AND THEN A HERO COMES ALONG

My friends were talking about their man crushes over Daniel Henley and the next thing I know, I was in the cinema watching Big Hero 6, falling in love with character, Tadashi Hamada, voiced by Daniel Henley. I got to admit though that his voice is probably more attractive to me.

Big Hero 6 is definitely entertaining and one of the better movies I've watched this year. I know many would name Baymax their favourite character but I would say that my favourite character has the shortest screen time haha.

Tadashi Hamada has great leadership and a really kind heart and these are two out of three things I admire most about people (the third being humility). Although Tadashi only appeared the first 15 minutes of the movie, his legacy spreads throughout.

Tadashi: Great personality and a kind heart - that's why he is fictional

Three beautiful messages embodied by Tadashi:

1. Inspire not lecture; Kindness not revenge

Tadashi is intelligent; not just in his technological pursues but I also enjoy how he creatively manipulated his brother into making a decision to study instead of Bot fighting. In addition, he also inspired his brother's microbot invention. I love how Tadashi demonstrates leading by inspiring, because lecture might not always work.

His invention of Baymax speaks volume about how caring and kind Tadashi is. He wanted to create something that would help make the world a better place - something that would make people happy by revolutionising the healthcare industry. Hence, he programmed Baymax to be a sweet and loving robot. 

However, forgetting the true intention of his brother's invention, Hiro tried to reprogrammed Baymax to kill his brother's murderer. Only later, through Baymax, Hiro remembered what Tadashi set out for Baymax to do and realised that revenge is definitely not what Tadashi wanted his invention to do. Because revenge will never make one feel better, but kindness will.

2. Fail to succeed

Tadashi has failed so many times while trying to complete project Baymax. It comes to show that the cute, chubby invention that we fall in love with is not an overnight success. It took a lot of time and effort. So in life, to achieve something great like Baymax, we need to keep on failing and trying and never give up. I love how this message is incorporated into the movie, good way to teach kids. 

3. It is all about what's inside

I think this is subtle, but it could be the most meaningful message in the movie. We know that Baymax operates based on the programme on Tadashi's hard disk. Although we went all teary (I bet some of you cried like a baby) at the end when we thought Baymax died, the mood changed when the hard disk was found and then, Baymax was recovered although in a different vinyl shell.

So, what it is saying is that, it really doesn't matter what is on the outside - the body, the shell, the skin, whatever you call it - it is what is inside (the hard drive) that makes you beautiful. 

From the slight reading I did online, this Disney production did not really follow the storyline of the original comic and personally, I thought that is a smart move. Originally, Baymax is invented by Hiro himself to fill the void of losing his father. But I preferred Disney bringing in a strong character like Tadashi and making Baymax Tadashi's legacy.

Lastly, Tadashi proves that sometimes, it is not the amount of time you spend on Earth that makes you memorable, but how you live life that is most important. You leave behind a legacy if you live it well, with kindness.

If I were to comment on what I think can be improved, in my humble opinion, I would change the movie's name to either Baymax or Tadashi or the Legacy of Hamada. Because I feel that for a movie that is named Big Hero 6, the Heroes are a tad forgettable. Ask me now, I don't remember half their names, which is kinda sad. And the other heroes did not shine. They can name the sequel Big Hero 6 and focus on developing those characters later but for the first one, they should really name it something relevant to Baymax since they chose make this cute and lovable robot the star.

Another thing I didn't like is when Professor Callaghan's daughter was saved, we did not see a father-daughter reunion. Seriously, the professor went all nuts to seek revenge for his daughter, but after the daughter was rescued on the hospital, he didn't run over and hug her or say something? Doesn't make sense. They should at least include a meaningful moment to highlight a father's love for his daughter.

Nevertheless, I totally understand why people would enjoy Big Hero 6. It is a feel good movie for the family and for people who are constantly stressed out, this would be a very entertaining watch.

p/s: A note before you purchase your own Baymax: When in low battery, Baymax behaves like a drunk kid...

TC-My Rating: