Big Hero 6

Spoilers

Prior to viewing, I was unaware of the plot of 2014's Disney film BIG HERO 6.  I was also unaware of its connection with Marvel Comics (and, on a not unrelated note, the post credits surprise cameo).   The movie is not billed as a Marvel adventure but does feature characters who originated there.  This means that the titular "6" will be a team of superheroes who thwart a bad guy.  But for the first act of this movie, you don't know that.  When the story develops in this direction, it's a bit of a disappointment, because the set up was so good, and strong enough without all the later derring do.

Hiro is an early teenage genius, far beyond others his age.  He has refused to attend college and instead uses his talents in robotics to participate in illegal street robot fights.  His brother Tadashi, a student at the local technological institute, encourages him to enter a science fair.  First prizes grants one admission to the school.  Hiro creates miniature robots controlled by a neuro-cranial transmitter, nabbing him admission but also the attention of a tech company CEO, portrayed in his first scene to be somewhat suspicious.  Hiro does the right thing and turns him down.  The future looks bright....but then an unforeseeable tragedy strikes.

I forgot to mention Baymax, the inflatable robot that Tadashi created.  Baymax is designed to provide health care, to diagnose ailments via quick scans and a vast database of medical data.  He's also quite lovable,  a reflection of his kind creator.  The early scenes create a nice relationship between Hiro and the robot, pre and post disaster.  It is during the latter that the movie's best scenes occur, heartfelt but not syrupy.  Then some of the other characters, Tadashi's fellow students and friends at the Institute, become involved in a plot to unmask the mysterious figure who has stolen Hiro's prototype for the microbots - which can band together to create any shape or form - and save their city.

I've become weary of such adventures, though for BIG HERO 6 it works fairly well.  The anti-gravity pursuits and gadgetry are more palatable in an animated feature.  "Real life" superhero flicks just look too artificial.  The CGI is always at odds with terrestrial landscapes.  Here, this patently manufactured town of "San Fransokyo" is a perfect playground for superhero exploits and mayhem.  Once the third act was unleashed my enjoyment continued, but in a more adreanalust sorta way.  I would've liked a quieter tale of a lonely outcast genius and the Michellin Man caregiver, but the writers and directors Don Hall and Chris Williams segue the movie into another spectacle. The animation, it must be said, is astonishingly good.

Still, all the noise can't negate the gentle charms of Baymax, whether he's tending to an arm abrasion or employing martial arts.  I really liked him.