Big Hero 6: Impactfully Forgettable

Big Hero 6 reminds me a LOT of The Incredibles by Pixar.  It's actually a funny comparison because this new offshoot animation company for Disney which has been releasing excellent films each year is a lot like Pixar too.  Pixar has essentially been dormant what with missing a few years and releasing average (Monsters University) to below average (Cars 2) sequels to past films.  This new offshoot stepped up to be the new Pixar with fantastic films like Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen which have a Pixar-esque quality to them as if they'd been released by Pixar themselves.  (Have I said Pixar too much yet?)  While Big Hero 6 packs the emotional punch the aforementioned films do as well, it unfortunately suffers from being a mostly forgettable film the moment it's over.

The story follows Hiro, a young robot-building super-genius conning underground robot fighters out of their money with his robot that is far superior.  His older brother Tadashi studies robotics and engineering at the leading school of robotics in San Fransisokyo.  Tadashi, fearing for his young brother's safety, brings him along to the "nerd school" to show him how cool conventional robotics and inventing actually is.  Once Hiro is hooked, now all he needs is an idea.  After some convoluted, yet still not entirely unbelievable plot scenarios, Hiro's invention is stolen and Tadashi is killed.  The only remnant Hiro has of Tadashi is Tadashi's own invention: Baymax, an inflatable robot doctor.  The two form a bond and end up gathering together a super team of high-tech heroes in order to stop the man who killed Tadashi and threatens their great city.

So, what separates Big Hero 6 from the slew of all the other superhero movies out right now?  Well, other than the fact that it's animated... essentially nothing.  Big Hero 6 actually spawns from its own Marvel comics, though it doesn't connect to any of the other movies.  But, yeah, it's another superhero movie.  Granted, the one thing it has going for it is that Disney charm.  You know how in Up you cried like a baby during the first four minutes of the movie over characters you hadn't even gotten to know yet?  Yeah, Disney has that way about them.  Tadashi's death not only weighs heavily upon Hiro, but upon all of us viewers as well.  We want Hiro to avenge his death just as much as he does.  Disney knows how to tug hard at your emotional heartstrings.  This film is no different.  In fact, it may tug just a little bit harder.  (Though not as hard as Up.  Dear God that was rough.  Nothing has ever been that sad in the history of the world.)

It's also very high tech.  Yes, it's an animated movie so it gets away with a lot of physical impossibilities that normal live action movies just wouldn't be able to.  However, it still pushes the boundaries of believability.  It doesn't come out of nowhere.  They properly set up the "power" of each member of the team, Tadashi's old classmates who each have their own specialty.  Then, there's Fred, voiced perfectly by T.J. Miller, who has no skill, no brain, and no power whatsoever other than giving each classmate a hilarious nickname.  He just has the drive.  So, it makes sense when Hiro has to design a power specifically for Fred, who is arguable the best comic relief of the movie, even over Baymax.  I read that Miller even improvised most of his lines, which I can only assume was a good thing.

But, it's the relationship between Baymax and Hiro that really steals the show.  Baymax is caring and thoughtful and a physical representation of the memory of Tadashi.  Plus, when his battery is almost entirely out, he acts like someone whose had one two many shots of Jaeger.  Yeah, white girl wasted.

The movie itself is solid, and I really had no complaints about it.  But, it's been three days since I've seen it and I'm having a hard time remembering the specifics of the movie.  I think back and go, "yeah, that was a great film", but it's hard to remember what exactly I thought was so great about it.  It's one of those movies you're going to sit and thoroughly enjoy and recommend to others, but probably never see again.  This is how I felt about The Incredibles.  I understand that this is a favorite Pixar film of a lot of people, but to me it was just an entertaining movie while I saw it and nothing more.  It was nothing that I felt I had to see again like I did with some of the other Pixar greats like Toy Story and Wall-E.  It feels like a weaker movie than it's two predecessors, Wreck-It Ralph and Frozen which had a TON of buzz surrounding both.  But, Big Hero 6 just kind of sits in theaters where people walk out talking how good it was and then forget the whole movie by the next morning.

It's a great film, don't get me wrong... it's just not a long-lasting film.  But, it's definitely worth a look.

B+