Bright and inventive yet alarmingly hollow

Rating: 5/10 (29 March 2015)

The first animated venture from Walt Disney studios that sees them unleash some of their Marvel material, Big Hero 6 is most certainly a young child's fantasy come to life (and a parent's wallet emptying nightmare, the film was 2014 largest animated earner at the Box Office) and an often inventive experience, yet it's also a strangely hollow and instantly forgettable colour filled adventure that isn't even a touch on last year's more deserving Best Animated Feature Oscar nominee How to Train Your Dragon 2.
A big problem for the "big" film is that is just doesn't do enough to make us really care for any of the characters and as all of us know it's not hard for an animated movie to make us care, they've been making us laugh, scared and yes even cry since the dawn of animation and Big Hero just can't really win us over in any of these stakes, even though at times the film feels as though it hits a new gear, only to be once more bought down by some below average storytelling and a finale so unoriginal even the little ones may find themselves starting nap time early. With a seen a million times before plot line and a seriously uninspiring villain, what makes Big Hero 6 worth your time is everyone's new favourite robot and some truly fantastic animation designs.
The lovable lump of huggable goodness that is Baymax the robot is the clear winner here in Big Hero 6. Baymax is both adorable and interesting (something that can't be said for lead whiz kid Hiro) and his animation design mixed with characterisation by Scott Adsit is a sight to behold. I'd go as far as to suggest that if Baymax was even half the creation he ended up as the film would've been far less popular. The other winning element of 6 is the fantastic design and animation work that sees Tokyo and San Francisco mould into one in the newly minted San Fransokyo. When the film sets flight through the streets or the skies above this city, 6 feels like a totally different film and a far more eventful one than it ends up being.
With a sluggish central story and some pretty tepid characters, bar a particularly awesome slacker college mascot in the form of T.J Miller's Fred, Big Hero 6 feels like another over-hyped Marvel adventure that is saved by a lovable robot and some visually arresting set pieces in a wonderfully designed futuristic city. Likely to be a favourite of young superhero loving boys in particular, Big Hero 6 is a sadly disappointing slice of CGI that for most of us will be utterly forgettable.
2 and a half fist pumps out of 5
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