Big Hero 6

He might not become as popular as Elsa, Anna and Olaf, but Baymax the inflatable robot could be the stuffed toy your kid is begging for this holiday season. Get your credit card ready.

In this animated film, Ryan Potter provides the voice for Hiro – a teen genius without any direction. He has been wasting his talents hanging around the seedy parts of town and building battle robots, but his older brother, Tadashi (Daniel Henney), wants to set the kid’s life on the right path.

Tadashi convinces Hiro to go back to school, but a horrible tragedy takes him away from the younger brother just as Hiro’s life is looking up. Bitter, sad and looking for answers, Hiro realizes someone else could be responsible for his brother’s death, and teams up with an unlikely crew of fellow tech whiz kids to take on this evil, dastardly villain.

Their secret weapon? Baymax (Scott Adsit) – the inflatable health care robot Tadashi left behind, and Hiro has modified to kick some booty.

Big Hero 6 relies on some predictable, worn out plots and plenty of visual flair, but succeeds when focused on the lovable, huggable Baymax. It turns out heart matters more than CGI.

Cobbled together by several screenwriters (and based on a Marvel comic), Big Hero 6 wildly jumps around from flashy action movie to cuddly cute, and it’s the cuddly cute you love the most. Baymax couldn’t have been dreamt up better by a toymaker greedily trying to appeal to the kids in the audience and the kid inside each and every one of us.

Full of innocence, and relying a bit too much on the literal meaning of everything, Baymax is the emotional center of Big Hero 6. He’s adorable looking, and even more adorable acting with his concern and care for Hiro.

Adsit has a perfect deadpan delivery. Yet, the audience feels emotion the robot can’t possibly express. Also, he provides most of the comic relief and saves Big Hero 6 from spinning out of control and exploding into a manic, hyper jumble of action.

The audience is presented with some sort of message about loss and the pointlessness of revenge as we rocket through the story, but none of that is very deep or very well developed. We are better off enjoying the supporting cast, especially Damon Wayans Jr. and T.J. Miller who deliver plenty of laughs as Hiro’s teammates in this uphill, unlikely battle against evil.

Have a few tissues on hand for the emotional parts. You’re gonna need ‘em.

Big Hero 6 is rated PG for action and peril, some rude humor, and thematic elements.