Modern animated films offer unlimited opportunity for imagination to run wild, and when they are really, really well done they often become blockbusters.  Big Hero 6  deserves to be a blockbuster; it is a marvelous movie that revels in the joy of scientific creation while addressing in a very realistic way the pangs of adolescence and devastation of personal loss.  It is wild adventure, wry comedy, warm drama and more, all wrapped up in a knockout visual style that blends Japanese anime with state of the art traditional computer animation.

Set in San Fransokyo (this is never explained in the story, which contributes to its cool, off-kilter ambiance), the film follows Hiro, a young, troubled adolescent who is persuaded by his older brother Tadashi to attend a special technical college.  Hiro’s presentation to get in is so revolutionary, however, that it leads to tragedy and all sorts of life-changing ramifications.  Hiro and the neat supporting characters who eventually comprise the title group are motivated by science and innovation, yet held together by the friendship that develops with shared interest.  The characters make the movie, and that includes Baymax.

Baymax is the large inflatable robot designed to be a medical marvel, yet updated by Hiro to aid and protect him as the story evolves.  The robot provides most of the film’s humor, and much of its wisdom as well, and is the most memorable element in this wonderful movie.  Not everything makes sense or holds up under close scrutiny, but the film, directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams, has so much raw imagination, visual acuity, intelligent development and human understanding that I eagerly await the next chapter in what I hope will be a long line of movies about Hiro and his friends.

It’s a kids’ movie, but there are all sorts of rewards for older viewers, especially those who like superhero stories or the anime style.  The milieu seems strange at times but never alien, and it’s always inviting rather than repulsive.  I did guess the identity of the masked villain, but that did not lessen my appreciation for what I was watching.  This is a film that, like the best animated films of the recent past, I shall look forward to seeing again and again.  ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2.  10 December 2014.