BIG HERO 6
A charming, beautifully crafted Disney adventure about courage and selflessness.
Should You Watch It?
Yes. BIG HERO 6 is an excellent animated adventure with abundant positive messages about helping others, courage, bravery, and selflessness. Its bond between brothers is touching, and Baymax brings both adorable innocence and hilarious comic relief.
The film also carries heavier material. Hiro faces the death of his brother, wrestles with anger and revenge, and navigates the awkward transition from boyhood to manhood. There is also illegal gambling and lots of action, including frightening moments.
The result remains upbeat, meticulously crafted, entertaining, and emotionally powerful. Most families can enjoy it together, but parents of younger children should be ready to discuss grief, anger, and the difference between using talents for personal gain and using them to serve others. WORTH THE TRIP for a family movie night, with discernment for younger viewers.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESFourteen-year-old Hiro is gifted in robotics but wastes his talents in illegal robot fights. His older brother, Tadashi, encourages him to pursue something constructive and introduces him to a university robotics program.
After tragedy strikes, Hiro finds comfort in Baymax, Tadashi’s inflatable healthcare robot. When Hiro suspects that a dangerous figure is connected to what happened, he transforms Baymax and joins Tadashi’s four friends in a mission to stop a villain before more people are harmed.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is excellent family entertainment, and BIG HERO 6 earns it. The story is meticulously well crafted, with an exciting storyline, strong emotional pull, beautiful animation, and a delightful blend of comedy and tragedy.
Baymax steals the show with his adorable innocence, especially when a low battery leaves him confused and lethargic. The bond between the brothers is touching, while the fused San Francisco-and-Tokyo landscapes of San Fransokyo are especially beautiful.
The Disney short FEAST, which precedes the movie, is also brilliant storytelling about a young puppy and his relationship with his owner through the food he receives.
The Worldview
BIG HERO 6 strongly promotes using one’s talents to help others rather than pursuing personal gain. It also exalts courage, bravery, selflessness, brotherly love, and guiding younger people toward a constructive purpose. Tadashi models these values as he cares for and encourages Hiro.
The film presents revenge as a destructive path. Hiro’s grief and anger push him toward retaliation, but the story ultimately points him toward becoming a hero who protects others. Its message aligns with biblical values of service, courage, and self-control, though it presents those virtues without an explicit Christian foundation. The story also includes some pro-capitalist elements that promote entrepreneurship.
Hiro’s transition from boyhood to manhood gives the film room to address identity, purpose, and the awkward stages of puberty. Its central longing is to turn giftedness and pain toward the good of others. Scripture gives that calling plainly: “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another” (1 Peter 4:10).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Very strong moral worldview promoting strong values such as using one’s talents to help others rather than pursue personal gain, courage, bravery, selflessness, an anti-revenge message, and some pro-capitalist elements promoting entrepreneurship; no foul language; some animated action violence with some heavier moments, including a fire that kills a young man, a chase sequence, car crashes into the water, villain wears scary mask, fighting between the heroes and the villain, and a whole building is sucked into a wormhole-like device; no sexual content, but a boy’s puberty is mentioned; upper male nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drug use; and, some illegal gambling but it’s punished and lying.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Hiro has remarkable gifts but initially uses them for illegal robot fights. How can your family use its abilities to help others rather than pursue personal gain?
1 Peter 4:10 · Philippians 2:3–4Tadashi guides Hiro with patience, love, and courage. Who has helped guide you, and how can you encourage someone younger?
1 Thessalonians 5:11 · Titus 2:3–5Hiro struggles with grief and revenge. What is the difference between seeking justice and seeking revenge?
Romans 12:19–21 · Proverbs 20:22The film connects heroism with selflessness. What does Jesus say about laying down your life for others?
John 15:13 · Philippians 2:5–8The Final Word
BIG HERO 6 is a delightful, beautiful, emotionally powerful adventure with a strong message about courage and serving others. Its heavier themes call for parental discernment with younger children, but most families will find much to enjoy and discuss. WORTH THE TRIP.
