Disney Movie Challenge: Big Hero 6 (2014)

Disney Movie Challenge

Big Hero 6 (2014)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 59 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Raya and the Last Dragon in 2021. 

After Disney bought Marvel Studios in 2009 everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they cranked out a Marvel Animated movie, but no one would have expected one based on the obscure comic “Big Hero 6”.  When Don Hall was working on Winnie the Pooh he started going through the Marvel Archives looking for a comic he could adapt.  For some reason the title of “Big Hero 6” stood out to him and started looking at the story.  While some of the characters are the same as in the comic a lot of their backstory changed.  The biggest example is Baymax who is a lovable robot in the movie, in the comics he was designed to be a bodyguard and was implanted with human memories

The film takes place in a fictional land called San Fransokyo where 13 year old Hiro is a genius but uses his talents to win money scamming people at robot battles.  His older brother Tadashi is in college trying to convince Hiro to use his brain for more than bot fights.  One night after rescuing Hiro from an angry mob, Hiro's brother Tadashi takes Hiro  to his school to introduce him to his friends (Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred) and show off all the cool tech they are building.  It’s there that Tadashi shows Hiro the robot he built called Baymax.  Baymax is designed to be a healthcare assistant and used to help people.  Hiro falls in love with the school, the cutting edge tech they are developing,  and everyone there.  He makes it his mission to get into the school.  To get in he has to enter a science fair and show off something great.  For the fair he uses the concept from his fighting robot to make microbots.  Microbots are tiny robots that can be controlled with the mind and combinted to do anything.  He wows everyone and gets a spot in the school.  But as they are leaving the science fair an explosion happens and Tadashi runs into the fire to save the school principal.  Unfortunately Tadashi dies in the fire and Hiro believes his Microbots have been destroyed. This leaves Hiro hopeless and he gives up on his dream to go to school.  But he soon discovers that Baymax is still functional and that someone is using his microbots for nefarious purposes.  This sets him on a collision course with the Kabuki Mask wearing villain.  But he will need a team to help him win and get his revenge for the death of his brother.  He recruits Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred to join the team and uses their inventions to turn them into superheroes.  He also converts Baymax from a health care assistant into a fighting machine.  Together they will have to learn how to work as a team and decide what they are actually fighting for.  

As I mentioned this movie is loosely based on the comics.  Outside the character names and some of their personalities everything was changed.  It probably helped that it was an obscure comic so not many were going to be super upset about the major changes.  While there are lots of fantastical elements in the film it feels more grounded in reality then the comics sound like they were.  Don Hall and his team went to a Robotics Lab at Carnegie Mellon University to see what the cutting edge of robotics looked like.  There they were working on making robots with vinyl which became the inspiration for Baymax’s design.  They also based the powers of each hero in the group on technology instead of having backstories that involve superhuman powers (in the comics GoGo could turn into a fiery blast just by saying her name).  As with a lot of Disney animated films they pushed the limits of technology once again.  They used a new rendering program that gave them new lighting possibilities that were used to make Baymax look more translucent.    They also used new programs to create the cityscape and add people.  

For some reason the first time I saw it in theatres I thought it was fine but didn’t like it that much.  But with each subsequent viewing I like it a little bit more.  There is a lot going on in the film and I think it wasn’t what I was expecting when I first saw it.  I still feel there is something in the beginning that doesn’t quite work but I can’t put my finger on it.  It might be because it’s hard to believe that something like microbots could actually exist (of all the technology in the film this one feels the most far-fetched) or that a 13 year old kid could invent them.  There is also something about Hiro's personality that is a bit off putting.  I'm not sure if it's arrogance or something else but he is very unlikable in the beginning.  That all changes after Tadashi dies and the film starts clicking for me.  I love that the movie starts as a tale of revenge but is really about grieving the death of a loved one.  We see Hiro go through different stages of grief and with the help of Baymax learns that he has friends to help him.  In addition to being about grieving we have the more fun superhero team building story.  We follow as each team member learns to use their weapons in addition to learning how to work together as a team.  All the elements work well as individual story lines but come together in fun and surprising ways. 

Stealing every scene he is in, Baymax is the real star of the film.  There are so many memorable robots in film history that to create a new one that stands out is pretty amazing.   Since Baymax was programmed to help, that is the only way he sees every situation.  This naivete leads to some funny interactions.  They also use every aspect of Baymax for comedic effect. There is the way he deflates to get through a window, the scotch tape gag at the police station, and then the drunk Baymax when his battery starts to run out. The most incredible thing of all is that Scott Adsit is able to inject Baymax with a personality while delivering all his lines in a monotone robotic voice.   

Overall: A fun action packed film that has lots of laughs but isn’t afraid to deal with the deeper emotion of grieving.  Kids will certainly get a kick out of the action hijinks but the film also gives adults something to think about.  

Random Facts

The first Disney animated film I saw in theatres since Pocahontas in 1995.  It’s also the last Disney animated film I have seen in the theatres.  

A post credit scene was added late in production after Don Hall watched Guardians of the Galaxy and realized that fans would expect it.  

While not said in the movie the history of San Fransokyo is that after the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake the city was rebuilt by Japanese immigrants.  

Second year in a row that a non-Pixar Disney movie won Best Animated Film at the Oscars (Frozen won the year before)

Disney Movie Challenge: Tangled (2010)

 Disney Movie Challenge

Tangled (2010)

WHAT IS THE DISNEY MOVIE CHALLENGE: With Disney+ making available almost all of their films from the vault I thought it was a good time to watch all the theatrically released feature length Disney Studio Animated films. That’s a lot of qualifications so what does it all mean? It must be a film developed and released under the Walt Disney Animation Studios (so no PIXAR or Tim Burton stop motion films). Must have been released in theaters (no direct to video releases). And feature length (no shorts that played prior to the features). Currently there are 59 films. Starting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in 1937 going to Raya and the Last Dragon in 2021. 

After The Princes and the Frog failed to “Ignite the Box Office” the title and marketing of Disney’s next movie changed.  Originally going to be called Rapunzel the folks at Disney thought it would be dismissed as another “Girly Princess” movie so they changed the title to Tangled and marketed it as an action adventure movie. The trailers focused more on the male character Flynn Rider to help appeal to boys.  

Tangled retells the Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel.  In this one princess Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) is born with a magic gift that lets her hair heal people and keep them young.  Because of her special gift the evil witch Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) kidnaps Rapunzel and locks her in a tall tower that no one can enter.  Every year on her birthday the king and queen release lanterns in the hopes that their daughter will return.  Rapunzel sees these and while she doesn’t know they are for her she senses the connection between them and her birthday.  On her 18th birthday she asks Mother Gothel to let her go see the lanterns. Of course Gother says no, but does leave Rapunzel alone while she goes to get a birthday gift.  Meanwhile Flynn Rider steals a crown from the King and Queen and is being chased by guards.  While trying to escape he finds the tower and climbs up it.  After Rapunzel knocks him out with a frying pan she agrees to let him go if he agrees to take her to the lanterns.  It's then their adventure begins.  While both keep secrets from the other they begin to fall in love and with the help of a horse Maximus and a chameleon Pascal they reunite Rapunzel with her family. .  

Glen Keane had been working on a version of this story since 1996.  In 2001 Michael Eisner told Keane he could make it but it had to be computer animated.  At the time Keane didn’t think computer animation would do the movie justice, but in 2003 it was announced that Rapunzel Unbraided would be released in 2007 and would be computer animated. But Keane just never felt the story was quite right.  They had developed a more irreverent Shrek like version of the story but that was eventually scrapped. When John Lasseter took over as Disney Animation supervisor the film was restarted as a more traditional telling.  Still not happy doing it as a computer animation, Keane held a conference with the Disney Animators he called “The Best of Both Worlds” to look at the best way to combine traditional and computer animation.  Keane also pushed technology with the goal to get the computers to "bend its knee to the artist".  Eventually they came up with a way to keep the Disney aesthetic and again used non-photorealistic rendering and some new technology to give it the look they were looking for.  The hardest part to animate was Rapunzel’s long hair and new technology had to be developed to give that a natural look especially when it was floating in the water.  Unfortunately for Keane he suffered a heart attack in 2008 and had to step down as director but remained as executive producer.  

While it’s reported to be the most expensive animated movie of all time the hard work paid off.  The movie looks great.  The lantern scene in the beginning is just breathtaking.  Knowing the hair would probably be difficult to animate, I expected it to be kind of flat, but they managed to make it look natural.  While the idea of using non-photorealistic rendering seems odd it actually makes sense.  Disney films have never looked real and part of the magic of animation is that it doesn’t have to look real.  

The Princess and the Frog saw Disney return to the musical format it occurred to me while watching the film that Tangled was a return to the Broadway style music of the Renaissance era.  After I watched it and looked up who wrote the music it became clear why that was.  Turns out Alan Menkin (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin) wrote the music for the film.  While some may feel that it’s derivative of his earlier Disney stuff it still packs an emotional punch.  The song “Mother Knows Best” is a great villain song and Donna Murphy just seems to have fun belting that one out.  

The story itself is a bit so-so.  From the start you kind of know where it’s going to go and has very few surprises.  Although the scene in Snuggly Duckling did take a fun and unexpected turn.  Despite being a pretty standard story it’s still fun and keeps you interested.  The most fascinating thing to me about the movie was the villain Mother Gothel.  While she has a fairly typical motive of everlasting life at all costs, her methods are different. While she isn’t physically cruel to Rapunzel her use of gaslighting and manipulation sets her apart from other villains. She is one of the most diabolical characters in the Disney cannon.  

Rapunzel herself is also an interesting character.  I love the way we feel her internal conflict and it’s something we don’t see often in a Princess movie.  Most princess movies have a Princess that has an external struggle but not much of an internal one.  Rapunzel on the other hand show she is physically capable of almost anything but she begins to question everything she believes.  We see the illusions that Mother Gothel put up slowly crumble and Rapunzel begins to see the real world.  Unfortunately how she figures out the truth that Mother Gothel had been lying to her for 18 years feels rushed and out of nowhere.  I wish we had more time and really got to see her figure things out for herself.  Instead it feels more coincidental and magical.  

Overall: An enjoyable movie.  Has great animation, good music, and the voice cast works really well together.   While the ending felt rushed I loved the internal conflict and Mother Gothel is the perfect example of someone gaslighting a character.  

Random Facts:

The first Disney Princess movie to be PG. 

Mandy Moore and Donna Murphy never met while making the movie.  Mandy Moore only met Zachary Levi once to record the duet.  

Was nominated for Best Song but not nominated for Best Animated Feature.  The movies nominated for Animated Feature that year were Toy story 3, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Illusionist.

Both Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel audtioned for Rapunzel. While neither of them got it they were both cast in the next Disney Princess movie Frozen.