Big Hero 6...Big Heart

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 2015)

Disney does it again! Finally, back on track with films worth watching. Big Hero 6 delicately balances humor, tragedy, coming off age, loss, and grief for it's adolescent viewers. All the while cleverly wrapping the film in a bankable comic/manga/ superhero/marvel/ xmen eque good vs. evil storyline. Hero, a classic underdog, is wracked by grief worth the loss of his brother. This super smart Hero, aptly named, it's a scrawny pubescent boy. His friends are a ragtag bunch of equally as smart boys and girl. The quest for truth and triumph of good over evil, even if wrapped in grief and loss make this a story that is entertaining and action-packed for the kids and thoughtful and question evoking enough for parents that may or may not have found a pathway to do so previously. Disney seems to have gotten this particular, multilevel, emotional based story down without the use of magic or processes. A fact that this reviewer finds completely refreshing. On the track, initially, worth Frozen, Disney has finally broken free of 'Happily Ever After' and 'Someday My Prince Will Come'. I,for one, find it empowering that the lead is a boy. And the 'hero' is him, himself. Finding his voice and power via his brother's creation BayaMax, Hero actually winds up dealing with his grief and loss by saving himself and letting go of the guilt he feels as a result of his brother's untimely, accidental death. Disney could keep this formidable formula up and running for a series with this cast of characters. There would be a demographic, for sure. But, one wonders, if this was just an incidental hit. Seemingly, the tried and true process algorithm is their bread and butter. But worth Big Hero 6,we as parents, get some meat! Encouraging more films like this!