The other night, my 4-year-old {Kinley} and I had the opportunity to have a mom-daughter date night to see Disney’s newest flick, Big Hero 6.
I wasn’t sure what to think prior to the movie. I had thought the previews made it look cute, but I didn’t know if it would capture our attention.
Well, I was positively surprised. Not only did the animation blow me away, but overall, I really enjoyed this movie — and so did Kinley.
ABOUT THE MOVIE {FROM PRESS MATERIALS}
With all the heart and humor audiences expect from Walt Disney Animation Studios, BigHero 6 is an action-packed comedy-adventure about robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who learns to harness his genius—thanks to his brilliant brother Tadashi and their like-minded friends: adrenaline junkie Go Go Tamago, neatnik Wasabi, chemistry whiz Honey Lemon and fanboy Fred. When a devastating turn of events catapults them into the midst of a dangerous plot unfolding in the streets of San Fransokyo, Hiro turns to his closest companion—a robot named Baymax—and transforms the group into a band of high-tech heroes determined to solve the mystery. Inspired by the Marvel comics of the same name, and featuring comic-book style action, Big Hero 6 is directed by Don Hall {Winnie the Pooh} and Chris Williams {Bolt}, and produced by Roy Conli {Tangled}. This film is rated PG.
MY THOUGHTS
So that squishy marshmallow man? Yeah, his name is Baymax and I kind of fell in love with him. Disney did an amazing job with his concept — I just wanted to reach through the screen and hug him! Kinley also adored him. He had us giggling the entire movie. I enjoyed the rest of the characters, especially Fanboy Fred, but do wish they would have developed each a bit more. The lack of development left me scratching my head at parts, but I reminded myself it is geared toward kids, and let’s be honest — kids aren’t always that deep. Where they did succeed was in bringing Baymax and lead character, Hiro, to life. Watching their friendship grow was pretty darn heartwarming, and yes — in true Disney fashion — caused me to shed a few tears.
The animation was seriously incredible — honestly I would rate it as neck and neck with Frozen in that regard. The setting of the movie was SanFransokyo, which was a magical hybrid of what we think of when picturing San Francisco and Tokyo. I loved the details of everything in the city — for example, the Golden Gate bridge was in pagoda style, and there was even a Maneki-neko {lucky cat, popular in the Japanese culture} above the main character’s aunt’s shop. It’s small details like this that the kids will miss but will keep adults intrigued throughout the film.
There’s some heavy stuff in this flick: Death, and the emotions surrounding it, a super scary looking villain {he was the first thing Kinley pointed out when I asked her thoughts}, and just some general humor that is more for older kids. My age recommendations for this would be ages 7-12. With that said, my 4-year-old did love it, but a lot of the stuff went over her head.
A place this film scored major points for me: Kinley isn’t into Disney princesses so much, and instead, loves super heroes {Spider-man and Superman are her favorites}. It cracks me up though because I don’t let her watch Marvel movies yet, so I was excited that this was something she could actually watch. Kudos to Disney for putting their Marvel buy-out to good use for younger kids. She has already requested we get it when it comes out on DVD, and I won’t lie — I am excited to watch it again, too. {I also plan to download the film’s title track, Immortals, by Fall Out Boy. Totally digging it.}
Additionally, I enjoyed how this movie highlighted how exciting the fields of STEM can be — this was especially awesome to me as a mom of two girls. My daughter walked away wanting to build a robot. Nicely played, Disney.
VERDICT
Was this as good as last year’s Frozen? No way. But, if you have a younger child who can sit still during movies and loves super heroes, I’d say definitely go see this and splurge on 3D. For anything, do it for the white squishy robot. I promise you will giggle and leave with a full heart.
P.S. Big wigs at Disney and Marvel: Next up, shoot for a girl super hero…who is also into STEM stuff…and preferably not wearing a dress {too cliché} 😉 Thanks!
Follow BIG HERO 6 on Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr or visit the website at http://www.disney.com/BigHero6.
Do you plan to see Big Hero 6? It opens in theaters TODAY!
Charity says
Your review gives me pause–I had assumed we would not want to see it at all, but maybe…but my girls love the princess theme, love it, so I think we will likely wait until this one hits DVD (remember when that was a year long wait when VHS came to be?)
Mrs. Weber says
I hate to stereotype, because lord knows my girl doesn’t fall into any category, but it is definitely a “boy” movie — fast-paced, flashy, robots, super heroes, etc. It is SO cute, but if your girls don’t like that style, I think you’re smart to wait for it. And yes — you know it will be out in about 3 months. These kids have no idea the torture we experienced waiting for something to come out on VHS 😉
Liz says
Great review!
Thanks for including a link to the song – it was awesome and I was wondering whom it was by.
And yes, I’d agree it’s more for ages 8-10+ than < 5 or so … but I totally wasn't expecting the superhero thing, which was pretty cool.