Movie Review: Big Hero 6..Big bang opening but can’t sustain it

Ever since I saw the hilarious teasers and trailers this movie has, I’ve been waiting to see the original humor and fresh presentation that Big Hero 6 had to offer – and from the opening to the ‘forced’ interval – I couldn’t have asked for much more. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the entire movie though to be fair, the climax and ending again make up for some lost ground

Much before you get started with Big Hero 6 though, you get treated to another animation short by Disney. This seems to be a regular feature now – last time it was the excellent renaissance of Mickey Mouse in a 3D avatar; this time it’s a cute little dog but every bit as welcome as ever. In sharp contrast to the quiet homely visuals of the short, Big Hero 6 starts with the ultra high tech stuff and if you are a tech fan like me, it’ll feel like candy-land.

Not only is the tech ultra cool, the humor quotient is right up there too  Smart writing and a great concept for a unique ‘robot’ will have you guffawing and laughing hard many a time. Some of it can even be termed as slap-stick but this brand of slapstick is more than welcome. The animation itself is probably a couple of notches higher with the background elements looking particularly realistic. Its only when you see the bright red or white vinyl of Baymax or any of the other characters that you realize that this is actually animation. Nice job. Approaching the half way stage, the plotline is predictable but not pedestrian and you look forward to scaling even greater heights in the second half.

While that wish comes true quite literally in the second half, the fun is not half as much as sequences become unnecessarily extended, the story progression becomes more and more stereotypical and you grimace that maybe by now they’ve run out of their bag of tricks. What starts off particularly fun and fresh, becomes ordinary and even dragged along. This is saved somewhat by a nice climax but you end up leaving the theater a tad disappointed

Animation movies are not just about fun anymore and plotlines and development are becoming more and more mature and unique – eg. movies like Frozen, Rise of the guardians etc. While Big Hero 6 takes a big step forward and seems more than equal to the challenge it soon relapses  into the tried and tested and despite its brave climax, ends up being an average watch. Still, for the big, fun filled first hour of the movie and the big leap forward in animation, I’d still recommend a watch