Entertaining, but nothing extraordinary

Rating: 7/10 (5 May 2015)

Big Hero 6 is the most recent film by Walt Disney Animation Studios. By the way, don't you think it's interesting how we refer to them as 'Disney' films rather than looking at the writers and directors? After recent successes like Frozen, you can't blame people for considering these past years as symbolizing a second resurrection of Disney. Whether or not Big Hero 6 can be considered as befitting this remains to be seen We're introduced to the east meets west city of San Fransokyo where fourteen year-old Hiro Hamada (get it? Hirohero) spends his time partaking in illegal robot fights. His brother Tadashi and mother worry for him and his future. Tadashi casually introduces him to his friends in the robotics department of his university and Hiro is immediately entranced by the possibilities. Tadashi also shows him Baymax, a lovable, huggable robot who specializes in providing medical aid and know-how. Hiro decides to enroll and showcases his microbots during a convention, but that same night, a tragic accident (or was it an accident?) changes everything
If I was asked to sum up the film in a few words, it'd be 'fun, but decidedly mediocre.' Make no mistake, it's a competently made film, but it contains little to no real surprises. You've got the not-so interesting melodramatic plot, the comic relief, the sidekick, etc. Go Go Tomago is the silent female badass 'who don't need no man.' Fred is the self-aware comics nerd who sees everything as a materialization of his comic book fantasies. After being asked during a car chase why they're being attacked, he says: "it's classic villain. We've seen too much!" As for Honey Lemon, wellshe's just Honey Lemon. All I remember about her was that she was the only one who pronounced Hiro in a very Japanese way and that her purse was the source of her superpower. And Wasabi does have a few humorous moments, but he's mostly just the token black guy. If this all sounds demeaning, that's not my intention. The supporting cast is fun, but they're so underwritten. Instead, the film's more concerned (quite justifiably so) with Hiro and his relationship with Baymax which is fine, but it makes the rest of the crew feel like an afterthought.
The storyline's also quite simplistic. There's a tragic accident. Hiro teams up with the crew and chase the Big Bad who, of course, has his own highly emotional but still underwritten and uninteresting motives. And along the way Hiro learns some highly important life lessons. All in all, it's quite 'meh.' By far the best part is Baymax. There's not a moment that's not a success when he's on screen. The film makes perfect use of his design in all kinds of ways that remind us of the old days when physical comedy without any sound was all we had. It really emphasizes the strength of modern technology when there's so much detail in a few seconds that it's nigh impossible to keep track of it all. Perfect example is the short scene where Baymax tries to make his way to Hiro from the other side of the room. And of course, there's the fistbump scene which is probably the first thing people will quote to get their friends to see the film.
I also quite liked the messages for the kids spread out across the film. Of course, since feminist debates are becoming popular again (see GamerGate and so on) it's easy to see how Tomago is supposed to function as a typical Strong Female Character which is fine, but haven't we reached the point where this kind of stuff doesn't need verbal emphasis? I mean her catchphrase is an inversion of 'man up,' namely 'woman up.' I'm of the opinion that if your goal is to create strong female characters, then you should emphasize action not sex. If characters are badass, people will like them regardless of gender. Emphasize action, willpower and strength and all that instead of the female aspect. If Tomago's just doing cool stuff, the audience will be thinking, 'fuck yeah, Go Go's a badass!' But if you let her say lines like 'woman up,' the audience will be thinking, 'oh yeah, I see, she's intended as a female badass' which isn't what you want. On the other hand, we can add Tomago to the growing list of Disney 'princesses' who's still single by the film's end, so there's that.
One last thing I want to mention about Baymax is that he's defined by the desire to ensure Hiro's physical and emotional wellbeing. Even in stressful situations, when asked to do something, he'll ask if this will help Hiro's emotional state. This line is also very nicely used during a scene that emphasizes the pointlessness of revenge.
So, in the end it's Baymax and the little moral messages that make the overall disappointing story easier to swallow. Big Hero 6 doesn't reinvent the wheel, but it does enough things right for it to be fun watch. As for whether or not we'll still be talking about this film years from now