At any one point in time I am at least six months behind everyone else. That could be because I’m too swamped or that my free time is spent rewatching episodes of Scrubs and glaring out the window at my neighbors. They have these things that take up all their patience and time, I think they call them children. I just know they are loud and seem happy, they must be stopped. My idiosyncratic nature aside I recently took in a viewing of the Film Big Hero 6. Disney of course jumped on an obscure superhero comic to get in on the latest Hollywood lull (trend). I have some thoughts on it, so prepare for some minor spoilers. Don’t be me, go see movies when they come out!
Big Hero 6 is the movie about a genius teenager name Hiro Hamada who is first found battling in the back alleys of the made up hybrid city of San Fransokyo. Apparently in this alternate universe Japan actually took over the West Coast of the USA. Through some epiphanies and personal losses Hiro eventually uses his knowledge and skills in a different more productive manner. Ultimately the movie sets up an antagonist that Hiro and his gang of unlikely friends team up to defeat, with the use of science! The feature of this movie that I like to focus on is the advocating science and computers science to kids and adults, one of the most admirable qualities to this film of which there are many.
Using Robot Fighting as an Introduction to Science and Engineering
The very first scene sets us up to be awed in the same way the WWE and WCW did while we were kids. Despite the fight club esque set up the movie does, can’t we all agree that robot fight is awesome? That is a close memory for me because Fighting Robots was the coolest thing ever and started my love for technology. I’d imagine that most kids are exactly like me and love to watch robots fight and some may like to see how those sausages are made (we’re all computer nerds at heart).
Robotics is an up and coming contender when it comes to computer science specialties. The feild has limitless applications, and the threshold to get involved has never been lower. Showing the main protagonist as a robot fighter who builds his own robots immediately lends credibility and maybe flowers an interest in the subject. There are plenty of budding nerds out there.
Characters Are Real Scientists
Each character in this movie is either a scientist of science enthusiast. The entire move is an ode to scientific innovation and science fiction. My cynicism aside the made up world of San Fransokyo is a testament to what the future could look like. There are giant carp balloons in the air that add culture to wide shots while also doubling as a wind farm floating high above the city. The school in which Tadashi, Hiro’s older brother, goes to is a science academy where an open lab concept allows for all the students there to develope amazing scientific breakthroughs.
Hiro when introduced this world immediately decides to give up his teenage shinanigans and dedicate himself to creating something that astounds the people at the school and allows him entrance. He, like most other characters in the movie are scientists and engineers, they are most excited when challenged with discovering something new and innovative.
There are also a myriad of clues that the people at Disney did their research when fleshing out the concepts behind the movie. At Carnegie Mellon University “soft robots” like Baymax are being developed to use with the elderly and the physically challenged. In fact Disney consulted with one of the professors working on the project. Baymax in concept alone appeals to kids allowing them to see what science can possibly accomplish one day in the future, he’s so fluffy!
The evidence is clear and the verdict is in; I love this movie and all of its implied and explicit messages. The plot is what you would expect from a Disney movie but the final result makes you forget that you’ve seen this movie before. This film is a nerd dream ranging from Disney’s need to build a brand new rendering farm to get real life lighting in the movie, to the Rasberry Pis that Hiro messes with when not building super suits. The nods to computer programming are endless and even in the way it deals with modern astrophysics is a tribute to showing kids how awesome science is. Not since the Hour of Code have I seen people pushing Computer Science as vehemently as Big Hero 6. It gives me hope that science, and especially computer science can have a solid future when we show kids (and adults) that its limits are only that your imagination.