Tuesday 21 April 2015

Heroes and Villains - A Movie Review of Big Hero 6

Sometimes on Sunday nights we have a family movie night where we watch something that we've never seen before or share an old favourite from either my or Chris' childhood with the minions.  This week we opted for Big Hero Six, which several ratings assured me was appropriate for all ages.

What's in it for the Kids?
The kids were smitten with Beymax, the lovable huggable teddy bear of a health care robot from his very first scene.  Jack was convinced the character was a friendly snow man.  Every single laugh, giggle or coo was because of 30 Rock alumni Scott Adsit's show-stealing portrayal of the giant robotic health care practitioner.

What's in it for the Adults?
There has been a lot of debate and controversy surrounding cultural appropriation/misappropriation in the media recently.  Seeing how creators have married American and Japanese culture within their fictional city, San Fransokyo (a representation of San Francisco and Tokyo as one city) is a remarkable example of cultural appreciation that can serve as an example to all of us.  There are a handful of scenes within the movie designed to entertain adults that don't disappoint, particularly the low battery scene, which any adult who has ever snuck a drunk friend home will appreciate.  Click here to view it on YouTube.


Big Hero 6 Movie Poster, Big Hero 6 movie review
Image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Best Parts of the Movie
This movie represents the first ever partnership between Disney and Marvel, which is pretty cool in and of itself.  Essentially it's a Disney movie with a gritty comic book edge to it. Secondly this is a movie with strong, inspirational male and female characters in it with no link to romantic love. A genuine example of a story about friendship and fraternal love is very refreshing to a parent who often finds herself in the wonderful world of Princess mania.  Additional themes include, it's cool to be smart and the showcasing of bright young women in science.

Worst Parts of the Movie
This movie was dark for an "all ages" rating.  The Kabuki mask wearing villain and microbots terrified Molly and she needed to be comforted several times throughout the movie.  The story has a slow burn, and plays like a typical comic origin story.  The movie didn't completely hold Jack's attention and held Molly's a little too well, particularly during scary scenes.  We may see nightmares because of this one.

Overall Rating
For kids under six I would rate this movie 3/5.  I'm glad we watched this, but I don't see myself buying a copy any time soon.  If either kid develops a love of everything Marvel, that might change. There is a lot of death in this movie, even though it's more implied than shown.  This is a sad movie for little kids, but all the same touches on real themes such as loss, love, growing up/puberty and grey areas of judgement surrounding morals, ethics, good and bad.  This would be a great discussion movie for parents with older kids.

To read my review of Boyhood click here.

To read my review of Cinderella 2015 click here.

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