Re-Reviewed: Big Hero 6 was slyly and subtly brilliant

Comic book movies seem to be at their absolute best when they take what works from the source material, then make it their own and this was certainly the case with Big Hero 6.

Big Hero 6, a 2014 animated featured from Walt Disney Animation Studios, was loosely based on the Marvel comic book of the same name, keeping in mind that “loosely” is the most important word in that sentence.

Big Hero 6 the movie looked nothing like Big Hero 6 the comic book. The irony of that situation is that the movie is more well known and far more popular than the comics. And the characters from it might be making a really big move in the near future.

Big Hero 6 the comic

Even to fans of Marvel Comics, Big Hero 6 was a pretty obscure title. As such, people were surprised when it was announced that there was a movie adaptation in the works. Anyone who read the comics was intrigued to say the least.

The premise was that the Japanese government needed their own state sanctioned team of superheroes. They put a roster together that was anchored by Silver Samurai and Sunfire, two mainstays of the X-Men comics.

In addition to that, a group of new heroes were brought into the fray. This included names familiar from the eventual movie, like Honey Lemon, Wasabi-No-Ginger, Go Go Tamago, Hiro Takachiho and Baymax.

The team appeared in a couple of miniseries, one in 1998 and the other in 2008. Beyond that, they have made a couple of one-off appearances in other titles but that’s it. As such, it’s not hard to see why people were surprised that a movie adaptation was on the way.

Big Hero 6 the movie

Saying that the movie took Big Hero 6 in a completely different direction would be an understatement to say the least. The setting was moved from Japan to the fictional city of San Fransokyo, a combination of Tokyo and San Francisco.

Neither Sunfire nor Silver Samurai appeared in the movie, primarily due to film rights issues with Fox. But several of the other characters did appear, though they were pretty much nothing like their comic book counterparts.

A big difference is the key hero of the movie, Baymax. In the comics, he is a robotic dragon. But in the movie, he is a plush, white balloon robot. That was just the beginning of all the changes made for the movie, which seemed to be never-ending.

Hiro, Go Go and Wasabi were all quite different. Honey Lemon was a bit closer to the comics, though still not the same. Fred was incredibly different. In the comics, he actually turned into a Godzilla-esque monster instead of putting a robotic costume on.

Everything came together perfectly

Without question, every change that was made from the source material was the right one. Big Hero 6 was an outstanding movie when it came out and it holds up well seven years later. Hiro’s journey from child to hero continues to be highly relevant.

The movie versions of the characters were not necessarily superior to the comics, but they were different in the right ways. Had Disney gone for a more faithful interpretation, the film would certainly have not connected with as wide of an audience.

While the comics were interesting, they definitely didn’t catch fire with fans the way the movie did. It even spun off an animated series that continued the story from the movie. It’s been rumored that the characters might be making their way to the MCU at some point, though it has been denied.

Big Hero 6 continues to be a prime example of why not being faithful to the source material can be extremely important. The minds behind this movie knew exactly what to keep and exactly what to throw away. That’s why it’s still incredible to watch.