Hmm, well what would you know. A Japanese poster. Cool.
Imagine being at the peak of your life.
Everything is going great, and you are far ahead in life. Everything is going as planned and you’re happy. Your hard work has paid off and everything is falling into place.
But then, all of a sudden, something terrible happens. Something life shattering.
(Spoiler Warning: This review is one big spoiler so read on your own risk.)
Tragic loss forces a person to live in a new reality, one that is hard to accept. Upon arriving at the Acceptance stage you have two choices– are you going to react to your loss by becoming bitter and vengeful or will you rise and seek to honor the memory of your lost loved one?
Hiro Hamada is an intelligent teen with a talent for inventing and who is already a high school graduate, despite only being the age of fourteen. Hiro is unsure of what he really wants to do with his life, and dabbles in the risky, seedy world of robot fighting. Hiro’s older brother Tadashi finds this plan to be a waste of Hiro’s intelligence and talents and decides to take Hiro on a little trip to his college lab. Tadashi introduces Hiro to some of his colleagues in the lab, shows him some of the cool inventions there and shows Hiro his invention, Baymax, a personal health care robot that can perform many medical procedures and diagnose diseases.
Hiro, amazed by all that Tadashi has shown him, decides that he wants to enroll in the college. Tadashi tells Hiro of the college’s annual exhibition and encourages him to invent something.
After a long time of thinking (and a short time of being held upside down by Tadashi– brothers, go figure), Hiro finally comes up with an invention– microrobots which are remotely controlled by a neural transmitter that can create anything from a building to a walkway in the sky; your imagination is the limit.
Everyone at the college is impressed with Hiro’s invention, including Professor Callaghan, the head of the lab program that Hiro wants to take part in. Hiro is accepted into the college, and he is filled with happiness and excitement for what is to come. Hiro finally knows how his talents are going to figure into his future and it is beyond awesome.
As Tadashi and Hiro are leaving, the college bursts into flames.
When Tadashi discovers that the professor is still in the building he goes in to rescue the professor despite Hiro’s pleas that he not go in the fire filled lab building.
This is when time stops. Not literally, but as far Hiro is concerned this is when his time line breaks. Forever forward there will be only before THIS and after THIS.
The building bursts into flames, a torrent of destruction and annihilation. Tadashi doesn’t make it. Both he and the professor die in the fire.
Tadashi’s family and friends mourn his death, but none more than Hiro, who begins to shut himself away from those who try to comfort him. He becomes depressed and filled with sadness, and even though he is still encouraged to attend the college classes and join Tadashi’s friends in the lab, he no longer has the will to learn or create.. He becomes empty.
One day, while Hiro is hanging around in his room, he accidentally awakens Baymax. The robot immediately tries to tend any wounds that Hiro may have, and Hiro pushes the huggable robot away. During this process, Hiro finds one of his microrobots in the pocket of his jacket.
To Hiro’s surprise, the microrobot isn’t dormant, meaning that the other microrobots that Hiro had thought were destroyed in the fire, were still out there and being used by someone. That or the microrobot is broken, which is the theory that Hiro sticks with.
Nonetheless, Hiro and Baymax go out to search for the other microrobots (actually, Hiro tries to get Baymax out of the way by telling him to help the microrobot find the other ones, realizes that his suggestion wasn’t all that smart, chases Baymax down, and finds himself with Baymax at an old and abandoned warehouse, because, ya know, villains always hide out in old abandoned warehouses. You’re not a real villain till you have an abandoned warehouse of your own.)
He finds out that the other microrobots are there, and that a strange man in a kabuki mask is using them to create something.
His brother’s friends soon get involved with the new discovery, and they decide to help Hiro with unmasking the man that has stolen his invention.
At this moment, the group decides to become the Big Hero 6, using their inventions as their superpowers to solve the mystery that has begun to face them.
Okay, I get that this isn’t an anime. It cuts it pretty close though. Not even joking.
There are several reasons that I wanted to review this movie.
For one thing, I have already mentioned that it cuts it pretty close to anime, story and all.
Then other reason is because I felt the need to review a movie that is going to get pretty big. Nowadays, new movies from Disney come out and people love them just because they’re Disney and they’re popular movies. That, or the art and animation is amazing and that’s enough for most people to overlook sloppy writing.(Admit it, the writers of Maleficent became really lazy in the end and decided to pull off another Frozen. Oh, and Frozen isn’t really something new either. Brave was before Frozen and basically said “I don’t need a man.” to the crowd watching. Also, the whole sister power thing is kind of cliched too…hate me all you want, these are my opinions and you don’t have to like them. XP)
I believe that everyone should have their own opinions on popular stories and movies instead of going with the flow. It’s called critical thinking, and I believe that this generation has lost it. In fact, this whole blog is about critical thinking, and I find it both my responsibility and privilege to do such writing on popular and less well known anime and manga.
Big Hero 6, though not anime, I have decided to review for the same reason I review anime and manga. Critical thinking.
So with all that said, now onto what I thought of the movie.
Big Hero 6 is far from your typical superhero, Marvel comic movie. (Cool fact, Big Hero 6 is loosely based off of a Marvel comic called, duh, Big Hero 6.)
This superhero movie doesn’t rest it’s entertainment factor on action, but rather the emotions and lessons that are portrayed in this movie. The story isn’t about getting the bad guy or saving the world because they have to, it’s more about standing through the loss of a loved one.
In the beginning of the movie, Hiro loses his brother Tadashi. It’s also told that his parents died when he was three, and in this movie it’s shown that he lives with his Aunt Cass.
Though Hiro may not remember the death of his parents and it may not affect him much (or so he thinks), the death of his brother does and it shows that he doesn’t know how to go through grief alone, even if he thinks that he does. Tadashi’s friends understand that Hiro has never been through what he is going through, and they stick by Hiro’s side even when he pushes them away. They’re also older, and they decide to pour into their friend’s little brother, which was something I really liked about this movie because we older kids have a responsibility to look after and invest in those who are younger. A lot of teens miss out on the blessing of mentoring younger kids in their lives because they are so distracted by the world and wrapped up in their own drama but let me tell you this: you can’t take your little sibs for granted. Trust me on this one. Anyway…
This story’s main theme is not just about people being there for you when tragedy strikes.
It’s also about opening up to the people that surround you. In the movie, Hiro is always hiding his true emotions and is trying to stay strong. Everyone, especially Baymax, tries to comfort him. Through time, we see Hiro begin to open up to the support of his new friends.
You see, when tragedy strikes we can either make the choice that Hiro made at the onset of his grief and push everyone away, allowing anger to harden the heart, or we can open up to those who stay by our side and lean on them as we seek to live a life worthy of the love we have for our lost one.
This story illustrates two very different reactions to loss and that’s one part of the movie that really spoke to my heart.
Another reason I love this film so much is the rather unique ensamble of characters. I mean, not super unique for those who watch everything geek, perhaps, but for a Disney or superhero movie, it’s pretty unique. First have all, there’s Hiro, the intelligent young boy with a crazy awesome talent. Then we have Baymax, the kind and peaceful robot that was created to save lives.
Other characters play a major part in the tale are Tadashi’s friends who become Hiro’s friends.
The sweet almost Fluttershy-like Honey Lemon, who is filled with a kind, optimistic attitude and is a genius chemist. Then Go Go Tomago, an athletic young lady who looks like a cold character, but is really nice when it comes down to it. Two others are Wasabi, the somewhat serious character who is bit more chicken than the rest though he would say that his caution is due to his need for ‘ a plan’, and Fred (or Fredzilla), the apparent loser (who is not a loser, be prepared to be surprised by him) who basically sums up how an otaku would act in an anime or manga or how anyone nerdy would react in his situation. (And if you’re a Marvel fan, pay close attention to Fred’s family portrait or else you’ll miss that trademark cameo.)
Now the reasons that they are unique for this type have story is the fact that they are all what society would call “nerds”. They’re smart, understanding, and honestly not of the typical hero stereotype. Most superhero movies nowadays have superheros that are brave, good-looking, and mega strong. In Big Hero 6, however, our characters aren’t skilled in fighting and aren’t particularly strong either. (Except perhaps Baymax, but even then, Baymax doesn’t want to hurt people. He wants to help them.) In fact, their powers are drawn from the innovations they have been working on in their lab. Their super powers are their intelligence and imagination, aided by a carbon fiber 3D printer, of course.
Big Hero 6 demonstrates that no matter who you are, you can be a hero. It also teaches that not all powers come from super strength or super human powers. Your imagination can be a powerful weapon and a solid support system makes great armor.
Now before I move on, I would like to talk about about two more characters.
One is Tadashi, Hiro’s big brother. In the beginning of the movie when Hiro begins to give up on trying to invent something for the exhibition at the college, Tadashi comes to Hiro and tells him that he’s not giving up on Hiro and that he’s not going to let Hiro give up either.
Another part I’m going to point out is when Tadashi decides to go into the burning building to save the professor. He knows that he might not make it out alive, but Tadashi throws that thought aside and sacrifices his life to try to save the professor. To me, all this stuck out about his character and it reminded me of a certain person who did the same for us.
You see, Jesus doesn’t give up on us. We may feel useless and filled with nothing, but He sees beyond what we can and sees us as people that can do great things. We just need to let Him work in us. Also, Jesus sacrificed his life even though He knew that many would reject Him and that he was going to die on then cross. Just like how Tadashi could have ignored the fire and remained alive, Jesus could have called angels to save Him or fled. But He didn’t. Instead, He choose to die even though it seemed like it is in vain. (Which it is not! Our Lord died for everyone, whether you be from a sin-filled past or you be from a godly background. We are all equally lost in the eyes of God and that is why He sent His son down to save. It is why Jesus died for all of us.) He chose to open a way for us to be with Him forever.
Another character is I enjoyed is Baymax. Baymax is the character that receives most of the rejection from Hiro in the beginning. Despite all of this, Baymax sticks with our hero (no pun intended. Hiro doesn’t mean hero in Japanese.) and tries his best to heal Hiro not only when it’s needed physically needed, but emotionally as well. The Lord is the same way. We may reject or hate him with all of our strength, but He will never hate you. His is always with you, even when it doesn’t feel like it. All you need to do is let Him in.
Okay, so I just wrote quite a bit on the characters, but I still have a bit more to talk about.
(Hmm, so I guess it was a good idea to play hookey to go see this movie with my mom… I kid, I kid. I’m homeschooled, it’s a privilege. And it’s not playing hooky when your teacher is there…it’s a field trip, so there! Also, I had to do Algebra later that day, so I really wasn’t skipping school.)
Anyway, at one point in the story the character Fred says that the team’s first story as heroes together is a “revenge story”. This is somewhat true, but does it really become that?
It all depends. You see, it turns out that a certain character isn’t dead, and Tadashi died in vain. (Because the bad guy isn’t who you thought it would be…)
Hiro becomes angered by this and uses Baymax to try and kill the man in the kabuki mask.
In the end, we find out that the villain was also seeking revenge and had become bitter towards the person he held responsible for then loss of someone in his life.
This is where Hiro learned that revenge is no good and that he won’t get back what he lost. To me, I think he also learned that if he had kept himself closed up, he would have become like the man who had faced loss but chosen bitterness..
In the end, Hiro doesn’t choose revenge, but rather somewhat forgives him and even does something for the villain that he probably didn’t deserve.
Overall, Big Hero 6 isn’t about about heroism or saving then world. It’s about an unlikely cast of characters standing with Hiro not just physically, but emotionally as well. It’s a story of what family really is. Family isn’t something that can only be between blood relations. Family can be between anyone, no matter how big the differences are as long as they point you in a godly direction in life.
It’s a good example of the Church actually. The Church is one big family filled with completely different and diverse people. The Church is filled with messy people with messy pasts. No one is perfect. The Church stands with, not only it’s members, but also with those who aren’t.
Big Hero 6 is also about opening up to those who want to help you. When tragedy strikes, the ones who stay with you through the storms of your life and encourage you to make wise choices are real friends and real family and that they’re on your side.
When you open up, you find that no one your side is against you and that you are not alone. That overall, we are all fighting then same fight, even if the situations are different.
We’re all in it together. When you close yourself off, you can become bitter and cold towards those you are harboring grudges against (whether it be against the Lord or against a human.) or you can let it go and forgive your enemy (or surrender to the Sovereignty of God).
Big Hero 6 stole my heart. I came to see the movie with no expectations , but I left the theater amazed with what I found inside the movie. To me, this movie is one of the best children’s movies of the year, and one of the greatest Disney movies to ever come out.
With almost breathtaking animation (okay, it was breathtaking…it was really amazing.), enjoyable film score, a refreshing cast of characters, a superhero story that doesn’t lean on action and violence, and a story that was intricately woven with emotions that made me smile, laugh, and even cry (yes, I cried, twice actually…XD) I highly recommend Big Hero 6 with the hopes that you all find what I did in this story and that you finish it saying that you are “satisfied with your care.” because the most important thing that this film reminds me of is that no matter how hard things are, no matter what tragedies I witness, I want to have a tender, humble heart that can honestly say to the Lord, in then midst of anything, that “I am satisfied with Your care” because THAT’s faith.
(Big Hero is rated PG for action violence that can relate to the amount of action found in the Kung-Fu Panda movies. It’s action is a lot like The Avengers, only its for children. There is some talk about Hiro’s mood swings that Baymax says is due to puberty, though. Other than that, name calling is mild {“knucklehead” is one of the worlds used.}.)
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