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Rating: 8/10 (17 November 2014)

Whenever I watch movies on my own time, I typically like to pick ones that will help me prepare for the next film I will be seeing in theaters and reviewing for this column. Before "Fury" I watched some war movies, before "Lucy" I watched some action flicks, etc. I suppose I forgot to keep that in mind this week considering the three movies I watched most recently before "Big Hero 6" were "The Conjuring," "Interstellar," and "The Godfather: Part 1." So when an animated walking/talking inflatable white robot walked onto the screen, it was certainly a breath of fresh air.
"Big Hero 6" is advertised as and makes up the perfect movie to take your kids to this season. Focusing on an intelligent, inventive, 14-year-old prodigy name Hiro, "Big Hero 6" is a wonderful example of how heroes can come from anyone and anywhere. After losing a very close friend in an accident, Hiro and his newfound companion and best friend Baymax, a gentle healthcare robot who looks like what inflatable sofas are supposed to be, go on a search to try to figure out exactly what happened. By circumstance, they end up in the lair of an evil mastermind and, with the help of some friends, do their best to foil his evil plan while learning the importance of friendship along the way.
Young actor Ryan Potter provides the voice of Hiro, the hero of the story. His work was fine, nothing noticeable to criticize or give extra praise to, which is fitting with a lead character. The real credit for impressive voice work goes to Scott Adsit and his hilarious portrayal of the huggable robot Baymax. Even through an auto-tune-like filter, Adsit was able to give character lovable life. Many extra hilarious moments were given to us through Adsit's work, along with the very comical physical actions that were given to this talking balloon. T. J. Miller was another highlight of the film, as he was allowed to let loose with his character. Over the top at times, but overall very funny. James Cromwell, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr., Genesis Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, Alan Tudyk, and Daniel Henney also lent their voices to the life of this film.
Between the two directors and three screenplay writers of this film, there are loved Disney credits such as "Monsters Inc." and "Monsters University," "Tarzan", "Cars," "Meet the Robinsons," "The Emperor's New Groove," and "Mulan," along with others. An excellent team was put together to make this film, and with a storyline and character ideas like these, it would have been a surprise if this film had not turned out well. What I didn't expect though, was that it would turn out this well. The story was excellent, the messages were brief but good, the characters were hilarious, a level of emotion was achieved, and the score was fun, exciting, and different. Everything about this film made for an excellent ride, perfect for kids, and a top choice for parents forced to see a "kid's movie."
There were certain moments and ideas that I wished had been embellished even more. One of my favorite parts of the film was the invention of San Fransokyo: an ingenious crossover between interesting Japanese culture and standard, relatable American culture. The idea for this semi-fictional city was perfect, though I felt like they almost went halfway with it. It appeared as though the final creation of it wasn't a clever combination of the cultures, but rather that they took American culture and made only major things like names and structures Japanese. This is no way reflected on the final result of the film, but it is an area I would have enjoyed a little more thought.
Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams did a particularly excellent job of making this film unique. They were given a very stereotypical storyline and they created a world and characters that succeeded in standing apart. Along with having the classic superhero versus supervillain plot, "Big Hero 6" also features the current favorite 'unlikely friendship' story. Back in 2010, Dreamworks and Dean Deblois came out with "How to Train Your Dragon," my personal favorite animated film and the 'unlikely friendship' idea created and perfected in an animated film. Hiro and Baymax provided extreme similarities to Hiccup and Toothless from "Dragon," even to the point of having a relationship-bonding flight sequence. "Big Hero 6" could have very easily been called a copy of "How to Train Your Dragon" had it been done wrong. Thankfully, this film was executed very well, and we have a result that sets itself apart from the formula animated film that is made so often.
There were few flaws in this movie, other than that it was too short. When the credits began to roll, I would have been more than content to remain in my seat for another thirty minutes. A collective contribution of excellent animation, fun story, great score, and quality voice work. In the end though, the best part was the marshmallow. So as I walked out of the theater, I couldn't wait for the sequel.
I give "Big Hero 6" an 8.2/10