Big Hero 6

Director: Don Hall, Chris Williams
Cast: (Voiced by) Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Daniel Henny
Length:  102 minutes
Country: USA

After decades of plying children with magical tales of princesses and fantastical creatures, Disney has finally turned to science for inspiration, inadvertently creating a legendary figure. Baymax is the undisputed star of Big Hero 6, a ten-foot tall huggable Sheldon Cooper with perfect manners, even when he’s talking to people who don’t quite agree with him.

Every moment that he’s on screen is a delight – from the beautifully timed physical comedy that his size creates in a world designed for those much thinner than him to the tender emotional connection he builds with Hiro, his presence underpins one of the most visually stunning and modern films created by the masters of old school fairy-tale magic.

Every single second of this film is a visual spectacle

Disney has melded two worlds here – not only have East and West met in a glittering hybrid city called San Fransokyo, but you can see the blend of beauty that older animation can produce as well as the detail and realism that computers can generate. Every single second of this film is a visual spectacle, and some scenes have so much to take in that it can feel overwhelming – in the best possible way.

Taking a defunct Marvel comic, the animation house has skilfully manipulated the original material to produce a film that has the most diverse cast of any Disney film to date, as well as the first biracial animated lead. Every character is well-developed, from the typically girlish plastics genius Honey Lemon to the neat freak laser specialist Wasabi.

These characters challenge established media stereotypes, and science nerds can finally rejoice at having not one, but two positive female role models – Honey Lemon may love the colour pink, but she’s athletic and insanely clever. GoGo is the resident tomboy, but still manages to hold her own and proves to be just as capable of emotional sensitivity as the rest of the characters. It would seem that Disney is finally trying to break free of the princesses that have constrained it for so long.

This is a film that is so full of enthusiasm and joy that it’s hard not to get caught up in the action. Fred, a comic book geek and ridiculously wealthy student at San Fransokyo provides much of the comic relief, shouting the moves that he’s about to perform when fighting the nemesis – it’s a throwaway gag, but it works perfectly, and reminds one of the original intellectual property that Disney was working from.

Although Frozen might still be all the rage, this film deserves just as many plaudits. It’s something that’s completely new, and features characters with a wider range of emotions and personalities than anything they’ve produced before, all with such glorious artistry that you can never feel bored while watching it. Disney has finally created something completely new – a film that doesn’t just escape from reality, but is a direct challenge to it, showing us that we can do better.

Images: Walt Disney