogance, Hiro looks up to his brother with pride and admiration and soon finds himself drawn to the notion of making something of himself.
But when a terrible accident takes Tadashi’s life, Hiro is plunged into a dark mire of grief, self-pity and indifference. He shuts himself away from the world and the opportunities Tadashi endeavoured to open to him. Until one day, tucked away and forgotten, Tadashi’s own university project, Baymax, springs to life. A large, non-threatening, inflatable robot, designed to administer medical care to those who need it. And what Hiro soon finds out, Baymax’s presence heals a lot more than he expected.
An unusual bond develops between boy and robot, the one “living” link to his lost brother. Fuelled by grief and anger, Hiro embarks on a quest to avenge his brother, recruiting Baymax and Tadashi’s friends in a gang of science-loving “superheroes”.
Big Hero 6 is packed full of action and adventure straight out of any kid’s imagination – what child hasn’t dreamed of having super powers, super gadgets or a robot of their very own? But adventure is not all that is on offer. There is enough emotion in the story to create the right amount of empathy from older audiences but at the same time the right dose of comedy to alleviate the darker aspects of the story. The animation is fluid and the characters beautifully expressive. Baymax’s inflatable design must have posed particular challenges in animating but at the same time lends itself to great comical effect. For an expressionless robot, Baymax is full of life and heart.
The human characters also come with real flaws and insecurities that each has to overcome in order to achieve their full potential. Winning doesn’t come easy simply because they have the intellect and skill to create their “super” personas. Instead, victory comes through hard work and at a price. Through their journey they all find new strengths and Hiro finds the maturity and ambition that Tadashi hoped for in him.
It is also refreshing to see a film, that any other time might have been targeted at boys alone, clearly targeted at both boys and girls. Science is for all and there is nothing in Big Hero 6 to suggest otherwise. Its appeal to boys, girls and parents is evident in the box office takings and ratings worldwide, sitting firmly at the top of the UK Top Ten alone in its first two weeks.
