Big Hero 6 Review Part 1
Brave but not heroic.
I must admit I have fallen into the trap of letting trailers fool me into expecting great. It is something I should be hardened against by now but I guess the fact that I am doing fewer movies per week has lulled me a level of complacency that is dangerous for my fragile mind state. I took a hit when I really didn’t like Intersteller and now this film fails to live up to my (inflated) expectations.
Not to say Big Hero 6 was bad. It was decent. However the producers of this film made it abundantly clear that it was by the same crew that created Wreck-It Ralph, one of my favorite animated films. What they did not make clear is the fact that the director and writers of Wreck-It Ralph had nothing to do with it and that is like saying that the painting you did of your cat sleeping is by the same producers as the Mona Lisa just because you buy your canvas the guy who sells it to Da Vinci. That plus a massive trailer blitz had me hoping to add another masterpiece to my roster of go to animated films.
Is it fair to compare this film to WIR? In one sense no but in the sense that they blasted WIR’s name all over it yes. If you invite comparison you cannot complain when you fail to live up to that comparison. I see this as some idiot in the Old West strapping on a six gun and challenging the fastest gun. When you jump in the ring with a grizzly you cannot complain when you get your guts ripped out.
So is this film good when not compared to WIR? I’d say it’s adequately good. The story kind of blows and if you or your kid finds having a really appealing character die in a fire early on troubling (wait a good guy dies in a Disney film??? How is that even possible? I guess that’s where the PG rating comes from) you will be annoyed but the animation is truly excellent (in an improved Incredibles sort of way. The image is from a great Incredibles logo t shirt I wear once in a while) and the visuals stunning so if your kid understands death (or you ok telling him that Tadashi just “went to stay with Grandma for a while”) he or she will be reasonably entertained.
(continued)