A bit familiar at times, but It's one of this year's best animated films

Rating: 8/10 (15 December 2014)

It dawned on me at the end of "Big Hero 6" that if we never get that sequel to "The Incredibles", a sequel to this film might satisfy me just fine. I thought it was very energetic, with some solid moments of heart and of humor, and some exciting action thrown in to boot. What's there not to love? It's the story of a young robotics genius named Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter) who adopts his big brother's personal health care robot prototype, Baymax (Scott Adsit) and forms a superhero team with some of his fellow inventor/students to combat a masked super villain.
What I liked best about this movie were the characters and they dynamics between them. Baymax, so lovable and cuddly with that big squishy body and that calm temperament even in stressful situations was a riot and I genuinely grew to love him... Woops, there I go calling the robot a him. It's really just a defibrillator and a medical encyclopedia on legs, but I felt closely attached to the robot. What does that tell you about the movie when the mechanical device without a real personality becomes someone you would like to call your friend? Don't take that the wrong way though, I thought all of the characters were well fleshed out, and most importantly, intelligent and proactive. Hiro isn't given superpowers, he decides that he wants to become a hero and combat the threat in San Fransokyo. What does he do? He uses his brain to give himself gadgets and the tools he needs. He's a kid, but one that's as brilliant and inventive as the audience members. I felt the same about the other characters, even the goofy comic-book and kaiju enthusiast Fred (T.J. Miller). They're like real people because they had strengths and weaknesses and I felt like I got to know them as the movie went along. I was really happy to see that the female characters were tough all the way through. They didn't turn into damsels in distress when the action got going. I felt like this was a superhero movie with some ideas and it celebrated invention and creative thinking, that the characters learned from their mistakes and were able to think on their feet and improve instead of just being handed solutions out of thin air.
It's no surprise that the movie looks terrific, but it's worth mentioning that there are a lot of cool flying sequences and scenes where debris and stuff is flying at the camera and that in 3-D, it's pretty sweet. It's not in-your-face, but I was pretty impressed with it. There are some good action bits in this movie, particularly noteworthy is a long and very exciting car chase with our heroes driving with Baymax as they are being chased by the big bad in this movie. Speaking of which, without telling you too much about this villain, I really liked this guy's powers. When you've got six people going against a single guy, you have got to do some creative writing and planning to have the characters actually challenged and they did a good job here. The unique way they have this villain go about his bad guy ways really impressed me. I was excited any time he came on-screen, and not only because I was genuinely intrigued as to who (or maybe even what) was behind that kabuki mask.
If you're wondering if the best bits of comedy have been spoiled in the trailers, I would say... kind of. There are still some very funny moments, but if you haven't seen any trailers I would say just skip them and go straight into the movie blind to get the maximum amount of laughs. While you're there, make sure you stick around until the very end of the credits because there is a great little segment there you don't want to miss. Don't come in late either because while some of the best moments might have been spoiled for you with the clips on TV, you might not even be aware of the wonderful short "Feast" that is presented before the main feature. I thought it was absolutely wonderful. Why can't we get more of those before not just animated films, but every movie? I haven't really been blown away by any children's movies this year, not since "The Lego Movie" and way after that with "How to Train Your Dragon 2". I have to say "Big Hero 6" didn't have me screaming for joy once it was over, but I really enjoyed myself. It's solid family entertainment and if you're an adult, you can go watch it by yourself and you won't feel ashamed at all! I am still a little lukewarm about it overall, but you know what? That's me, and I feel like maybe I was just off that day or something because I can't think of anything I didn't like about the movie. I'd be happy to check it out one more time to see how I feel about it and I think that says a lot. I fully endorse you to check out "Big Hero 6". It's fun, it's colorful, it's funny, it's got some action and I was really touched at some of the more dramatic bits. It's not just for kids; adult can thoroughly enjoy this one too. I'm still laughing at some of the better gags. (3-D theatrical version on the big screen, December 9, 2014)