Big Hero 6: A Mars vs Venus review

STARRING: Ryan Potter, Scott Adsit, Daniel Henney, TJ Miller, Genesis Rodriguez

DIRECTOR: Don Hall, Chris Williams

THE SKINNY: Teen genius Hiro (Potter) invents some kick-butt microbots to get into an elite nerd school. His invention is stolen by a bad guy bent on destruction, so Hiro teams up with the school's geeky students to stop him. He also makes use of the lovable medical robot Baymax (Adsit), invented by his brother, turning him into a powerful - but still lovable - fighting machine.

RATING: PG

A Mars look by Jason Johnson

Here's what you need to know about Big Hero 6.

I took my kids to the screening and afterwards we went shopping.

As we were passing by a toy store, they saw a Baymax soft toy for sale.

They had to have it. They didn't just want it, they needed it.

This is the sort of movie that immediately captures a child's imagination and becomes part of their lives.

My boys will remember the film for the rest of their lives.

As a grown-up, I love it too.

It's as perfect as a piece of family entertainment can be.

Superheroes have been done to death, but the genre feels completely fresh here.

It reminds me a bit of The Incredibles, but with better animation and more idiosyncratic characters.

My favourite is Honey Lemon, a gangly blonde girl who wears a Gatchaman-esque pink costume.

She carries a super-purse filled with brightly-coloured super-balls that can do all sorts of super things.

She's daffy, brilliant and funny - not words you always associate with female supers.

Everyone will have a different fave, because all the characters are so charismatic and distinct.

My kids love Baymax, which explains the soft toy residing in their room.

Would it be weird if I bought a Honey Lemon doll? Anyway, that's my business.

A Venus look by Joanne Soh

There's a big hero in this film - his name is Baymax.

How can you possibly not fall in love with the ultra-huggable, airbag-like robot?

Baymax, with those slit eyes, may not have much expression, but through Adsit's excellent voicing and the clever animation, he's definitely the cutest bot in cinematic history.

What I liked about this animation, inspired by a lesser-known Marvel comic, is that it celebrates intelligence.

I bet there will be more kids wanting to know more about robotics after this.

Like last year's Frozen, kinship is also central to the story, albeit brotherhood is the focus now.

Right from the start, we are shown the closeness between Hiro and his big brother Tadashi, which makes the second act of the movie more heartfelt.

Disney, as usual, scores in the story department, giving lots of things to cheer and laugh about, yet there's also a sad, emotional undertone.

The animation is flawless, and the fictional city of San Fransokyo couldn't look better.

Having a melting pot of various ethnicities shows the House of Mouse is embracing diversity - a clever move to net a bigger box-office catch.

This new brainy superhero squad can stand tall among the other Marvel superheroes. I bet we'll be seeing more of them.

THE CONSENSUS

This is super family entertainment that will delight the young and old.

This article was first published on Nov 12, 2014.
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