This is the review you’ve been waiting for. #54- Big Hero 6 and boy did it not disappoint. I will do my best to keep it spoiler free and won’t tell you any more than the trailer (maybe even less because it’s kind of a spoilery trailer).
I was really excited to see this movie and that usually means I’m a little disappointed unless you are Pixar but in this case John Lasseter has worked his pixie dust and made an extremely satisfying movie. I would be stunned if you didn’t find something to like, even love about the movie.
It is based on an obscure marvel comic much like Guardians of the Galaxy this summer Big Hero 6 creates a super hero movie of unlikely members and gives the movie just enough laughs, excitement and tears (I actually cried a lot).
Big Hero 6 is written and directed by Disney vets Don Hall (Winnie the Pooh) and Chris Williams (Bolt and Mulan) with Paul Briggs (Frozen), and Joseph Mateo (Tangled).
The setting for Big Hero 6 is unique. It is a futuristic fusion of San Francisco and Tokyo called San Fransokyo which I thought was very clever. It is futuristic but only slightly so. There aren’t flying cars or anything too out there. Again kind of the way Guardians of the Galaxy felt futuristic and nostalgic at the same time . San Fransokyo was beautifully portrayed and if you can see it in 3D do because it was so immersive and gorgeous. One of Disney’s best cityscapes ever.
The story is about a boy named Hiro who is a genius orphan (of course. It’s Disney!) who lives with his brother and Aunt Cass. Hiro is an instantly likable character. Kind of like Ralph in Wreck it Ralph or Aladdin. He’s smart and sweet and sassy.
At the beginning he is just frittering away his talent at ‘bot fights’ which are illegal gambling operations kind of a like a cock fight. His brother Tadashi is also a genius but he is applying his talents at the local technical school (supposed to be Cal Poly I think) where he works with robotics.
This is stated pretty clearly in the trailer but tragedy strikes and Tadeshi is killed but he leaves behind a robot he has invented that is kind of like a robot nurse. His name is Baymax and he looks like the Stay-Puff Marshmallow man.
I don’t know when I’ve seen a character I’ve taken too so immediately as Baymax. He is warmth and love and his soul purpose is to care for Hiro. It is kind of like the ultimate mother.
Then we get our villain who was pretty clever. I won’t go too much into things but it surprised me. He has layers and is not clean cut like some bad guys.
To defeat the masked man Hiro reprograms Baymax to fight while still keeping his brothers code for caring. Then the team at the school gather to support Hiro and become our rag-tag group of super heroes. They were so much fun!
I loved there were different races and sexes and that Hiro is 13. It’s so rare in a Disney movie that the protagonist is a child or young teenager. Most are young adults.
The voice cast is excellent and mostly unknowns but all excellent. Ryan Potter voices Hiro Hamada, Scott Adsit is Baymax and Daniel Henney is Tadashi and they are all great. The only famous voices are TJ Miller as Fred (one of the college guys who becomes the team), Damon Wayans Jr as Wasabi (the black guy on the crew), Maya Rudolph as Aunt Cass and James Cromwell as Professor Callaghan.
The score is wonderful by Henry Jackman and includes little snippets of pop music like Eye of a Tiger but it is brief and there is a good song you’ll hear in the trailers called Immortals by Fall Out Boy.
There is such heart in this movie. It reminded me of Up in the way we bond with a character quickly and we see their importance to our protagonist and that love we feel for the deceased character lives as a palatable force throughout the movie. Just like Ellie’s love for Carl painted every scene in Up with love so does Hiro’s interactions with Baymax remind us of the love of his brother Tadashi.
It’s hard to think of a movie about two brothers which is so well done. How nice after Disney gave us the love of 2 sisters they give us equal heart with brothers.
But if that kind of heart isn’t your thing there is also a nifty plot and fun action adventure like any other Marvel film. Like I said, the villains really surprised me and there’s a good twist. If you like The Incredibles Big Hero 6 is right up there with it. It’s got everything Incredibles has but it’s about a group of friends instead of a family . They are both wonderful so high praise!
Also the crew all have fun personalities and bring in a lot of humor.
I think there is something in Big Hero 6 for everyone. It’ looks gorgeous, great performances, wonderful music, fun story, great heart. What more could you want?
Once again I admire Disney on being so bold . I can’t think of an animated movie which has such real, modern feeling characters. At least not since Oliver and Company!
I really will be shocked if you guys don’t love it. What an amazing year for animation 2014 has been and I hope they nominate 5 films because Lego, Big Hero 6, Book of Life, Boxtrolls and How to Train Your Dragon 2 all deserve recognition. I honestly have no idea which I like most. They are all so different and wonderful!
Anyway, I loved Big Hero 6. It made me cry, laugh and carried me away with the adventure. There is a brief section in the middle with fighting that dragged a little bit but other than that I’d say it was perfect.
Overall Grade- A+ This is officially now my new #6 in my rankings!
The short before it called Feast is ADORABLE!!
Here’s my video review
Great! They definitely will nominate 5 animated films for the Oscars since they had 20 films submitted to be considered.
Oh good! 20 films. Didnt realize there were that many animated films this year. Great year!
Yeah, I made a post about it on my blog:
http://markb4.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/the-87th-academy-awards-considers-20-films-for-best-animated-feature-nominations/
Cool. Certainly one of the best years for animated films in recent years. Excited to see some on that list! Only one real stinker
I’m surprised the Pirate Fairy was on the list since it didn’t get a theatrical release. I figured it had to in order to be considered but those tinker bell movies are very well done.
It did get a limited theatrical release, more internationally than in the US.
Interesting. Didnt know that. I havent seen it but I like the series
I’ve never seen any of them, but I’d like to check them out one day.
They are tailored to a young girl demographic so if you keep that in mind I think there’s a high production value and pretty engaging stories.
Is there a limit to just 5 nominations or could there be more?
Yeah, it could either be 3 or 5 depending on the amount of movies submitted. So, it can’t be more than 5.
Cool
Pleased to hear that Disney are still continuing their good streak. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t come out in the UK until the end of January!
I’ll be interested to see how it compares to the other films you mentioned: I haven’t seen Boxtrolls or Book Of Life, and I thought The Lego Movie was only OK, but How To Train Your Dragon 2 was fantastic.
Yeah will be anxious for your thoughts. No fun for Europeans to have to wait till January. It’s our revenge for you making us wait on Downton Abby and Sherlock. 😉
And your like the 4th or 5th person this week who has told me Lego was just ok. Funny ha?
I loved it. So creative, visually inventive, such a great depiction of how a child actually plays and it made me laugh. But I’m glad you enjoyed it on some level. The new Studio Ghibli film looks great too so bravo 2014!
The Lego Movie was a great visual experience, but I wasn’t that enamoured with the characters. And I’ve heard more annoying songs this year than Everything Is Awesome, but not many.
Downton Abbey hasn’t been too bad this latest series, by the way. And everybody has to wait a long time for Sherlock, no matter what country you live in.
It’s so funny about Everything is Awesome because its purpose in the story is to be kind of this base song that everyone mindlessly likes so it’s very ironic when it became popular…
Oh I’m so excited for Downton. It airs in January here. Last season was so drab and sad. I hope theyve interjected a little more of the wit and lightness that initially drove me to the show.
BBC drives me nuts! In America we have shows with 22+ episodes a season. In UK we get 3 Sherlocks every 2 years and 7 Downton episodes each year. Killing me!! 😉
There is indeed less misery at Downton this time round. Unless you like Edith, for whom nothing good ever happens.
Six episodes is the average for a UK TV series, though some like Doctor Who get as many as 13. I don’t know how American series even manage to film 22 episodes every year. The actors’ schedules must be crippling.
Poor Edith!
I guess we put our actors to work! Ha lol. Jason Segal did 22 episodes and 2 or more movies a year. Some shows like Survivor have 2 seasons a year. They are starting season 30 next year! So yeah big difference
But the waiting and anticipation has its charms too. I don’t like a lot of dramas on tv, mainly reality and comedies so Sherlock and Downton are so looked forward to although Sherlock pushes my patience!
I did really enjoy the new season of 24. I love ER but new dramas havent caught my attention.
I’m seeing this film tomorrow night. I’ll let you know if I agree or disagree with you on this one probably on Sunday or sometime after that.
Awesome!
Glad to hear that it’s likely as good, or better than, last year’s Frozen.
So different it’s hard to compare but it’s really good
Hope I didn’t spoil anything. I tried.
The only thing you might have spoiled was that the main character’s brother dies at some point, but that’s pretty much it. Anyway, I’m guessing the Lawn Gnome will be reviewing this month and then Fun & Fancy Free next month, eh?
Not sure what he’s reviewing but the brother thing is in the trailer so I figured fair game
Right, of course.
Wow, you were right. The brother thing was in the trailer. I watched it just now. I saw that trailer on Alexander & The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Day. I had forgotten about the brother thing when I saw that. Oh well!
Will be curious what you think of it
So, I went to see Big Hero 6 earlier tonight. My thoughts on the film? Definitely awesome! I’d at least give it an A since I liked Frozen slightly better (other than this one having more action than Frozen, that is). Still, I can see why you have it an A+. I thought it was sad when, and spoiler alert: don’t read for those of you who plan to comment in the future and still have yet to see the film, A) Tedashi dies and B) Baymax 1 has to sacrifice himself at the end, you know? Well, at least Teashi was remembered in the end and Baymax number 2 was made. End of spoilers. Also definitely bad some great twists. By the way, what did you think of the trailers that they showed before the film or even the short film Feast?
I’m glad you enjoyed it. That’s what I figured. It may not be everyone’s favorite but I can’t imagine anyone disliking it. You know? It was just a lot of fun and had a big heart.
I loved the trailer for Inside Out. That made me so excited because it looks SOOO GOOD! I also loved Feast. It was perfect!
I can’t remember where we were discussing it but I did see an update on Moana. They are moving it from 2018 to 2016 and that moved it from hand drawn to CGI. Too bad I guess but the concept art and stills look pretty great.
Agreed! The concept for Moana did look great. Anyway, you know what else were good trailers? Did you see the newer trailer for Annie? That was a great one! I agree that the trailer for Inside Out was awesome too. I also saw that trailer on Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Anyways, definitely liked the trailers for Inside Out and Annie respectively. Also, I liked the trailers for Hillsong, Tomorrowland, Paddington, & Spare Parts. Anyway, did you see the trailers for any of those as well, or did you see any trailers for any films that I didn’t have on the list? Oh, and I believe we were discussing about Moana on your Home On The Range review. I agree that there was a lot of heart in Big Hero 6. Now I’m trying to debate whether or not I want to get it when it comes out on video or something like that. And another thing, I agree that Feast was an awesome short film. I don’t know about you, but I kind of liked Feast a little bit better than Paperman. Not by much, but still. Both are great shorts though. I don’t know why I like it a little better. I think it might be because it has a dog in it and I like dogs. Oh, and I thought it was awesome how, spoiler alert, again don’t read if some of you conmenting on here haven’t see the short and Big Hero 6 yet: the dog gets his owner and a girl together. End of spoiler. Anyway, awesome short film and film and I liked how Disney added their very first Marvel film in the Disney Classics Library.
Great comment! Thanks! As far as trailers Annie looks pretty good. Paddington looks a little much like Garfield movies and I’m worried SquarePants will be like The Smurfs movies but I always say with good writing anything can be good. Tough to tell on Tomorrowland but I’m intrigued. Alexander looks harmless enough although I’m a little miffed because they have lost the spirit and message of the book. I can’t remember what other trailers I saw but looks like some good movies coming up! Inside Out is my most anticipated.
As far as Feast vs Paperman I’ll have to watch it again so it’s fresh on my mind but I enjoyed both a lot.
Oh, by the way, did you stay to watch the credits and the scene following them?
Yep. It was fun. I’m a little over the Marvel credits thing but it was pretty good one
Thanks and you’re welcome. My friends and I did not see the trailer for SpongeBob Squarepants on Big Hero 6, but I’ve seen that trailer on other films in the past. I agree it just looks okay. Not something I’m too excited about. Alexander was funny, but a little too crude for children at times. Anyway, I’m glad you enjoyed Big Hero 6 as well.
Cool! What a great 2014 has been at the movies especially animated!
Agreed! Oh, by the way, I’m excited to see both Zootopia and Moana when they both come out in 2016. Are you excited for both as well, or just one or the other? Also, I’m interested how Musker Clements do on their first CGI Disney film.
Very excited for both. It’s been a long time since they did an anthropomorphic animals film that I feel like there will be a lot of nostalgia about it. Boy John Lasseter is quite the war horse. I wonder how much he will be able to keep it all up. Awesome! I am also always curious to see Musker and Clements work. They are so creative and such great storytellers!
Yes they are.
I loved this movie, Baymax was such a delight and the animation was some of the most gorgeous I have ever seen in my life. My review is up on youtube.
Yay! I’m so glad you liked it. I just watched your review and agree 100%! I was so entertained and loved the diversity of the cast and thought it looked beautiful. The villain seemed very clever and had more complicated motivations than most of these movies and for someone who doesn’t normally love super hero movies I really responded well to it. A new favorite. I think it is neat after Frozen showed us 2 sisters loving each other that we get Big Hero 6 about brothers. That was great.
Hey readers here is Lawn Gnomes review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At3PAe9Ff5k
2014 is certainly one of the best years of animation since the 90s IMO. What a treat!
Agreed!
Hey, hope I didn’t wake you up, but I thought you should know that I saw Big Hero 6 again earlier tonight. I will say both that film and the short film Feast were just as good, if not better than, this time around. Oh, and a couple of the trailers changed. Hey showed all of the same ones except they didn’t show one for Spare Parts this time around. Also, there was a trailer for Minions and the new Spongebob movie this time around. You said you saw the trailer at least for the Spongebob film when you saw Big Hero 6, is that right?
I have seen the spongebob trailer several times now and I just feel like every live action, animation blending lately has been so bad so I’m skeptical. I actually like the old animated movies so I’m not sure why they didn’t go that route. I guess because the Smurf movies both made a lot of money for some strange reason.
I’m glad you enjoyed both even more the second time. I already ordered my Blu-ray and may just have to see it again in the theaters. We will see if I get there. Such a good movie . What do you think of 2014? I think it has been so excellent as far as animation.
I’d say it’s definitely been one of the best years of animation and movies period since we’ve gotten animated films such as Peabody & Sherman, Lego Movie, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Big Hero 6, & possibly a few more. Then, we’ve also gotten trally great live-action films like God’s Not Dead, Heaven Is For Real, Son Of God, Captain America 2, & possibly more. I guess as far as animated films go, the only not so great ones would probably be Planes: Fire & Rescue & The Nut Job (but I haven’t seen that one). Oh, I also saw the trailer for Penguins Of Madagascar this time around too. I’m definitely looking forward to that one too.
It really has been a great year at the movies. I’ve loved Boyhood, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Guardians of the Galaxy and Edge of Tomorrow.
They did the SpongeBob movie 10 years ago. I enjoyed it then, I’ve only seen the original Planet of the Apes and I really wish I had seen more movies besides basically just Interstellar this year.
True but that was all animation. This is live action CG hybrid like Smurfs which I HATE so I’m skeptical but who knows with good writing anything can be good. We’ll see.
I highly recommend the new Apes series especially this last one (they sum up Rise pretty well so you can actually just watch the latest if you want).
I haven’t seen Interstellar yet. My friends all thought it was really boring. You?
I generally try not to keep any movie’s thoughts to “It was really boring”. Also I know that you have said on your other blog that you thought 2001: A Space Odyssey was boring, and I’m in the uncomfortable position of being on the exact opposite end of the spectrum due to viewing it as a cinematic masterpiece and the greatest film I have ever seen in my life. (pause) Needless to see, the only way I can undo my preceding understatement is to say this is our greatest disagreement.
Consequently, I had a lot of high expectations going in to see what had been dubbed Nolan’s love letter to 2001, and Interstellar lived up to that only in the visuals. The visuals are great and that’s most of the reason people are praising it, though I actually prefer Kubrick’s despite the movie coming out in 1968, because I always prefer story to visuals and Kubrick used an almost indescribable meshing of visuals with an extremely unconventional story that was more of a philosophical meditation .
I’m a bit surprised people thought Interstellar was boring because it seemed like it was made to appeal to people who found 2001 boring. 2001 alienated people due to breaking the Hollywood structure and using its ending to convey complex emotions, while Interstellar used the 3-act structure and grounded its 2001 tribute ending in emotions everyone can relate to.
I got the impression it was the epitome of watered-down 2001 for 2001 haters. Interstellar is ultimately a good, fun science fiction story. It is even fairly imaginative but its message is ultimately simplistic. Read A Wrinkle in Time for the “I love you, Charles Wallace” climax with more imagination and more intelligence aimed at a younger, maligned demographic to get this ending done right and have it be about more.
I don’t have a clue what your friends thought of 2001, but considering you hated it I actually recommend Interstellar for you. I think you might relate to the emotions a good deal more than I did and you’d probably get a lot out of it. Check it out.
Cool. I don’t hate 2001. Just found it slow but it is a visual masterpiece for sure. And I totally agree on the boring front. Now that I have more experience writing and reading reviews I try not to use the B word and give a more nuanced review bc it really doesn’t tell you much.
Interesting about Interstellar. Havent heard that take on it. I totally plan on seeing. Just been busy and only gotten to Into the Woods and It’s a Wonderful Life in last 2 months.
I should have asked more questions of my friends so I’m not sure why they found it boring (there words not mine).
My personal favorite Kubrick movie is The Shining bc I think he has the most interesting characters and most relatable settings although some of his films are too R Rated in content for me to see with my beliefs so cant speak for those.
I haven’t seen any other Kubrick movies. But I can assure you you didn’t find 2001 slow. It is objectively the slowest-paced film ever made.
Fair enough. I should watch it again because it has been many years since I saw it and I think I can safely say I’m a more sophisticated filmgoer now. Oh I also love Kubricks Dr Strangelove. That’s my favorite. You should watch it. Talk about a black comedy but Peter Sellers is brilliant and love the black and white.
Agreed! Now, to see how Penguins Of Madagascar, Annie, Gods & Kings, The Hobbit Part 3, Hunger Games 3, , Night At The Museum 3, & others compare to the rest of this year, eh?
Yep! I’m actually excited about a lot of those; although, Penguins does not interest me much but who knows? I always say ‘with good writing anything can be good’. 🙂
Agreed! What were your thoughts on any of the three Madagascar films, just out of curiosity?
You know I havent gotten around to seeing any but the first. Shame on me I know
I see. Alright then, what were your thoughts at least on the first Madagascar film then?
I enjoyed it! Chris Rock kind of gets on my nerves so not a big fan of the zebra but it’s a lot of fun. I’d probably give it a solid B but it’s been a while. I need to see the rest. Some years I have a lot of time to watch movies, others I’m more into books or other hobbies. 🙂
If you’d like me to review them I take requests 🙂
That would be great. I’ve seen all three and I will say I like the third and final one the best of the three Madagascar films. Still, please review all three and let me know which one you like the best of the three, or even if you like all three equally. Thanks!
K. When I have a minute I will.
Cool and no worries. You get to it when you get to it.
Honestly, I’m surprised you loved it so much. My feelings are much more in line with Doug Walker’s and I wish I could say I agree with you but this was not to me worthy of anything close to an A+.
Baymax is a great character and I enjoyed the opening, but this just seemed a big change in direction from Frozen. As for what more could you want, I wish the characters had been more interesting, I wish the story had been more interesting. I really agree with you about the middle dragging. I would have preferred a stronger villain as well. We haven’t really gotten a great traditional Disney villain since Tangled.
But also I just don’t tend to like superhero movies, with the exception of Superman II which was made more than 30 years ago. I was really hoping you wouldn’t compare this to Guardians of the Galaxy but this is miles ahead of that movie. I was recently roped into watching it with extended family of my aunt’s, all of whom seemed to love it. One of them asked me what I thought of it when we were done, and I asked if he had heard of 2001: A Space Odyssey. He said he had but hadn’t seen it. I said, “Well, it’s very interesting because it actually has a plot and it does make sense if you take the time to think about it. I mean, you CAN work it out.” His response: “Oh, I gotcha.” XD
And to Big Hero 6’s credit, this is also true for it but that really isn’t saying much compared to Guardians of the Galaxy. Baymax was also funnier than anything in Guardians of the Galaxy but again that means basically nothing. It is not hard to beat that movie.
I also wish there had been a few more general Disney themes in this, if it absolutely couldn’t be a musical which may have added to it. I suppose I could admire them for doing something new but unlike you I thought that worked better in Wreck-It Ralph, which I feel was a much stronger film than this.
Again I wish I could agree with you, I really do. I just did not get that from this movie, and I sorely wanted to.
That’s ok. Don’t feel bad. Many disagree with me and that’s fine. I don’t take it personal. I am actually not a huge superhero movie fan in general but I really loved Guardians, Captain America 2, X Men Days of Future Past and Big Hero 6. Good year for me and superheroes I guess.
I really responded to the characters and the relationship of the brothers. I thought the rest of the Hiro team were fun especially Fred. The villain’s motivations surprised me and I thought it had that balance of heart, humor and fun. I also loved the creativity of Sanfransokyo. I loved Baymax and thought it was nice to have a younger main character that behaved like a lonely young boy might. Yeah I was utterly charmed by the movie and stand by my A+. 🙂
But that’s ok. I’m glad we live in a world where there are all kinds of people and we are free to express all kinds of opinions.
The short film at the beginning, Feast was nice, too. It just felt far more standard after Paperman and Get a Horse!. And that’s what the movie seemed like: standard. The brother’s death did have great impact but I just kept wondering if he would come back eventually. Baymax and Callaghan did, so it wasn’t wrong for me to be wondering about this.
In the end, I see this as a noble experiment in breaking from the norm for Disney, just not as successful as Wreck-It Ralph and one that I don’t see myself watching again or having much place in the new line of Disney movies. This felt to me like what Pocahontas was to the Disney renaissance or perhaps your reaction to Hunchback of Notre Dame except not nearly as extreme. It is also disappointing when a Disney movie’s greatest precedent is probably Treasure Planet, too.
Fair enough. I really bonded to it and just thought Wreck it Ralph was average. I got bored in Sugar Crush and found Sarah Silverman to be very annoying.
Yeah I really liked the characters, the relationship of the brothers, Baymax and his loving nature, the diversity and humor of the 6, the cityscapes and creative setting and a villain which had a pretty good backstory. I loved the way a character passes on and yet their influence is felt as a palatable force like in Up. I loved how the group of friends wasnt going to give up on the grieving Hiro. It made me laugh, cry and was excited.
Anyway I’m repeating myself. It worked for me for whatever reason and didnt for you and there you go. So is life
Wreck-It Ralph did have a more creative premise for me, the movie’s tone was better for me for having that primary arena rather than hopping all over the place, and Venellope I liked because she was obnoxious at first but we gradually got to warm up to her over the story and understand her to the point the last line really meant something.
Disney has distributed anime, Pixar already did a superhero movie 10 years ago I thought was much better. Baymax worked for me, but I really didn’t relate to the 6, and I’m not interested in visuals as much as a story.
But yeah, that’s basically a good way of summing it up. So is life.
Thanks for sharing your different point of view 🙂
I actually like Big Hero 6 better in hindsight. Most of my criticisms still stand that it goes downhill with the second act, but it’s also a pretty well-told story, it’s funny and Hiro and his brother are stronger characters than I gave them credit for.
That’s great. I guess I’m not one that minds a familiar story if I’m emotionally attached to the characters and I was with Big Hero 6. The scene where Hiro has to let go of Baymax gets me every time. 🙂 Nice thing about Disney/Pixar is between the 2 of them there is something for everyone.
There seem to be two types of audience reactions to Big Hero 6: those who went in with pretty big expectations and somehow came out dissatisfied, and those with more moderate expectations who came away really enjoying the film. I’m in the latter group. I really don’t subscribe to the belief that this is a lesser film than ‘Wreck-it-Ralph’, for me this story has a lot more effort put into it, the animation was up to its usual high standard, and the scenes with Baymax flying made me jealous of the folks who saw it in the cinema, and above all I think it’s sense of heart is more in line with what I’d usually expect and appreciate from Disney. In terms of the two Geek culture Disney films that came out in the last three years, I’m on the exact opposite opinion from Doug Walker: he prefers ‘Ralph’, I prefer ‘Big Hero 6’. I wouldn’t say it’s as good a superhero film as ‘The Incredibles’ but what makes it unique is having a mature outlook on the darker themes of the story, showing a very positive stance on science and education with so much energy and gusto that its infectious, and the heart of the film is the relationship between Hiro and Baymax. The more I think about this film the more I like this film and feel disappointed in Doug.
I will say that while the villain had a decent backstory and pretty good motivations for his actions, again he doesn’t really get the time to sink in to memory. I think the last truly great Disney villain we had was Mother Goethel, but that was four years ago, and so far I haven’t been impressed by the more recent ones. Some aspects of it felt a little predictable (but not as bad as Doug made it out), but again it was at least cleverly done and you as the viewer felt part of that journey. Overall, the emotional journey and smart script makes it stand out among the Disney Animated Cano, and if it inspires a new generation of science-loving children then all the better!
You and I have been on such the same page the last few weeks! I completely agree with everything you said. I went into Big Hero 6 with no real expectations. I am not a huge superhero movie fan and had no experience with the comic books. I really hadn’t heard that much about it so I was dazzled. I thought Sanfransokyo was very clever. I liked having a younger protagonist which hardly ever happens in Disney. I liked the relationship of the 2 brothers and how it continues on throughout the film. I loved Baymax and think someone should make me one!
I also thought the villain for a comic book movie was pretty clever. His motivations were interesting and I thought he was a complex character.
I agree The Incredibles is better but I would say Avengers is best comic book movie with Incredibles as #2. 3 is Guardians of the Galaxy and 4 is Big Hero 6. (I’m not a big Batman fan. Don’t hate it but don’t love it like everyone else. Too gloomy). Anyway, I just loved Big Hero 6 and actually agreed with the Academy when it won over Boxtrolls and How to Train Your Dragon although I would have given it to Song of the Sea or Lego if it was totally my pick. Still I thought it was better than Dragon and a very good entry in the canon. There was one critic who said it was the worst Disney film in 20 years. Give me a break. Oh well!
I personally think The Lego Movie should have won the Best Animated Feature award because of its brilliant pseudo-stop-motion animation and overall ingenious story, but that doesn’t take away at all from ‘Big Hero 6’, and hey: at least we now have two superhero films that won best animated picture!
But speaking of which, while I really like The Avengers and most of the Marvel crop, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ didn’t really do it for me. I didn’t see characters or story there so much as an exercise in excess and how much goofiness could be crammed into one film. Like ‘Ralph’ it was hyped up so much that when I saw it, I was still scratching my head why people loved it as much as they did. In fact, I found the recent ‘Age of Ultron’ more involving as a story, and I’m still surprised at its mixed reception. Simply put, GOTG steadily made me sick to death of Marvel, whereas ‘Ultron’ reinvigorated my interest in them.
Anyway, if Disney’s upcoming animated films are up to the standards met by ‘Big Hero 6’ we’ll be in for an awesome future!
I agree on Lego. Im so excited to see Ultron tonight. Most of the reviews I’ve seen have been very positive
I love Wreck-It Ralph far more than Doug and agree with his review of this movie completely. I was going to say all that Doug said was that Big Hero 6 was okay and that other people might love it more than he did, which isn’t much call to be disappointed in him.
But now……………….. Thank you for being the only person on the Internet to agree with me about Guardians of the Galaxy except Confused Matthew!!!!!!!! XD XD XD <> I watched it when I was visiting relatives of my aunt on Christmas. The teenage girl asked me if I wanted to watch it with her and so we all sat on the couch. I am not a superhero movie fan in general, but the whole family seemed to love it so I was surrounded by people (including an 11-year-old boy which made the “green whore” line uncomfortable for me) who all loved it and had clearly seen it many times before in the past few months it had been out.
I was just annoyed by it the whole time it was running. It seemed overstuffed with characters and complications to the point it took me a while to figure out what was going on, and then I realized it was just two sides throwing a magic 8-ball back and forth, and it was obvious who would get it in the end. I considered going up into the kitchen to join the people talking there, but in the end I stuck it out and was so bored I wanted to leave within the first 15 minutes. When the credits started I expected them to turn it off but they said they would “when it’s over” and said that one of them liked watching credits in particular.
I was asked by the eldest son what I thought of it, and I asked: “Have you ever seen 2001: A Space Odyssey?” He said no, but he had heard of it. Obviously for most of human history since 1968 no one ever expected the day would come when anyone could say this in all sincerity, so I took the opportunity with pleasure: “Well, you see, it’s very interesting because it has a plot. I mean, you can work it out if you try hard enough.” His reply: “Oh, I gotcha.”
But seriously, I did talk to a few of them about why they liked it afterwards, and the answers helped me grow a lot. Someone who showed up later, in particular, said that she had liked it, “but only as a having fun movie” after she had agreed with my opinion that Interstellar was overrated and she wanted to watch 2001.
I recommend you watch Confused Matthew’s review of Guardians of the Galaxy and tell me what you think (I watched it via headphones on a laptop as soon as the movie was over):
http://blip.tv/confused-matthew/gurdians-of-the-galaxy-general-review-7007021
Ha. I’m glad you guys could find each other over Guardians of the Galaxy. I’m kind of over defending it. I loved it and thought it was a new Star Wars but you didnt that’s cool too. As long as we are enjoying some movies and trying to be respectful of others that’s what matters. Love me some Big Hero 6!
Just google “confused matthew guardians of the galaxy” and it will come up on bliptv.
Definitely not as enamored with Confused Matthew as you. It’s just so negative and he isnt funny like the best of Nostalgia Critic. But if he does it for you and expresses your views than that’s awesome. As far as youtubers I’m kind of over the whole angry critic thing. My favorite channels are Jeremy Jahns, Schmoes Know, AMC Movie Talk, and Chris Stuckmann
I don’t consider myself enamored with him at all. His critical skills are limited to very specific films. I only watch his reviews primarily because I consider him a fascinating human being. In a way I feel like every time I read something he says I’m filing it away into a character case study.
My sister is, and she finds his videos completely hilarious and told me he “seems like a really cool guy” (particularly his Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End review).
I thought a lot of his LIon King 2 review was funny (“So Timon and Pumbaa get distracted reenacting a beer commercial…. I’m not even kidding about that”) (“So naturally within the first few minutes of looking after her they nearly crush and drown her to death…”) Along with the dubbing over of the Benny Hill music to the dramatic car chase in Saw.
In any case I wasn’t recommending the review for you.
That’s very true. You weren’t. recommending it for me. Sorry. I appreciate you clarifying. You just bring him up a lot so i suppose that’s what I was thinking of. Great thing about youtube is it gives chance for people of all different tastes to both find and make content. It’s very empowering when you think about it. 🙂
You might like his favorite movies review of Beauty & The Beast. It’s nothing but fawning love and brought up a lot of new aspects of the film and why it works I hadn’t thought of before.
Cool.
I’d like to watch The Avengers in full because it was also being watched later at the house and I actually liked the bits I saw of it (though I stopped watching because the DVD player had to be reset after there was a problem with it and the movie wouldn’t keep playing). It helps I have some knowledge of characters like The Incredible Hulk, Captain America. I come close to saying I’m not qualified to have an opinion on Guardians of the Galaxy since I don’t know anything about those comics and the characters at all, but a few people there told me they hadn’t read them either (and I doubt you have).
Most of them also took a break from watching The Lego Movie on cable to say goodbye the next morning. That one looks fun.
Yeah Guardians was an obscure comic book franchise much like Big Hero 6. New characters kind of have an appeal but characters we know do also. I haven’t read many comic books so they are all in a way kind of new.
I don’t know what you would like but I thought Avengers was great because it doesn’t take itself too seriously but it’s not a joke. Loki is a great villain and they all have terrific chemistry. Joss Whedon is great writing scripts with action but also humor.
I like movies like Big Hero 6 that have a mixture of comedy and heart. I loved the relationship of the brothers and how that was kept alive through Baymax. I loved how creative it was and visually beautiful and thought the team of 6 was diverse and extremely likable. I also thought the villain was complex and had interesting motivation. A lot of these same positive traits I saw in Avengers. But I saw them in Guardians although that doesnt have quite as good a villain. I loved the treasure hunt around the galaxy and our loveable troop with a sharp script that had action but made me laugh. I know you feel differently which is awesome.
As far as Lego Movie I think it’s brilliant. To me it is the movie Wreck it Ralph should have been. It shows how kids really play. The randomness of play. It’s creative and visually stunning and again made me laugh a lot but it also has tremendous heart.
Luckily there are plenty of movies out there for all different tastes. I didn’t like superhero movies for years but last little while I’ve come around and found one’s I do like. That’s entertainment for you.
Oh and sorry for not responding to your Mad Men email. I mean too and then keep getting distracted. Maybe I’ll watch Sunday and then respond.