Nearly all of Marvel's movie offerings have come in live action form, but in 2014, Disney took Big Hero 6, an obscure superhero team from the House of Ideas, and set them loose in animation. The Big Hero 6 movie proved to be a critical and commercial hit, proving a fun Marvel adventure for fans both young and old to enjoy. However, around a year and a half after the movie hit theaters, it's finally been targeted for an Honest Trailer.
The latest Honest Trailer installment from Screen Junkies quickly delves into how despite being animated and unconnected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Big Hero 6 feels like your standard MCU flick, from its "forgettable villain" to a Stan Lee cameo. From there, we meet the movie's main protagonists: Baymax, they cuddly WebMD marshmallow robot hybrid voiced by that guy from 30 Rock (Scott Adsit) and Hiro, the "mini Tony Stark" who creates incredible machines, but also weaponizes his inflatable buddy later in the movie. Hey, when the going gets tough, put some armor on a robot who can diagnose diseases and conditions.
While Big Hero 6 tries to explain away its crazy inventions with bits of science, there's no masking the fact that like every other animated Disney movie, this adventure is pure fantasy, and that's okay! However, the video still takes issue with some elements of the movie, like how it's simply a "cookie cutter" superhero origin story, the "Scooby Doo twist" involving the main antagonist and a forgettable supporting cast. All that's obviously up for debate, but at least the narrator and the rest of us can agree that Baymax is awesome!
Despite their complaints and nitpicks (the usual fare in Honest Trailers), there is one thing they astutely point out: Big Hero 6 is another entry in what looks like a new Disney Renaissance. From 1989 to 1999, nearly all of Disney's traditionally animated movies were so well received that they marked the "Renaissance" period for the House of Mouse. In recent years, movies like Big Hero 6, Frozen, and Zootopia have also earned acclaim from audiences, not to mention hauled in a lot at the box office. If the studio can keep this up this success with their other CGI animated movies, like Moana, then this will definitely be considered a shining era for Disney. Hugs all around! Sorry, the Big Hero 6 protagonists have been getting to me.
The story of Hiro, Baymax and the others will continue next year in a Big Hero 6 TV series on Disney XD, and while a Big Hero 6 movie sequel was also said to be in the works, there have been no updates recently on whether it's still happening or just been scrapped in favor of the show. Let us know what you think of the animated Marvel story in the comments below!
