Big Hero 6

There's been a mixture of concern and excitement ever since Marvel Comics was bought out by Walt Disney. While the Marvel Cinematic Universe has alleviated most concerns, there have still been very few full-on collaborations between the two companies. Sure, Disney XD airs animated series based on Marvel characters, which in turn have crossed over with Disney Channel shows like Phineas & Ferb and Jessie (I have yet to see the latter). Big Hero 6 marks the first time Disney has made a movie on its own based on Marvel characters, who are obscure enough that they could be passed off as original Disney creations.

The film takes place in San Fransokyo, a unique blend of the two cities it's named after. It centers around Hiro Hamada, a teenage genius who graduated high school early, but hasn't found a constructive outlet for his abilities. He's into underground robot fighting, but this gets him in trouble. Hoping to straighten him out, his older brother Tadashi takes him to his school and shows him around. It's here in the robotics lab, which looks like something straight out of Disney's own Imagineer Laboratories, that we meet the rest of the main characters- GoGo Tomago, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred. All of them are geniuses in their own way, each with their own unique inventions (except Fred, who's just the school mascot). Tadashi also introduces Hiro to his own project, a health care robot named Baymax. After seeing all of this and a chance meeting with their Professor Callaghan, Hiro is amazed and wants to apply.

The opportunity presents itself in the form of an annual exhibition held to gain admission. Hiro recreates his fighting robot in mass quantities on a smaller scale, resulting in microbots--tiny modules controlled by a headband that can link up together and create anything the wearer imagines. The display wows the audience and Callaghan, as well as attracting the attention of local businessman Alistair Krei. When offered the choice between the school and a job at Krei Tech, Hiro chooses the former.

Just as Aunt Cass (Tadashi and Hiro's guardian) is about to take everyone out to celebrate, a fire breaks out at the exhibition. Callaghan is still inside, so Tadashi runs in to save him. The building promptly explodes, resulting in Tadashi's death. The loss shakes Hiro to his core, and he no longer seems interested in the school. Then one day, he stubs his toe, triggering Baymax's activation. While struggling to avoid Baymax's nurturing, Hiro discovers that one of his microbots is still active and seems to be trying to go somewhere. Hoping finding the location will help Hiro's mental state, Baymax sets off with it, forcing Hiro to follow him.

The microbot leads them to a seemingly abandoned warehouse. The two look inside and find an assembly line where the microbots are being kept, and maybe even replicated. They run into a masked man (who is apparently called Yokai despite being unnamed in the film), who then attacks them using the microbots. They run, and just barely escape.

Hiro tries to go to the police, but the officer isn't really convinced. Baymax's battery is running low, so the two leave the station and head home. Back in his charging station, Baymax notices Tadashi's absense, and Hiro has to explain that he's dead. While Baymax makes attempts to comfort him, Hiro figures out Yokai must have been responsible for the fire so he could cover his tracks and steal the microbots.

Hiro upgrades Baymax with some karate skills and body armor, and they make another attempt to use the microbots to find Yokai. They arrive at a pier, and the microbot is lost. Suddenly Tadashi's friends all drive up. Baymax had called them, out of concern for Hiro. Yokai suddenly appears and attacks them, leading to a car chase as the six escape. At first their slowed by Wasabi's insistence on obeying traffic laws, but they finally get away when GoGo takes the wheel. Baymax managed to make record of Yokai's vital signs, so he would be easier to find later.

They end up at Fred's house, who is revealed to be a millionaire who's parents are away on business a lot. His house contains a lot of geek memorabilia, and contain a few nods to other Marvel characters if you look closely enough. As the characters interact, Fred reaches the same conclusion that the rest of the audience would have by this point; Yokai must be Alistair Krei. I was glad to see him make that realization, since the other characters are all genius science prodigies, while he was just the school's mascot.

Hiro then goes about creating super suits for himself and the others while upgrading Baymax's armor and capabilities, all based around their own inventions from their introductory scenes. Honey Lemon gets multi-colored balls that she can throw/shoot that provide smokescreens, adhesives, and other uses. GoGo Tomago's armor lets her skate on magnetic wheels, which she can also use as a weapon. Wasabi gets laser knives attached to his wrists, and Fred wears a fire-breathing dragon suit.

Baymax's own upgrades give him flight and rocket fists. Hiro can fasten himself aboard Baymax to fly around with him. The first flight is rough, but soon becomes a breathtaking bird's eye view of San Fransokyo. Baymax notices that Hiro's biochemistry indicates that Hiro's emotional state is improving during the flight. They take a rest on one of the several floating propellers over the city. (I'm assuming they're windmills for the city's power grid.) Because Baymax sees Hiro's getting better, he thinks he might be ready to deactivate. Before this could follow through, Baymax picks up Yokai's signature on an abandoned island. The six regroup and investigate.

They discover an abandoned Krei Tech facility, where a teleportation experiment went awry, resulting in the machine's destruction and the loss of a test pilot. Yokai has been using the microbots to salvage the gateways and attacks the six when he discover them. All of them aim for the mask to break his connection with the microbots. Hiro finally gets him down, but when the mask is off, it's not Krei. It's Professor Callaghan. He'd used the microbots to shield himself from the fire, and shows no signs of remorse that Tadashi lost his life going back for him. This revelation shatters Hiro, who removes Baymax's health care protocol chip and orders him to destroy Callaghan. Baymax's eyes turn red and he launches his entire arsenal against Callaghan. He retrieves his mask and escape, while the other heroes restrain Baymax long enough to put the health care chip back in. Hiro is furious, and takes off back home, abandoning his friends on the island. These and the scenes that follow are some of the most emotional to watch.

Baymax realizes that he had been tampered with. Despite not changing his friendly tone of voice, he just sounds like his feelings are hurt. Hiro makes another attempt to remove the chip, but is locked out this time. His fury breaks down into sadness, and everything he kept bottled up about his brother's death comes to the surface. Baymax then shows Hiro some recorded footage of Tadashi, which documented his own creation and the setbacks along the way. By the time he was complete, Tadashi was overjoyed at his creation and the difference he'll make in people's lives. This brings Hiro back down to earth, and he apologizes to Baymax.

The others find Hiro at his home, Fred's butler having picked them up. They found some additional footage from the accident, revealing that the pilot lost was Callaghan's daughter, and all of Yokai's actions are motivated by revenge for what happened to her. The six regroup and head to the opening of  a new Krei Tech facility, where Callaghan is set to use Krei's own gateway to destroy his new building and take him out. Attempts to talk him down fail, and the fighting resumes.

Realizing Yokai's supply of microbots is finite, the team then focuses on attacking them instead of going for the mask, each one figuring out a unique way to use their weapons. The microbots get sucked into the portal with everything else, until Yokai has run out of ammunition. Baymax picks up a life sign inside the portal, and they realize Callaghan's daughter must still be alive inside, albeit in stasis. Hiro hops on Baymax and they blast inside to retrieve her.

Inside what I can only assume is the Negative Zone, they find the shuttle and steer it towards the gateway. However, Baymax's armor is damaged and they seem trapped. Baymax attaches his rocket fist to the shuttle, and again requests deactivation. Hiro is, of course, resistant, but Baymax affirms that he is a health care companion, and Hiro is his patient, so his survival is his responsibility. Reluctantly, Hiro says he's satisfied with his care. Baymax begins to deflate as his armored fist propels Hiro and the shuttle to the portal. Callaghan's daughter is taken away in an ambulance while he is taken away in a police car. I thought he would smile at the sight of his daughter, but he never did, perhaps at the realization that because she's alive, his drive for revenge was meaningless.

Hiro returns home with Baymax's gauntlet, and discovers his health care chip inside the fist, giving him what he needs to rebuild his friend. In the wake of everything that happened, Hiro officially enrolls into the school (where Tadashi is given a memorial building), and the six continue their lives as superheroes.

After the credits, Fred is looking at his family portrait and discovers a secret room. His dad (portrayed by Stan Lee) then comes in behind him, revealing himself as a former superhero. They hug and seem to have a lot to talk about.

This movie really is the perfect blend of Marvel and Disney. The animation looks amazing, and the story has a lot of heart. It can really hit close to home if you've experienced the loss of a close friend or family member, and it handles that grief very realistically. Baymax is an adorable, wonderful character. It was really cool to see that each member of the team was smart in their own way. It was also great that there was very little conflict between them, aside from Hiro's own baggage about losing his brother. Honey Lemon and GoGo Tomago seem like characters who wouldn't like each other (or at least that GoGo would find Honey irritating). Their designs are complete opposites of one another. Honey's a tall blonde who loves bright colors, and GoGo's a shorter, black-haired girl with a bit more attitude. Nonetheless, they're still friends and it was a pleasant surprise they never argued once. Wasabi got the least exposure out of the group, but at least he has a distinct personality. Fred was another pleasant surprise, as he seemed like the one normal guy on a superhero team full of tech experts. But over time, he displays his own resourcefulness and is more than just the mascot.

I can definitely recommend this movie.