When Disney announced their purchase of Marvel, many fans began to dream of the possibilities of Pixar making an animated Marvel movie. After all, The Incredibles is considered a true super hero classic, animated, or otherwise, so just imagine what they could do with actual Marvel characters. Well, it doesn’t seem like that particular dream is going to come to pass any time soon, but Disney Animation has been on a hot streak of its own recently, so that’s led to pretty much the next best thing: a Disney animated Marvel super hero movie. No, Big Hero 6 isn’t exactly the most well known property, and no, despite recent successes, Disney Animation isn’t quite on the same level as Pixar, and no, Big Hero 6 doesn’t reach the perfection of something like The Incredibles, but it’s still delightfully enjoyable. It’s a bit formulaic, but it has such a big heart that it’s still entirely endearing despite covering extremely familiar ground.
Baymax, the inflatable personal robotic healthcare assistant, is the undisputed star of film. His sincerity, naiveté, kindness, and willingness to help make him the most endearing Disney character since Olaf in Frozen. In truth, I don’t think any of us would mind having our own personal healthcare assistant, and in fact, that’s what many expect God to be. After all, if He really is a loving God, why wouldn’t He want to make us “better;” to instantly cure our hurts and diseases so that we might enjoy a higher quality of life. One of God’s names is even the Great Physician, and the Bible tells numerous stories of how Jesus went around healing all who were sick. God is even talked about as being a personal God; ergo, why wouldn’t He function as our personal healthcare assistant?
I confess that this is something I struggle with and have often been disappointed. There are some serious needs for healing in my family, and no matter how much I pray, healing just isn’t happening. So, what happened to my personal, caring God who can heal? And yet, as I reflected on this question while watching Baymax do everything he could to help Hiro feel “better,” I realized perhaps I was being a bit limited in my thinking about what God could do to heal those I love. The truth is God has already done everything he could to make us “better.” The truth is He outright cured the most serious ailment that afflicts us all, and it cost nothing less than the sacrifice of His own Son. Jesus provided the cure for the SIN virus with His own blood, and there is no more serious condition that needs healing. Baymax at best can provide temporary relief, but only God was able to provide a permanent and eternal cure. As for the rest of what I think needs to be done so far as healing my family, well, I can be sure that God has that well in hand as well, despite the fact that the treatment may not meet my timetable or what I think is prescribed. However, thanks to Jesus, I know that my family, and anyone who wants to, can be eternally cured from SIN, which in turn will lead to an eternal and eternally healthy life. In fact, it will lead to the greatest quality of life available. It cost God everything to provide, which He did because He does love and care about us so very much. It costs us just a little faith and submission.
Baymax and his relationship with Hiro make up the heart and soul of Big Hero 6, and it’s fortunate that it works so well because some of the rest of the film is a bit underdeveloped. 
The rest of the team aren’t developed much as characters, the villain is entirely predictable, and the attempt at giving him a sympathetic backstory is short changed a bit so it doesn’t have the impact it should, and many parts of the film stick pretty close to the tried and true Marvel formula. Still, there are some wonderfully tender moments, some great moments of comedy, some impressive action set pieces, and a seen where Hiro’s enjoyment and thrill at flying with Baymax is so infectious, so visually lush, that I had a big stupid grin on my face the entire time because I was so caught up in that moment.
No, Big Hero 6 isn’t another Incredibles, but it has a delightful charm and endearing heart all on its own. One still has to wonder what something like this might have been like had it come directly from Pixar, but Disney has learned much from bringing Pixar directly into the House of Mouse, and considering what a wonderful job they’ve done with this much more obscure Marvel property, I have high hopes that perhaps some more well-known Marvel heroes will get the Big Hero 6 treatment as well. As for this movie, the entire family can thoroughly enjoy a delightful adventure. It has so much heart (I know I keep saying that, but it’s true), and its characters of Hiro and Baymax are so endearing that it’s easy to look over the flaws and get caught up in the adventure and fun. Big Hero 6 should be high on everyone’s list of films to see this holiday season.
