On this day in 2014, November 7, 2014 to be exact, Big Hero 6 was released in US theaters.
Big Hero 6 is Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 54th animated classic feature film that is loosely based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. It is also the first and only Disney animated classic feature film to-date to reference Marvel Studios.
The film stars the voice talents of Ryan Potter as Hiro Hamada, Scott Adsit as Baymax, Daniel Henney as Tadashi Hamada, T.J. Miller as Fred, Jamie Chung as Go Go, Damon Wayans Jr. as Wasabi, Genesis Rodriguez as Honey Lemon, James Cromwell as Robert Callaghan (also know as Yokai), Katie Lowes as Abigail Callaghan, Maya Rudolph as Aunt Cass, Paul Briggs as Yama, Alan Tudyk as Alistair Krei, David Shaughnessy as Heathcliff and Stan Lee as Fred’s dad. Henry Jackman composed the score for the film. The soundtrack features an original song titled “Immortals” written and recorded by American rock band Fall Out Boy, which was released by Walt Disney Records on October 14, 2014. A modified version of the song was recently used in Disneyland’s Nighttime Fireworks Show, “Wondrous Journeys”.
About the Film
Big Hero 6 tells the story of Hiro Hamada, a young robotics prodigy, and Baymax, his late brother Tadashi’s healthcare-provider inflatable robot. Tadashi dies in a fire near the beginning of the film. To avenge his death, Hiro and Baymax form a superhero team with Tadashi’s friends and fight a masked villain named Yokai.
The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised it for its animation, action sequences, pacing, entertainment value, heart, and emotional weight. It grossed over $657.8 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing animated film of 2014. Big Hero 6 received several awards and nominations including an Annie Award and seven Annie nominations, a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Due to the popularity of the film, a Disney Channel and Disney XD series, which continued the story of the film, aired from 2017 to 2021. A two-season short series called Baymax Dreams premiered in 2018. And Baymax!, a shorts series, premiered on Disney+ on June 29, 2022.
About the Characters
Baymax is an inflatable healthcare-provider robot built by Tadashi to help people who need medical attention.
Hiro Hamada is a 14-year-old robotics prodigy transitioning from a boy to man. He is Tadashi’s younger brother.
Tadashi Hamada is Hiro’s older brother and Baymax’s creator. He is also like a father figure to Hiro at the beginning of the movie.
Aunt Cass is Hiro and Tadashi’s aunt and guardian.
Fred is a comic-book fan and slacker who is also a team mascot at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.
Go Go is a tough, athletic student who specializes in electromagnetics.
Wasabi is a smart, slightly neurotic youth who specializes in lasers. He’s actually the most conservative and cautious one in the group.
Honey Lemon is a chemistry enthusiast at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology.
Robert Callaghan also know as Yokai is the head of a robotics program at San Fransokyo Institute of Technology. He becomes an extremely powerful masked supervillain by stealing Hiro’s robotic figures when he causes a fire in the Institute that leads to Tadashi’s death. Callaghan is angry at Krei for his daughters supposed death and plots revenge against him. The supervillain was only referred to a Callaghan in the film and even in the film’s credits. It wasn’t until Season 2 of the Baymax television series that Callaghan was referred to as Yokai in the episode titled “Hiro The Villain”.
Alistair Krei is a pioneer entrepreneur, tech guru, and the CEO of Krei Tech and is always on the hunt for the next big idea.
Abigail Callaghan is the daughter of Professor Callaghan and a test pilot for Krei Tech who disappears and is assumed dead during one of Krei’s experiments.
Desk Sergeant Gerson is the desk sergeant for the San Fransokyo Police Department.
Yama is a notorious gangster who seeks revenge after Hiro defeats his robot in a clandestine robot fight with illegal betting.
Heathcliff is Fred’s family butler.
Fred’s dad, who appears during the tour of Fred’s house in a family portrait and briefly appears at the end of the credits is voiced by Stan Lee but is not given a name in the film.
Big Hero 6 in the Theme Parks
The Pacific Wharf at Disney California Adventure Park was rethemed this year to San Fransokyo Square, themed to Big Hero 6. While the area does not have an attraction, it is an area filled with dining options including Aunt Cass Café which is a nod to the Lucky Cat Café run by Aunt Cass in the movie and series. The area also includes a small merchandise shop called San Fransokyo Maker’s Market which sells Big Hero 6 merchandise including apparel, toys, plush, pins and more.
Come with me on a walk through of San Fransokyo Maker’s Market merchandise location.
In my opinion, the best part of San Fransokyo Square is the new Baymax meet and greet which sometimes includes Hiro. The huggable healthcare robot, Baymax, talks with guest during the meet and greet. Hiro is not always with Baymax but if you are lucky enough, you might be able to greet him as well.
At Tokyo Disneyland in Japan, a rotating car ride similar to Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree at Disney California Adventure opened in September 2020 called The Happy Ride with Baymax.
To my knowledge, Big Hero 6 is not at Walt Disney World nor in any of the other Disney International theme parks, but that could change in the near future as Bob Iger has promised a massive expansion of the Disney Theme Parks over the next 10 years.
Watch the Movie
Have you seen Disney’s Big Hero 6? The feature film is available to watch on Disney+ and available for purchase on Blu-ray and DVD on Amazon.
I really like the movie and have watched it several times since finding out Disneyland was opening San Fransokyo Square. I had never really given much attention to the song “Immortals” from the movie until Disneyland used it in it’s Nighttime Fireworks Show, “Wondrous Journeys” and from that point on, “Immortals” has become one of my favorite songs from a recent Disney film.
Let me know if you have seen Big Hero 6 and what your thoughts about the movie are. I would love to hear from you so please send me a message.
