Posted by TJ on 11/20/2014Tags: Shameless PlugsI’ve Been Talking and Writing about ‘Big Hero 6’
The topic over on MovieByte this week has been Big Hero 6. Tuesday, I wrote a review:
Where Big Hero 6 really shines is the thematic elements it brings to the table. I think this is again where we see John Lasseter’s influence over Disney Animation Studios most strongly. Think about the films he has either directed or overseen. They had strong thematic elements in the same vein. The Toy Story series is applicable again here in the themes it tackled. Yes, like Big Hero 6, all three of those films were ostensibly children’s films. And yet the themes were big, grown up themes. Love, sacrifice, forgiveness, selflessness, character growth, everything that goes into good filmmaking is present both in that series, as well as this film. The themes this film tackles are what makes it such a strong film. It offsets the comic humor, some of the goofiness, the intentionally cartoonish animation, and more, by connecting with us on a deeply emotional level. Like the best of those Pixar films, the characters have a way of becoming quite real and meaningful to us. We feel their losses keenly, we grieve and weep with them (as usual, I may have had wet eyes a time or two), we identify with them in friendship and in hurt. We desire the revenge our characters desire, and we grow with them. This is the strength of this film. And this is sometimes where we can feel uncomfortable.
Joe and I also talked about the film on The MovieByte Podcast. Did you guys know that podcasts on MovieByte have an embeddable player? Well, we do, and I’ve embedded it below for your listening enjoyment. But if you would like to download it, or subscribe in iTunes or other podcast client, head on over to the episode page.