Disney has been very hitty or missy this past decade. People always harp back to The Lion King or The Little Mermaid when musical songs and adventure went hand in hand. It wasn't until Frozen that people 'let it go' (oh dear, sorry I couldn't resist) and the House of Mouse was back on top again. Although the previous films weren't too bad before that movie, Frozen elevated them to the top of their game again. So, with that under their belts and the best song since the tribal chanting at the start of The Lion King, how the heck can they follow this up? And, more importantly, is it any good?
Well, my friends, I can tell you - yes they did follow it up and yes it's good, damned good.
Another Disney Princess movie was not on the cards here - I don't think Frozen has ran it's course just yet, and, with Cinderella (and the rumoured Frozen short before it) on the horizon, there was no room for that here. Similarly with musical numbers - let's face it, Let It Go is a song that comes along once in a decade to blow you away. Like it or loathe it, it's a classic now and really catchy.
Instead Disney have plumped straight into the action/adventure movie with superheroes and went that way instead - and it's paid off. It's basically a watered down Avengers Assemble with a bunch of geeky kids saving the world with an inflatable robot. Think of the missing link between Enid Blyton's The Famous Five and The Secret Seven but with technology. There, you've got it!
Hiro is the erm, hero, of the film and is a young boy (stated as 13 year old a couple of times in the movie) who is going a bit off the rails in the aptly named San Frantokyo. He has build a cute little robot which looks like a metallic teddy bear specifically to take down robots in a Robofight - an underground movement a bit like Robot Wars but with betting. However it's cute face turns around and turns into a red angry face when it attacks the other robots and zips around like Yoda in Attack of the Clones, and, like Yoda, beats the opposition easily.
Tadashi, his older brother, sees potential in him and tries to get him to do something useful with his life rather than spend it gambling and fighting robots. He takes him to a robotics lab where he is studying and tried to convince Hiro that he could get in this much coveted university and also meets Tadashi's uni mates who have crazy names - GoGo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred. At least they are easier to pronounce than Lord of the Rings characters though! They also cover just about every different facet of equality and diversity too - you have the well built black guy, the ginger geek, the moody black haired goth girl with the purple streaks and the rich boy jock who is easily amused and comes across as the least intelligent in the group. Hiro is the Wesley Crusher of the group as he is the genius robotics master - even though he is 13. Tadashi is the creator of Baymax, a large rotund inflatable robot build for the purpose of being a surrogate nurse/doctor to help people with medical issues and problems.
Tadashi eventually convinces Hiro to go for an audition to join the robotics lab and comes up with some nanobots which can combine to build bridges and do cool stuff - if you have a headpiece to control them with your mind. Lots of people find this interesting and some guy with a big nose and a suit comes over to try and buy it off him but Hiro says no.
Not long after there is a fire at university and Tadashi enters the burning building to save one of the teachers, and explosion occurs and kills Tadashi, leaving Baymax in the care of Hiro and him without a brother. Hiro befriends Baymax and as a kind of sentient being, Baymax becomes a great companion for Hiro. One night he finds the one nanobot he had in his pocket is jiggling around and asks Baymax to find where it wants to go - and leads them to an ominous warehouse. After some brief comic relief they are attacked by a masked man using the power of the nanobots to terrorise them and to get what he wants. Hiro goes back to the robotics lab team and convinces them to suit up - and designs weapons and equipment to help them fight this masked man. He even upgrades Baymax from a cute inflatable creature to what I could best describe as an overweight Iron Man. Imagine the Stay Puft Marshmallow man in an Iron Man suit and you are pretty much there.
The film is great, no doubt about that. There's plenty of action, the soundtrack is fab and you can feel the influence of Marvel on it. It's an exciting adventure of epic proportions and all the characters are likeable, especially Baymax who, although has no real facial expression still somehow manages to make you feel. There's sad moments, happy moments and some great one liners too. I would wholeheartedly recommend this film and its great for kids too.
And, it's based on a Marvel comic - so you know what happens at the end of Marvel movies don't you? It might be worth staying until the end of the credits.
POPSCORE: 9/10
What is it? Big Hero 6 is out now at all good cinemas
Where can I find out more? http://www.disney.co.uk/big-hero-6
Anything else?
The song as the credits roll is Fall Out Boy - Immortals.
This film is based on a Marvel comic of the same name.
It is Disney's 54th Classic.
