There is little question why "Big Hero 6" won an Oscar on Sunday night. The animated movie, arriving on Blu-ray combo pack today, has that something special one expects out of a Disney Animation movie, as well as it the special vibe of a comic book origin story.
When Matt Mueller wrote his review of the theatrical release, he stated that this holiday film proved that Disney Animation was on the right track, pulling away from its cousin, Pixar.
"Plus, it has Baymax. Baymax trumps all. All hail Baymax," he wrote.
As far as I am concerned, this PG film is as balanced and as perfect as a movie can get when setting up an origin story for a universe bigger than the corner the main characters inhabit. Baymax, the huggable robot built by the brother of the main character, Hiro, was meant to be a health care provider and assistant. But Hiro had other plans in mind, including tracking down what caused the fire that his brother was tragically killed in. Baymax is upgraded to fly, among other things, that allow the loveable character to be the best companion a young supergenius could ever hope for. The friends of Hiro’s brother, Tadashi, become the other four members of what becomes Big Hero 6.
It seems that at the core origin of most superhero tales is a tragic story of loss. This story isn’t different, but what it does do so well is present the main villain in parallel, showing he also is dealing with loss much like Hiro is. It is the way in which loss is handled that separates the good from the evil.
Extras include deleted scenes, two of which were considered to be possible opening sequences in the film. In a behind-the-scenes featurette, we meet the directors and other main staffers that brought the Marvel graphic novel to the big screen. We also learn that Marvel executives are the ones who helped the Disney Animation team come up with ways to help tell the story.
One fascinating thing revealed was the difference between animated films done by Marvel versus how they are done with the staff at Disney. Marvel writes a script and then produces the film. Disney explores the characters and the story and takes them down different paths. The story then comes to the forefront on its own.
Another small featurette on the Blu-ray includes a discussion between the leads that were each responsible for a small team of animators that focused on a single character. They talked about their own relationships and experiences and how that shaped the different members of the superhero team as well as the people they interact with.
Also on the disc is the animated short "Feast" that ran before "Big Hero 6" in theaters. The short film also won an Oscar on Sunday.
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