Big Hero 6 is an animated movie based on a comic book, but actually achieves live-action film caliber (think The Incredibles), about an extremely smart 14 year old boy named "Hiro" who deals with real grief and becomes a self-made superHiro, with the help of some friends, science and robots. Maybe it's those themes that reminded me almost immediately of a movie I loved a few years ago that went largely unseen (Real Steel, which actually may see a sequel soon!). The "Big Hero 6" is actually that entire group of friends, with a play on words for the main character's name, not the name of the cuddly robot at the center of the film. From the beginning of the movie, it's clear that you're in for a well-rounded cinema experience, rather than just another Disney princess musical (blech!). Big Hero 6 places an emphasis on science and problem solving to a highly believable and enjoyable degree. Not so underlying threads of "School is Cool" and "Girls in Tech" are more reasons to love this movie and to take your kids! Also worth a mention is the actual caliber of animation in the film: The non-titular main robot in the movie is inflatable, which causes more interesting and comical differences to be portrayed in pixels than usual. In addition, the science turned science fiction would truly need to be CGI'ed in a live action movie anyway. In addition, the setting in the near future of the charming "San Fransokyo" is very believable if you've been to both San Francisco and Tokyo, which I appreciated. Obviously even seeing itself as a regular big blockbuster superhero movie, there is even a postscript sequel teaser (featuring a special animated cameo) after the credits, like we've become accustomed to with The Avengers series, so stay til the end! In addition, the animated short that shows before Hero, Feast, about a man and his dog, is definitely going to be up for an Oscar itself, so arrive early too! On a personal note, Big Hero 6 reminded me of an early 70s Japanese tv show called Robocon, so that may have slightly influenced my review ;).
4 out of 5 stars
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