I think there's a lot of under-appreciated technology being developed in the "nerd lab" in Big Hero 6.  

P.S. Is anyone in Pratt working on cat rocket-boots? :)

This week's quote of the week comes from what I think is one of the most underrated Disney movies:  

Big Hero 6!

I'm going to be working a lot with Big Hero 6 this semester. And while my essays for class be focusing mainly on Professor Callaghan, the villain, I wanted to share some thoughts on another major character in the movie: Hiro’s brother Tadashi. I think what Disney did with Hiro and Tadashi’s relationship was really interesting, especially how that relationship continued, in a way, even after Tadashi’s death, with Tadashi being represented first by Baymax, and then by Hiro himself. Allow me to elaborate.

The first twenty minutes or so of BH6 is primarily devoted to establishing the strong relationship between Tadashi and his younger brother Hiro. Tadashi is always looking out for Hiro, whether that means rescuing him after some bot-fighters didn't take too kindly to Hiro’s robot destroying theirs, or pushing Hiro to leave bot-fighting behind, pursue a college education, and “use that big brain of [his]”. The two also share a lot in common, including similar mannerisms and catchphrases.

The beginning of the movie performs one other important function: introducing Baymax, or more specifically, introducing Baymax as Tadashi’s engineering project. Tadashi shows off Baymax’s programming chip as “what makes Baymax, Baymax”. The chip has Tadashi’s name written on it. In other words, Tadashi is what defines Baymax. The connection between the two is set up very early.

Soon after Tadashi’s death, Baymax is reactivated in Hiro’s room. Baymax works to help Hiro

through his grief following the death of his brother. In doing this, he begins to take on a role as a kind of surrogate older brother to Hiro. During most of the action of the movie, Baymax’s main priority is to protect Hiro, much like Tadashi did. Furthermore, many of Hiro and Baymax’s interactions are similar to Hiro and Tadashi’s. For example, Hiro teaches Baymax how to “fist-bump,” which is something he and Tadashi did while Tadashi was alive.

Here's another example:

And of course:

During the scene where Hiro turns on Callaghan, he is forced to remove Tadashi’s chip to make Baymax attack. His quest for revenge causes him to lose sight of his brother. Once the chip is restored, Baymax acts as he is supposed to again. Again, the movie emphasizes how Tadashi created Baymax and created him for a specific purpose.

The following scene is where the Tadashi-Baymax connection is made most explicit. Baymax tells Hiro that “Tadashi is here” and shows him videos of Tadashi designing Baymax. Hiro realizes that in Baymax he still has a part of Tadashi with him. Baymax’s essence is Tadashi, so as long as Hiro has Baymax, he does not really lose his brother.

After Baymax shows him the videos, Hiro apologizes, saying, “I guess I'm not like my brother.”  The irony of this is that this scene marks the shift in Hiro’s character development. Hiro becomes more and more like Tadashi as the movie progresses. These changes first manifest themselves in small ways, starting with dialogue. Hiro’s advice to his team echoes advice Tadashi gave him in the beginning of the movie.

Then, his actions start to live up to his words. Hiro is willing to put himself in harm's way to rescue someone in danger.  Furthermore, he rescues the daughter of the man responsible for Tadashi’s death. Like his brother, he is selfless and goes out of his way to help others. This also illustrates how Hiro has gotten past the strongest feelings of grief and anger he felt after first losing his brother.

This is why, in the portal, Hiro is able to say goodbye to Baymax. In a way, losing the robot is like losing Tadashi all over again. However, this time, Tadashi is also embodied in Hiro. Hiro no longer needs Baymax to stand in for Tadashi; he can do that himself. He realizes that he can't lose his brother if he remembers him and honors what Tadashi worked to do. That doesn't mean it isn't hard for Hiro to let go, and it doesn't mean that Hiro wouldn't rather bring Baymax back with him. It just means that Hiro is now willing to make the same sacrifices his brother made. I don't think that the Hiro from the beginning of the movie would have been able to give Baymax up to save someone he didn't even know. But the Hiro at the end of the movie is able to do that.

The final Hiro-Tadashi parallel is the movie’s end, where Hiro rebuilds Baymax. This is a bit of a full-circle moment. Hiro finds Tadashi’s computer chip and uses it to complete Baymax (in what appears to be Tadashi's lab space at the university). He fulfills his brother’s legacy by bringing back his project. He essentially is able to accomplish what Tadashi did. Again, Hiro’s ability to reflect his brother’s values and strengths allows him to reconnect with who Tadashi was. With Baymax’s help, he is able to continue his brother's mission to help others.

  

Saw this on the internet recently, and I'm pretty sure this is exactly what was going through Prince Charming's head in this scene:

So the Broadway Villains Party is a thing that I found out exists, and this seemed appropriate since we've been talking about The Little Mermaid this week:

P.S. Sorry about the language.

Today's Quote of the Week:

Because breaking the fourth wall is always funny.   

Beauty and the Beast Live Blog

We’re back to the live blog for Beauty and the Beast.  I’ve seen the stage version of this movie more recently than the movie itself (a community theatre at home did it this summer), so I’m curious to compare the two.  Fun fact: the music for this movie was also done by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, like The Little Mermaid.

The Beast is another member of the “Princes without Actual Names Club”.

Why does this fairy go around disguised as a beggar woman in the first place?  Have other local nobility also been cursed?  Or do they know better than to turn away random creepy strangers because they know they will cause problems?

It’s also really unfair of her to curse all of his servants?  What could they have done about this?  It’s not their fault their master picked a fight with an enchantress.

Where did the magic mirror come from?  Did he have it from before he was cursed, or did the enchantress or someone give it to him?

“Belle” is favorite song in this movie.  

Shout-out to this guy for being the only person in this town not judging Belle and for encouraging her love of reading.

Why is no one talking about Belle being able to jump rope while reading a book?

Also:

Foreshadowing: this movie does it well.  

“Here’s where she meets Prince Charming.  But she won’t discover that it’s him till Chapter 3."

I like how the whole town feels the need to come together to talk about how weird Belle is.  And how she doesn’t notice the massive musical number happening behind her.  

Gaston is a horrible person.  Kudos for Belle for not only insulting him, but insulting him with a word he doesn’t understand.

“Gaston, you are positively primeval.”  “Why, thank you, Belle.”

Belle and her dad are really cute together.

His invention went from exploding to working perfectly almost impossibly quickly.

Does that say Anaheim?

If Maurice had listened to his horse, this entire movie’s plot could have been avoided.  Philippe wanted to go in the opposite direction.

How does no one in the area know about this castle?  You’d think people would question the sudden disappearance of a PRINCE.  

My favorite character in this movie:

How does this work?  I don’t understand.

I must say this was satisfying to watch.

This is really pretty:

“Irresponsible, devil-may-care, waxy-eared…” Was that a pun, Cogsworth?

How long has this carriage been sitting there?  There were plants growing around it.  Why hasn’t it walked around recently?

I nominate Lefou for Evil Henchman of the Year.  He started a whole song just to cheer up Gason.

I’m surprised Mr. “I don’t read books without pictures” Gaston knows the word “expectorating”.

“Lefou I’m afraid I’ve been thinking.”  “A dangerous pastime.”  “I know.”  Good line.

I really like this screenshot:

Why do only half of the enchanted objects have faces?

Mrs. Potts: “Straighten up!”  Beast: sits like a dog.

Quite the charmer:

I feel like Lumiere has been waiting all day for a chance to start a musical number.

“If it’s not Baroque, don’t fix it.”

You had one job, Belle.  One job. Don't go in the West Wing.

I like how he feels the need to roar in the wolf’s face before throwing it off.

Puppy!

Cogsworth is secretly the funniest character in this movie.

Goals.

Did the Beast never learn to use silverware as a child?

“Something There” is my other favorite song from this movie.

The Beast can’t read either?  Who was in charge of this child’s education?

Stylish.

Why do we bring an angry mob for this purpose?

“We don’t like what we don’t understand, in fact it scares us, and this monster is mysterious at least.”  Increasingly relevant line in nowadays.

One of the most entertaining fight scenes I’ve seen.  

Is this supposed to be a Little Mermaid reference?

I like how Belle literally watches him transform into a human but is still skeptical when he says, “it’s me.”

I love how all their human selves look so much like their random household object selves.

Chip is most certainly not 10.  At what point was he born during this whole ordeal? Or did none of them age while the castle was cursed?

Overall, another good movie.  I think I like the stage version a bit better because there are more songs, and more detail is added to parts of the story.   Still, the animated version is really good.  I’m curious how the live-action version this March will compare.