Big Hero 6 – Narrative and Character Analysis

Within the previous blog post, I analysed and summarised narrative structures and character types within the story within the film Big Hero 6. Within this blog I will bring together all of the information I learned from that post and use it to analyse and summaries a certain chosen case study(ies).

Blog Post Task:

• Pick a film you personally have watched and enjoyed.
• Breakdown the story arc (what are the 8 stages).
• Breakdown the characters in to their archetypes.
• Create a timeline for the main character starting before the film starts.

Analysie film e.g. great pretender or big hero 6. 1917

blog post task: what do you mean a timeline.

what happened to the character before the film started? try to understand the character.

Big hero 6 – Character Roles

I decided not to include upgrades to armour or weapons as personal development.

Hiro

The protagonist, Hiro Hamada, of course has the hero role. With the movie, Hiro changes, learns, adapts and overcome much, therefore, he can definitely be described as a dynamic and round character. Although he is an extrovert, he keeps himself busy by himself with his projects and other interests/whims. The story perhaps may convey him as a group hero. Although he does most of the heavy lifting himself, he relies on his sidekicks a lot, especially Baymax.

Professor Robert Kallihan

Antag: professor (Robert kallihan): shapshifter, shadow? round? dynamic? villian to hero? not really redeemed. but comes back to light when he finds no need his for revenge when he gets his life daughter back. vengeful villain.

Alistair Krei

He is the shape shifter. Just like in the scene above where he tries to take one of Hiro’s micro bots, which misleads the audience to thinking that he is the bad guy. He is not the official antagonist of the story, but you could call him a secondary antagonist as he is the antagonist of Kallihan’s story and the source of his revenge endeavour. He only works for his own gain and benefits.

Baymax

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Baymax is the the greatest ally that Hiro, providing constant support such as his medical abilities, a mode of transport, a side kick in his endeavours, his power and combat abilities and especially emotional and psychological support.

I would say that he is a mentor to Hiro, as he somewhat acts as his baby sitter, guiding him and looking after him. The most important thing that told me that Baymax plays the role of Hiro’s mentor is the fact that he influences Hiro’s decisions when providing insight/guidance that makes Hiro see that his acts of revenge are wrong. Hiro is simply grieving for the loss of his brother, then supports him as someone who is always there for him.

On the other hand, while the source of these things is considered coming from Baymax, technically this is Tadashi’s coding, as Baymax is Tadashi’s creation. Therefore, it is Tadashi who is Hiro’s ultimate mentor/support/guardian.

Tadashi

Tadashi, Hiro’s older brother, more like a father-figure and role model, is Hiro’s most definite ally and, I would say, mentor. In the very first scene, once Hiro is in trouble at the illegal Bot fighting event, Tadashi rescues him and lectures him about it and his life. This sort of introduction to the big brother character is the epitome of what he is all about. He provides guidance on the right path for Hiro, and is his support is difficult times.

Also, he is a static round character, since he is a unwavering dependable rock in Hiro’s life. While he is always developing himself, such as his scientific work, from start to finish his character, ideals and morality do not change, therefore he is a static character. No need to explain the fact that he is round (developed, life-like and relatable) character, just watch the movie and you will get the big brother playing father-like role model who dotes on his younger brother, watches over him and loves him aura.

Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, Fred and Cass

Gogo, Wasabi, Honey, Fred are all static round characters that play the roles of allies. They are the emotional support and the combat support for the protagonist. Cass, Hiro’s aunt is the same, except her support and encouragement is in the form of a guardian, unrelated to the narrative disruption.

Big Hero 6 – Narrative Structure

Using Dan Harmen’s circle narrative structure, I will analyse the story structure in this movie.

1. There is an equilibrium in Hiro’s life. He is looked after his aunt and older brother. He is intelligent enough to win Bot battles and even hope to study at the science university with his older brother at the age of 13 (I think).
2. Tadashi brings Hiro to his university, and after being engulfed in the world of tech there, he hopes to go to the university as well. Hiro also meets Baymax (Tadashi’s tech project) and Hiro’s ‘sidekicks’ (Tadashi’s classmates) at the university. He invents the micro bots, enters into an event to show off his new tech and then gains the invite to join the university from the professor Kallihan.
3. The building of the technology university event blows up in flames and Tadashi runs into the fire to save Professor Kallihan, who he believes is still in there. Hiro looses his brother when the building explodes.
4. Hiro has a hard time mourning and adjusting to life without his brother. He does not go to the university classes as he and his brother originally wanted for him. However, by coincidence, Baymax emerges from Tadashi’s room while Hiro was wallowing in his mourning period. Baymax leads Hiro to realise that the fire that killed Tadashi was not an accident and that the antagonist was simply after Hiro’s micro bots. While seeking revenge, Hiro upgrades the tech for himself, Baymax and his sidekicks who join him in the fight.
5. Hiro discovers that it is professor Kallihan who is the antagonist (he has been in disguise all this time). After fighting Kallihan they defeat him but not before Kallihan activates the wormhole. The same kind that Kallihan’s daughter disappeared into from Krei’s teleportation experiment. Hiro and Baymax enter the wormhole in hopes of closing it, also because they detect a life signature. They find Kallihan’s daughter still alive, and attempt to transport her back out of the wormhole.
6. Baymax uses his propulsion device to help Hiro (with Kallihan’s daughter in tow) to escape the wormhole, leaving Baymax still in there, sacrificing himself to get the others out. Baymax gives Hiro his memory chip before his sacrifice.
7. The wormhole is closed. Kallihan gets his daughter back, is arrested. Hiro decides to attend the university and is still supported by his ‘sidekicks’ and aunt. With Baymax’s memory chip in possession, Hiro is able to rebuild him and bring him back.
8. Hiro gains a sense of closure for Tadashi’s death and insight into whether or not he should seek revenge because of Baymax. There is a new equilibrium gained by the stability of their new life.

The Hero’s Journey

The last task I was set is to create a timeline for the main character before the film starts. To the extent that my imagination takes me, I can make this up.

Firstly, the protagonist has a somewhat tragic backstory where Hiro and Tadashi’s parents are dead, not sure how but it states in the movie that Hiro was 3 years old. Tadashi would have taken care of him as a guardian and father figure even though they were both taken in by their aunt Cass. Thanks to these pillars of support, his home life became stable.

Tadashi most likely influenced Hiro into the world of science, Hiro developed an interest for it. I am sure Hiro relies on and looks up to Tadashi as a role model. Therefore, an interest in what his role model was doing became his own interest, which became a hobby, which became something more as you can see in the movie. At young age he took to the world of science, as he is intelligent he learned it quickly and advanced faster then others. He did not show too much interest in other subjects, only ones that would help him with his personal science projects.

Although it may be easy to make friends, Hiro does not mind not making them. He prefers to be by himself. I am sure Tadashi and Cass would have nagged encouraged against this as he was growing up. So, there may have been one or two, but no one that made a deep connection with him enough to say friends for a long time.