Big Hero 6

When Disney bought Marvel five years ago, there was a widespread fear among comic fans that all its storied characters would get a cutesy kiddie makeover. So far those fears have been unfounded, all the company’s adaptations being very faithful to the comics and catering mainly to the grown-up superhero fan. At least, until now. But if Big Hero 6 is what happens when a Marvel product gets the Disney treatment, all those worried fans should eat their words. Turns out the people working for the Mouse know what they’re doing.

Based on a somewhat lesser-known Marvel team, the film follows Hiro (voiced by Ryan Potter), a teen with an impressive knack for robotics living in the city of San Fransokyo (think a cross between Tokyo and San Francisco with a little futuristic anime thrown in). He hopes his newest invention, a batch of tiny robots that takes the shape of whatever the controller thinks, will be his ticket to get into a prestigious technology university. But a tragic series of events leaves his brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) dead and his invention in the hands of a masked villain. To protect the city from this madman, Hiro teams up with his Tadashi’s school project, a medical bot named Baymax (Scott Adsit), and his other university pals.

Like Pixar’s The Incredibles, the movie is clearly written by people who love and get superheroes. It’s not quite on the level of Pixar’s great film. While The Incredibles was a smart deconstruction of the superhero mystique as well as a family drama, Big Hero 6 is keeping it simpler and just having a ball spoofing the genre. Its parody, however, actually does everything about a superhero movie, particularly those of Marvel Studios, very well (speaking of which, don’t forget to stay after the credits). The narrative is a solid origin story that establishes the main characters flawlessly. The action is PG-friendly but still as good as any live-action superhero film (its animation not so far off from the CGI of many blockbusters), and the look is much more colorful and imaginative. And Disney has its eyes on the big picture, as the various supporting characters all have potential for spinoff projects.

It’s also got a wonderful sense of humor. Most of it comes from Baymax, who despite his place in the narrative quickly becomes the star of the picture. Even though he looks designed with easily mass produced toys in mind, the cuddly android turns out to be one of the funniest Disney characters in at least a few years. His physical comedy and unknowing deadpan are quite amusing, the latter containing a refreshingly sweet innocence rather than cynicism. He’s the one who makes the movie, although there’s plenty of other laughs from the rest of the goofy hero team, as well as a few really funny riffs on the genre itself.

The superhero movie renaissance may be getting long in the tooth (and will only get longer still with all the upcoming projects from Marvel and DC), but Big Hero 6 feels almost fresh and new. Maybe it’s because it’s so much fun and imaginative instead of dark, brooding, and overly serious (it’s a nice respite for fans before the darkness that will be Avengers: Age of Ultron next summer). And even if you don’t really like superhero movies or are just sick of them, it’s still a great family film, one that does not have any songs that you'll come to despise like a certain other Disney hit.