Given how advanced computer animation has developed and continues to develop, and considering that Walt Disney, the king of animation, now owns the film rights to nearly all of the Marvel Universe, it's a bit surprising that this is the first big budget Marvel superhero animated film to be produced. Perhaps because it's something of an experiment, they chose to do it with a more obscure title like Big Hero 6.
The story is based only loosely on the comic book group. For instance, in the comic, Baymax (the lovable inflatable robot featured on all the posters and marketing material) is a synthetic bodyguard capable of synthforming into a dragon, created by 13 year old computer genius Hiro using the brain engrams of his dead father. In the film, Hiro is still a teen prodigy, but Baymax is built by his older brother as a medical robot. Hiro, who graduated high-school early, decides to go to the same university as his older brother where he hopes to join the robotic department which his brother and an eccentric group of students inhabit. At a demonstration by Hiro of his microbots, there is a fire and someone is killed. This kick starts the plot into motion when later a super-villain emerges using the microbot technology and Hiro gathers his fellow robotic students together to form a superhero team.
Although this is a group of superheroes, it's Baymax who steals the show. Voiced by Scott Adsit (most famous for playing Pete Hornberger on 30 Rock), Baymax is an innocent who starts off as purely a medical robot, but thanks to enhancements by Hiro, he becomes a flying, fighting machine, but one who retains his sweet nature. His chubby, inflatable body makes him seem more like a cuddly toy than a killer robot. The emotion generated at the film's climax is down entirely to his presence.
The central mystery, which is merely identifying the villain, is the film's weakest aspect. It's pretty obvious who he is. As in a lot of mysteries, you simply have to look for the minor character played by (or voiced by in this case) a big name actor.
In the original comic book, the superhero team was based in Tokyo. For the film they moved the story to the fictional city of San Fransokyo, which is a combination of Tokyo and San Francisco. This internationalism is mirrored in the voice cast, which is made up of Asian, Caucasian, African American, and Hispanic actors. There are several recognizable voices in the cast including T.J. Miller who also provided a voice in How to Train Your Dragon 2, another of 2014's Oscar nominated animated films. However, it is Adsit who is the only real standout. He's particularly good when he plays "drunk", which is what happens to Baymax when his battery runs low.
The action is quite good and there are several big battle scenes that must have looked even better up on the big screen. Unfortunately, because the tone is kept light, there's never much of a true sense of danger. And perhaps that's the film's biggest problem. Although in Japan, where the original story was set, they have no problem producing animation aimed at adults, here in America, any animation is treated as a cartoon and as something aimed at children.
As with its live-action counterparts, this one comes complete with a post-credits scene that sets up a sequel. It likewise includes an animated cameo by Stan Lee. So long as Baymax returns for that sequel, I'll happily be in line to see it.
