Intentionally disorienting from its opening scene. It takes you mid-film and then stretches out in both directions from there. You are introduced to a bearded and dishevelled Ryland Grace (Ryan Gosling), surrounded by technology that is a mystery to him. As his wits return, he discovers he is alone and on a spaceship in the outer regions of the universe.

As the non-linear storyline progresses, you discover Ryland was at one time a lowly high school science teacher during a time of an impending cataclysmic event. The Earth’s Sun is being attacked and drained of its power by an alien organism, and he is an expert in the field. His aw-shucks nature puts him at odds with the scientific community, but his innate genius causes them to begrudgingly accept him into the fold.

To comment further on the storyline would rob the viewer of the upcoming surprises and blunt the joy of discovery. The departure from the traditional hero narrative remains and reinforces the sense that there is greatness in opening your mind to the plight of others. Using Andy Weir’s 2021 science fiction novel of the same name as source material, this cinematic take stays true to Weir’s sensibilities if not his actual words.
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Big Hero 6 is all just a bit ‘kiddie’ and twee compared to its contemporaries. Yes, this is a kid’s movie but after all the intergenerational ‘kids’ movies we’ve had from Pixar and others, a plain ol’ kids movie barely cuts it anymore. The beauty of intergenerational children’s films is not just that they entertain the kid’s parents but that children will find them enriching as they get older and the adult themes open up to them. Pixar’s Up being the prime example thus far. So there are few reasons not to do it.

The other issue with Big Hero 6 is that it follows what are probably the story’s least interesting characters. Baymax is a benign creature with a benign personality, not a great start for creating a character of interest. Sure, he’s kind of cute, but that wears thin quickly. And Hiro (our hero) is an off-the-rails orphaned youth with authority issues who, after the death of his brother, finds direction in his life. It’s an oft-used narrative that adds little to a well-traipsed formula beside said benign robot.

The female characters in it, however, GoGo and Honey Lemon, are both more interesting characters and perhaps the film would have benefited from revealing more of their back-stories. Given that Big Hero 6 is clearly the origins of a new franchise, there is scope to explore these characters further and so maybe future films can build positively on this foundation.

The short film, Feast, which precedes the feature, however, is a masterpiece, following the ups and downs of a human relationship from the perspective of the family pet. It’s full of heart, truth and will quite possibly make you cry. Just brilliant. Perhaps the strength of the short undermines the weakness of the feature.

Stuart Jamieson
www.movietimes.com.au/Movie/Big-Hero-6