RATED
Baymax Factor
Don’t buy a book or a disc till you’ve read this!
It’s a Marvel movie and a Disney animation!
Release Date: 25 May 2014 | PG | Blu- ray 3D/ Blu- ray/ DVD Directors: Don Hall, Chris Williams Cast: Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, TJ Miller, Jamie Chung, Damon Wayans Jr, Genesis Rodriguez, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk
It was only a matter of time before Disney pulled together two heads of its giant multinational hydra to form an all- conquering movie superteam – the only surprise is that it didn’t happen sooner. With Big Hero 6 the Mouse House’s animation studio adapts a lesser- known Marvel comic, and the resulting hybrid is rather wonderful.
Existing outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the city of San Fransokyo ( the geography’s San Francisco, the architecture’s Tokyo), it’s a pure, unashamed superhero origin story about an unlikely sextet coming together to thwart a Big Bad. Like The Incredibles, it totally gets the conventions of superhero movies ( even down to a Stan Lee cameo), while weaving a tale more human and relatable than many of its live- action brethren can manage. The eponymous gang aren’t super, they’re just science geeks who come good, and they’re so beautifully rendered that you’re emotionally invested in their journey from ordinary kids to heroes via bereavement and revenge.
The whole thing is beautiful to look at, and in squashy inflatable medical robot Baymax, the movie has a true breakout star. You will want one of your own.
A deserving winner of this year’s Best Animated Feature Oscar – and no, we haven’t forgotten about The Lego Movie.
Extras: In “The Origin Story Of Big Hero 6” ( 15 minutes), voice star Jamie Chung wanders the streets of San Francisco, introducing talking head appearances from filmmakers and Marvel bigwigs like Joe Quesada and Jeph Loeb – it’s brief but fact- packed. In “Big Animator 6” ( six minutes), a bunch of animators sit in a room to talk about their process. Four deleted scenes ( mostly storyboard footage, totalling 13 minutes) reveal some interesting alternative ideas for storytelling. There’s also “Feast” ( six minutes), the sweet short that accompanied the movie in cinemas; a Mickey Mouse cartoon ( four mins); and a trailer. Richard Edwards
Baymax’s face was inspired by a temple bell, while his walk was based on a baby with a full nappy.