I think the point of the Destroy scene WAS that it was out-of-place. It signifies that Hiro still hasn't moved on from his brother's death to the point where he forgets that not only did he not instruct his friends to KILL anyone on this mission, but that Baymax is NOT programming to kill. It goes against his entire way of being. His friends' reactions only help enforce this. I found it a meta-commentary on how this is a MARVEL story where things are very much PG-13 and characters WOULDN'T stop at murder, but it's a Disney film, so love is still the central theme. It's a reflection on the struggles Disney has with working on boy-centric franchises that goes against its nature.
Yes, the other 4 should've had more development. If the story is advertised as an ensemble film, it shouldn't focus solely on Hiro.
Personally, I'd rather have two characters with great character development (Hiro and Baymax) than six characters with sub-par development. Quality over quantity so to speak.
Personally, I'd prefer if the 'net was a little friendlier, but you know the GIFT...
Again, I liked the scene, I just wish the producers would've actually let him say "kill." Destroy, as K. A. Applegate once wrote in the novels of my childhood, is a weasel word.
I'm not really surprised with only two characters getting the focus. As far back as Walt Disney, the company has far favored giving a few characters a lot of development than spreading the screentime over several protagonists, both to help give the films a central focus as well as to keep costs down. Still, it's a bit disappointing, even if it's par-on-the-course.
I'm sure I'd be much more offended at the change of location from Tokyo to California if I had heard of the comic before watching the trailer.
"What's out there? What's waiting for me?"
"Destroy" can mean "kill" when applied to a human or animal. Therefore, that quote to me is hooey.
It's not a question of what it means, it's a question of why they did it. We've got a trope for that.
^It's probably meant to tie into the robot fighting scene at the beginning where Hiro also used the word "destroy" (since the word "kill" in that context wouldn't have made much sense, whereas "destroy" would make sense in both situations).
Not trying to justify the lack of use of "kill", just suggesting a possible explanation as to why.
...Okay, I'll buy that. Thanks.
I took it in the context that Hiro was so mad that he didn't want Baymax to JUST kill Callaghan/Yokai, but make him suffer for the pain he caused by speaking ill of Tadashi's death. That even after Callaghan finally died he would have Baymax keep wailing on the body to the point it was unrecognizable. At least, that's what I drew from that scene.
Personally, I think the word destroy was very appropriate in that scene. Hiro is a young boy who was just told his brother is dead because of the man in front of him. He doesn\'t just want to kill him, he wants to destroy him. It\'s the euphemisms afterwards thta bother me.
"Hope for our world, tragedy for another."Leave a Comment:
Big Hero Two Plus Four
This was a good movie with a major glaring flaw and a few minor pet peeves.
Inverting my usual procedure, let's begin with what the film did right. First and foremost, the setting. San Fransokyo is a beautiful mash-up, full of color and mood-lighting, with a unique architecture that reflects the Asian-American fusion its name would suggest. I may have felt grumpy about How to Train Your Dragon -esque Scenery Porn, but I recognize there's an audience that enjoys that sort of thing.
The story and writing are generally deeper and more-interesting than the initial trailers might suggest, largely revolving around Hiro's attempts to grieve and move on following his brother's death, and explicitly rejecting most of the traditional "cliche" lines like "You'll always remember him," and such. My sole major complaint is one glaring instance where the hero, in a moment of rage, orders his robot to "destroy" the villain, rather than what he plainly means. It's out of place in a script that mostly manages to treat its young viewers with respect, to be age-appropriate without talking down to them.
But now, the problem. In short, this film would have been better titled "The Hiro And Baymax Variety Hour." I don't mean to denigrate that, per se, because it's very good at being the story of a boy coping with his brother's death via robot. And, to be fair, it's largely been advertised that way. But I was hoping for a team picture, like Guardians of the Galaxy, where, despite an obvious main character, the whole cast has something to do or contribute. The other four members of the Big Hero 6 are almost an afterthought, important side characters rather than part of the main cast. Their parts could be written out of every scene in the movie but one (where they restrain a vengeful Hiro from taking a life), and the movie would not only be still well-within an hour-and-a-half running time but, generally, no different! The characters are fine, but only Hiro gets any real focus or development. Where's Wasabi learning to get over his finicky nature when it counts, or Go Go learning that sometimes playing by the rules is the smart thing?
I do enjoy the film on its own merits, but I just can't help wishing it were a little more. Maybe in the sequel...