Disney continues to impress with Big Hero 6

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2015)

Big Hero 6 is not among the best that Disney has ever done and it isn't flawless. But it is still very good and one of their best easily since the Renaissance. It did feel a little rushed at times and felt like it tried to do a little too much in the storytelling, as a result some ideas that were introduced like the science-is-good message gets lost. If it slowed down and explored a little less areas it would have improved things. The villain felt underdeveloped and his reveal came over as very obvious and forced as well.
However, the animation is outstanding with lots of rich colours and textures, backgrounds that are incredibly detailed and sweet(but not in a cloying way) character designs. One of the best-looking recent Disney films definitely. The catchy and upbeat yet atmospheric and emotion-filled soundtrack and smart script are other things to like, as are the brisk(when not rushed) pacing and rousing if not exactly inventive action. While the story is not flawless, on the most part it's still a winner. Whatever originality it may lack, it more than compensates for that with fun and heart. There are plenty of funny moments(i.e. Stan Lee), and of the laugh-out-loud witty kind and even better is the emotional impact Big Hero 6 has. The brother-brother relationship is handled very affectingly, like between Anna and Elsa in Frozen it was Disney trying to explore a different kind of relationship than they did before and it succeeds in that respect.
Sure Big Hero 6 sometimes takes a dark tone but not in a heavy or inappropriate way, there's no reason why anybody should be disturbed by that. The characters are not the most developed ones there ever were and as said more should have been done with the villain, but they're still engaging. Hiro is a very flawed but still likable main protagonist and his relationship between brother Tadashi is beautifully done. The most memorable character for me though was Baymax, he has to be one of Disney's most adorable characters, along with Maximus(Tangled) and Sven(Frozen) he has one of their cutest since the Renaissance. As well as being beautifully designed he displays a lot of laughs and a wide range of emotions, literally the film's heart and soul. The voice work from all(I just wish that James Cromwell had more to do) is very good, with particular mention going to Scott Adsit and his voice is a good match with Ryan Potter's deeply felt Hiro. All in all, not one of Disney's best but one of their better ones of the past 15 years. Haven't seen all the Best Animated Feature nominees but while this viewer did prefer How to Train Your Dragon 2 and the un-nominated Lego Movie they still felt that Big Hero 6 was still a good enough film to merit an Oscar nomination. 8/10 Bethany Cox