Movie Review: Big Hero 6.

When Disney Enterprises purchased Marvel a few years ago, there was plenty of new creative material to add to Disney's production schedule. Some examples are The Avengers 2: The Age of Ultron (2015) and it's associated superhero stories. But they also now owned the rights to a whole library of comic books and graphic novels.John Lasseter saw some pitches from Disney creatives  and decided to make Big Hero 6 - an action comedy with a big heart.

Baymax and Hiro.

The creative aspects of this movie are splendidly excellent.The visual design is delightfully colorful but also classy and appealing. It has an aptly dramatic and emotionally moving score created by Henry Jackman (X-Men, First Class & Wreck-It Ralph.

This movie is well-crafted in it's writing - it is very funny. Many of the jokes are to do with the robot Baymax's unique way of thinking and saying things. Technical aspects like Baymax running out of battery power also give the audience lots of laughter.

There are grand, almost spiritual themes explored such as self-sacrifice and serving others. 

There is a theme of "the darkness within" as a character wrestles with the desire to seek vengeance on another character.  covers deep and personal themes of loss, family, friendship. 

I really enjoyed it. As a Disney movie, I found this was better than Frozen and way, way better than Wreck-It Ralph. There was fun and exciting action that adds to the story-line The movie also appeals to a slightly more mature audience than the other recent Disney films. This is due to the sophisticated story-line and more relate-able characters.

One thing I would say at this point is that it is refreshing  to see a young teenager depicted as the main character instead of a older teenager or young adult. This gives a different perspective to the story. It is also nice to see an animated Disney movie set in a modern city world, rather than a fairy-tale kingdom (Tangled, Frozen) or a fantasy Video Game world (Wreck-It Ralph. There was nothing wrong with those settings for those stories - but this dynamic is something I enjoyed with Big Hero 6.

I'm looking forward to finding out which other new stories Disney brings us - whether they be from Marvel's story bank or elsewhere. And I boldly declare it - we are definitely in a new golden age for Disney animation!

And one last thing - if you like extra scenes in the credits, then stay in the theater through the credits, and I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Movie Review - The Delivery Man starring Vince Vaughn

By Jonathan Parsons

Just the other day, I was lamenting to a friend the fact that no one in the movie business is making good natured, innocent-eyed comedies anymore. I was referring to the romcoms I was brought up on - PG-rated fare like While You Were Sleeping, Sleepless in Seattle and Runaway Bride. I feel that most comedies these days are given an MA rating (or R in the USA) for sexual references or coarse language. These factors might draw some audiences, but they turn me off for the most part. I was complaining all about this issue, and then this little movie came along.

The Delivery Man, starring Vince Vaughn (Wedding Crashers) and Cobie Smulders (TV’s How I Met Your Mother, The Avengers) has a quirky and complex premise. David Wozniak (Vaughn) is a grown man who works delivering meat for his family business. It turns out that his young adult sperm donation practice has led him - due to a clerical error - to be the biological father of 533 children. David now has the related court case looming and a girlfriend (Smulders) who is quite disappointed in him, for a variety of reasons.

This picture is from the Disney- owned brand named Touchstone Pictures and also Dreamworks Pictures. Touchstone brought to us series like Home Improvement and movies such as Sister Act and Pretty Woman. More recently, they released Dan in Real Life - a comedy which definitely fits into the warm and memorable category I described in my introduction. I feel The Delivery Man fits into this category too. I really enjoyed it. And, funnily enough for a movie labelled a comedy, it is highly funny! My friend and I were laughing in the same places - and different places too. It was just funny. I think you would like it, unless you felt you were above this type of film, you were put off by the premise, or you don’t speak English!

This film showcased a host of young adult actors who played David’s children. The acting was world class. The casting was brilliant, with many personalities and types fitting perfectly to the characters.

I can not remember much memorable music - except for the score in one comedic scene.That’s a shame - but one I can live with for such a great movie. The themes of taking responsibility, keeping your word and family love are important themes for us to explore.

I give this movie 3 ½ stars out of 5.

It is good enough to enjoy once or twice, but I won’t be buying it on DVD.