Review: 'Big Hero 6' Sheds Most Of Its Comic-Book Origins For The Better

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — If you didn't know that "Big Hero 6" was based on a comic book, good news, you're far from alone.

Even better news, you really don't need to sit down with a stack of comic books for the story to make sense.

Disney took its usual animated approach with the "Big Hero 6" property, much in the vein of what happened the stories that inspired many of Disney's classics. But the movie's focus on the characters' relationships carry the story well and make it something better than a straight adaptation would have been.

There will be some minor spoilers for the first half of the movie coming up, so be prepared.

For instance, the movie changes up the usual Disney formula of parents either dying or already dead as a motivational factor. In fact, Hiro's parents don't seem to factor into the plot. The movie does a fantastic job of building a relationship between Hiro and his brother, and transitioning that relationship to the university students who would become Hiro's teammates later. I think this paragraph has gone on long enough that I can say the big change is instead of Hiro's father dying and his soul being trapped inside a robot, his brother instead dies, but the spirit of his work lives on in Baymax.

Without giving too much away, I also enjoyed the way the villain his plot was carried throughout the movie. The motivations and actions felt believable without being predictable.

But this review wouldn't be complete without discussing Baymax, the medical robot turned hero. Disney's animators knocked it out of the park with his mannerisms. He felt like a throwback to classic physical comedy without feeling like he was hamming it up, or someone was trying too hard to make a character that would sell millions of toys. The scene in the police station stands where he's attempting to repair small holes on himself with scotch tape. It's the right mix of robotic logic and human behavior. One of the animators gave the best description of Baymax in the special features. After studying the walks of dozens of animals, his walk ended up based on a toddler. Not just any toddler—a toddler with a full diaper.

The special features are well done, showing the directions the movie could have gone in, but didn't, as well as giving some background on the history of the series. The deleted scenes play more like a "Twilight Zone" for the movie itself, showing wildly different ways it could have gone.

Also of note is Disney Movies Anywhere. I own exactly one Blu-Ray player, but I have an iPhone, my laptop, and an Apple TV. It's fantastic that the same package has a way to play on each one of those devices.