Big Hero 6

Disney’s Big Hero 6 is one of Disney’s attempts to make itself seem less gender-biased, and I personally think it’s great. Not only is it a change in Disney’s animations (where the current flow of the story would be how one person surpasses the limitations imposed on him/her where the entire plot is mostly focused on a heroine than a hero). Having Hiro Hamada, a brilliant young boy, be the main protagonist of the story is already a shift in itself. The last I can recall of Disney making a pre-teen/tween protagonist is way back to Lilo & Stitch, the rest being your confused teenager growing up to be a mature adult and eventually finding true love; not counting the entire Toy Story franchise since they’re basically toys in adult human form, so they get an exception (which, by the way, is working on a fourth installment, in case you missed it).

CHARACTERS

One weird thing I noticed is how most of the characters are named after food: Wasabi no Ginger, Honey Lemon and Go Go Tomago (Tomago is a type of Japanese egg). Heck, even the surname of Hiro and Tadashi has “Ham” in it. Fred’s difference from the group (well, not just by name) is highlighted by his eccentricity, making him a dominant character and the comedic relief.

The reasoning behind it would probably have been explored into or given further back story in the original comics, but I guess we’ll have to stick with the plot that the film observed, and not those of the written version. I would just like to give emphasis on the fact that film and books (or graphic novels, in this case) are two different mediums. And although one of them may be brilliant (in most cases, the books), the film has its own touch of artistic majesty in it that people seem to fail to see simply because they imagined things a little bit differently.

I wish I had a big brother like him. Hiro is REALLY lucky.

Moving on, the characters are basically your typical Japanese stereotypes. This was one thing I noticed immediately the moment everyone was introduced in the film. I just have to say that Tadashi is a dream older brother – one that anyone would like to have. I mean, he’s just the epitomy of a perfect citizen and brother and possibly, human being. Disney was careful enough not to make him too physically attractive, adding in some unique physical details to his character (like how his head is a bit too big for his shoulders, and his really large ears).

Even Baymax is a stereotypical Japanese character. He’s the kind, selfless and resilient character that everybody will come to love – and is also adorably funny when drunk. Baymax in his low-battery state is like a drunk, innocent first-timer. Although if he really was invented in real life, he would DEFINITELY be able to help a lot of people out with all kinds of diseases and disorders.

Can you say adorable?

What to say? To be honest, I didn’t really have expectations for this film other than what is expected of Disney. I like it a lot and I find myself fan-boying over Baymax all of a sudden. I am seriously contemplating to purchase an action figure of Baymax. I mean, seriously. It’s ranging from Php300-Php2500 with a variety of sizes and appearance.

I still have this hangover with the film, but not as strong as the ones I used to have. This one is definitely worth keeping, and I love the emotion evoked in this film. There were parts when I feel my heart would spill out tears, when I could relate at Hiro’s anger, when I would laugh at how silly Baymax is, and so much more. My office mate was right: there’s so much emotion going on in this film.

I believe there could be more from this. If this became a franchise, I would definitely support it. I haven’t read any other reviews to keep this one clean and untainted, but I really liked this film.

To end this post, here’s another photo of Baymax hugging Hiro, just because.