I’ve watched Big Hero 6 more times than I can count.

One of the things I’ve observed about it is that Hiro’s hubris basically goes unchecked, if not outright rewarded.

He basically goes into a berserk state and becomes hellbent on revenge (a la Achilles after the death of Patroclus). He says to his friends “Actually, if we’re going to catch this guy, I need to upgrade all of you.” And proceeds to remake all his nerdy friends as superheroes, something they’re physically and emotionally unequpped for and risks their lives. In a Greek tragedy, one of them would die. In a typical Hollywood movie, Hiro would have some realization at the end like “we only needed to be ourselves all along, we don’t need to pretend to be superheroes.” Sure, his friends check his rage/revenge/bloodlust when he tries to remove Baymax’s “humane” chip.

But ultimately, the idea that he has to remake his friends as something they’re not is never questioned. The hubristic comeuppance never happens. The idea that being merely human is not enough, and a very technophilic, utopian, Silicon-Valley-friendly idea of human perfectability is left to stand.

Not really saying it’s bad or good, just an observation based on many repeat viewings with a kid who adores the film (as do I).

(PS: The title of the post comes from the song that plays during the end credits during which the kid and I (and whoever’s watching it with us) have a traditional dance party).