I know I’m stepping out onto quite a limb here, but I’m starting to think Disney might be getting pretty good at this whole making animated movies thing.

Allow me to explain: For most of the last couple of decades, Disney animation played second fiddle to its cousin Pixar. While Pixar introduced incredibly inventive hit after hit – like "Up," "Wall-E" and "The Incredibles" – Walt Disney Studios delivered stuff like "Chicken Little," "Meet the Robinsons" and "Home on the Range." For maybe a little over a decade, when you thought about quality animated fare, Pixar was the name; Disney’s name only came up by default attachment.

Something changed, however, in the last couple of years. Pixar has been using its legacy of quality more and more as both a creative and marketing crutch. Since 2010, there’s only been one non-sequel Pixar film (the tepidly received "Brave") and half of its announced upcoming slate consists of sequels as well, including the just announced and needless "Toy Story 4." Even the trailer for next year’s "Inside Out" spends more time trying to rekindle your love of Pixar’s past rather than inspire excitement for its future.

While Pixar’s creative spark has dimmed, Disney’s caught fire with "Tangled," "Wreck It Ralph," "Frozen" and now "Big Hero 6," a soaring and sweetly soulful addition to the crowded comic book superhero genre that flies just as high – if not higher – than many of its live-action ilk.

"Big Hero 6" introduces the audience into the futuristic world of San Fransokyo, a bustling place of melding cultures (in case the name didn’t give that away), advanced everyday technology and even more advanced young students. One of those big brained baby geniuses is the not-at-all coincidentally named Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter), but he'd rather put his efforts toward building killer robots and winning illegal robot street battles than learning more and helping the world.

He soon gets the push he needs into maturity from his equally brainy older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney). Sadly, Tadashi dies in a fiery tech expo explosion, leaving behind a desolate Hiro and his brother's final creation: Baymax (Scott Adsit, aka Pete Hornberger of "30 Rock"), a puffy robot Michelin Man designed to provide personal health care.

With the help of his balloon sidekick, Hiro begins down the road to emotional recovery, as well as down an investigation into an ominous Kabuki-masked figure using a small army of microbots Hiro created and lost along with Tadashi in the fire. Along for the ride are he and Tadashi’s nerd school friends: action girl Go Go (Jamie Chung), genius worrywart Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), bubbly Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) and enthusiastic slacker Fred (T.J. Miller, last seen sizzled to a crisp in "Transformers 4"). As the stakes get higher, the team uses their supersmarts to become a largely heroic six-piece tandem. If only there was a snappier name for a group like that.

Hiro may be the lead of "Big Hero 6," but his kindly inflatable sidekick is the star. Simply put, he will sell all of the toys this holiday season. From his first moments on screen, Baymax is instantly huggable and lovable (as opposed to his original Evil Gremlin Hulk form in the comics) with his soft, cuddly exterior and even softer, cuddlier demeanor. He’s irresistibly pleasant and funny, from his sweetly confuddled robotic attempts at human interaction (namely a fistbump with the ensuing mock explosion) to his utter lack of urgency in the early action scenes.

And that’s even before he runs low on battery, turning Baymax into drunk Baymax. Even though much of this sequence has been used in the ads and trailers, it still completely kills, a hilarious contrast to the robot’s usual adorably mild-mannered behavior.

"Big Hero 6" would likely get a recommendation based on Baymax alone, but luckily the rest of the movie is almost just as good – especially with the world of San Fransokyo. It’s a fascinating, uniquely hyper-smart world, a mix of Japanese and American cultures all nerdily united in the technology of tomorrow. In the background of one scene, you can see family photos with a whole array of cultures on casual display. Like most great-to-decent science fiction-tinted material, the futuristic world feels like a realized, detailed place with a character of its own.

The animation follows suit with the vibrant, creativity-driven world, filling the frame with colorful, imaginative gadgets and some truly beautiful imagery, namely an exhilarating sherbet-colored trip above the clouds of the city and another journey into a seemingly Pollock-inspired portal world. Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams unfortunately don’t take a moment from the film’s brisk pace to take credit and let the audience soak the visuals in, but the work is stunning nonetheless.

On top of all of that is a solid story, one with a fun adventure and funny, amusing characters (if not for Baymax, Miller’s Fred would be the movie’s scene stealer). Yes, "Big Hero 6" is telling essentially yet another superhero origin tale – a pretty familiar one at that. Interestingly enough, the movie’s scant flaws come courtesy of its Disney’s silent, equally on-a-roll partner: Marvel. The company basically tossed the little-known comic to Disney to play with, and while Marvel’s name is absent from the film, its formula is loud and clear.

An origin story about a talented person learning to take responsibility for himself and others (a la "Iron Man" and "Thor")? Check. Third act finale involving an aerial city fight? Check. Is a dimensional portal involved? You bet. Marvel is undoubtedly the king of the blockbuster – a title it’s well earned, with almost no glaring missteps along the way – but it’s adherence to a template is getting harder to ignore. If the company wants to hold its Hollywood crown, it has to start letting stories evolve to new places.

"Big Hero 6" borrows from a few other places along the way too: a "Tron"-esque bike over here, some "Iron Giant" plot points over there. In some places, it does feel a bit like "Big Klepto 6." But what makes a bigger impact, however, is its soft, warm heart (well, and Baymax). Above all, it’s telling a story about loss – especially its irrationality – hurt and recovery, one where the emotions hit just right with strong characters, good writing and a story that isn’t afraid to touch on the dark places of loss, like blame and anger. Tears will likely be had, and they will have been earned.

You might even cry before "Big Hero 6" starts up. The short that runs before the film, "Feast," is just as beautiful and even more deft, telling a dog’s story through food when, before your eyes, the unassuming background suddenly comes to the forefront. It’s a lovely quick appetizer that satisfies like a meal. Luckily, the main course does the same.

Plus, it has Baymax. Baymax trumps all. All hail Baymax.