Disney's Love Letter to Anime: A Review of Big Hero 6

directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams
written by Robert L. Baird, Dan Gerson and Jordan Roberts

Big Hero 6 has the unenviable task of being Walt Disney Animation's first movie since their runaway blockbuster Frozen.  The good news is that even without showtunes or princesses, it's a thoroughly satisfying time at the movies. The even better news is that anime nerds are in for a real treat; this is probably the best anime tribute ever to come out of Hollywood.

Set in the city of San Fransokyo, Big Hero 6 is the story of Hiro Hamada (Ryan Potter) a budding teen genius with a knack and love for robotics, who spends most of his time in underground 'bot fighting tournaments. His older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney), who also happens to be his only remaining father figure, knows that Hiro can do more with his life than hustle money from illegal gambling, so he takes him to the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology where he works, where Hiro meets fellow prodigies Gogo Tomago (Jamie Chung), Honey Lemon (Genesis Rodriguez) and Wasabi (Damon Wayans Jr.), and self-proclaimed "science enthusiast" Fred (TJ Miller). Hiro also meets his own personal hero,  the robotics pioneer Professor Robert Callaghan (James Cromwell). Hiro is dazzled by the technology, and makes a successful bid to enroll in the school. Suddenly, tragedy strikes, leaving Hiro in mourning. Hiro then gets to know Tadashi's pet project, healthcare robot named Baymax (Scott Adsit) a whole lot better, and not a moment too soon; Hiro needs Baymax's help to get to the bottom of a mysterious threat to San Fransokyo. The threat proves too great for the two of them to handle on their own, and Hiro now has to recruit his fellow science nerds. Thus, Big Hero 6 is born.

While this film is actually based on a relatively obscure (and no doubt now highly sought-after) Marvel Comics title from several years ago, from a visual perspective it owes a lot more to the work of Osamu Tezuka than anything else. There are shout-outs to its comic book heritage, such as Hiro's alliterative name and a virtually obligatory cameo that just about every fanboy in the audience will recognize, but it definitely feels much more like a loving homage to the robot anime of the 70s and 80s than yet another comic-book adaptation.  The attention to detail, and the delightful visuals of the mashed-up cityscape are reminiscent of the colorful work of Hayao Miyazaki, as well. After the staid blues of frozen Arendelle last year, it was really a blast to see a full-color adventure like this one.

As dazzling as the visuals and animation are, though, it's heart that makes a Disney movie watchable, and this movie has it in spades. Though Hiro's journey is a soul-crushingly tragic one (he's an orphan who loses his only brother) it is also an uplifting one, and I haven't quite seen a Disney movie that deals with the grief of losing a loved one quite as poignantly as this movie does. Fortunately, Hiro's support system includes a loving Aunt Cass (Maya Rudolph) a younger, "Aunt May" type of character who owns the coffee shop above which Hiro and she live, his nerd friends, and, of course, Baymax. Scott Adsit, whom I remember well from his performances as Pete Hornberger on 30 Rock, infuses the vinyl robot-nurse-turned-combat-machine with a unique and truly memorable personality. He really does live up to the hype as the star of the show, and Adsit's performance is an integral part of that charm. The other voice actors are no slouches either, and most notable for me was how genuine the relationship between Potter's Hiro and Henney's Tadashi felt. It made the turn of events in the film all the more moving. It was nice of Disney to cast actors of actual Asian descent in these roles; even though they speak like Americans it was nice to know they were going for some kind of authenticity.

As nerd fare, the movie is a great deal of fun, though not quite as chock-full of references as Wreck-It-Ralph. The action is very well-staged, and the out-and-out-violence is surprisingly minimal considering this film's comic-book roots; The Incredibles had a much higher body count. People going to see Baymax and the rest of the crew in action will certainly not be disappointed. One downside to the story is that the villain of the piece is nothing to write home about, but clearly, he's just an excuse for the gang to all get together. The onus is now on Disney to provide a more compelling antagonist the next time around.

Overall, the movie is great family fun, even as it panders to the inner twelve-year-old of many of the dads watching, and I, for one, am more than ready for more nerd-service starring this crew of newly-minted superheroes whenever Disney is ready.

8.5/10

Quick Looks: A Review of Gone Girl

directed by David Fincher

screenplay by Gillian Flynn (based on her novel)

It's hard to discuss David Fincher's latest film Gone Girl, in great detail without wading into spoiler territory, because so much of the film revolves around twists in the plot, but to my mind it is a rather extraordinary film, and Fincher's most audacious since his breakout film Se7en. 

Spouses Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck) and Amy Elliot (Rosamund Pike), have been married for five years, and the last few have not been pleasant.  Things take a turn for the strange when Nick, who manages a bar, comes home to find his wife having completely disappeared with signs of a struggle. Over the days that follow, Nick's life turns into a living hell as suspicion rises that he killed Amy with the Detective Rhonda Boney (Kim Dickens) hot on his tail. As Dunne recruits infamous defense attorney Tanner Bolt (Tyler Perry), time is not on his side.

There's something gratifying about seeing a mainstream movie, especially one as well crafted as this one, defy convention; while the film would most properly be classified as a "thriller" it really is so much more than that, and it features some truly amazing writing and acting. it is an incredibly engaging film, with an ending that really threw me for a loop.

Affleck sticks to his usual low-key, aw shucks acting, which is, fortunately, consistent with Nick's character, but it's Pike who shines as Amy, for reasons I cannot really discuss lest I spoil plot points.  Tyler Perry was a hoot as Nick's oily defense attorney, and there were a lot of other sterling performances all around from Dickens as Detective Boney and Carrie Coon as Nick's twin sister Margo.

What I loved about the storytelling was how often it turned things on their head, bringing on story tropes and then taking abrupt left turns. Still, I wasn't too fond of the final twist as to my mind it kind of transformed the film into something else, but again, it's not something I can discuss. For all its flaws, this is a film that needs to be experienced (even if, at this point, one will have to wait for it on home video).

David Fincher has turned in some pretty extraordinary work over the years, but this is, to me anyway one of the movies for which he will truly be remembered.

8.7/10