Big Hero 6 appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. No issues developed in this satisfying presentation.
Sharpness looked solid. From start to finish, the movie demonstrated positive delineation, with a tight image on display. No issues with jaggies or shimmering occurred, and edge haloes were absent. Of course, the image lacked any print flaws; it remained clean at all times.
Colors became a strong element. The movie went with a fairly broad palette that displayed consistently vivid hues. Blacks were dense and tight, and shadows were smooth, with nice clarity. The transfer brought out the movie well.
As for the movie’s DTS-HD MA 7.1 soundtrack, it opened up the film in a satisfying manner. Though the mix didn’t give us wall-to-wall theatrics, it managed to use the spectrum well.
As expected, the film’s occasional action sequences boasted nice breadth and activity. Big fights didn’t create terrific usage, but they spread out the material in a useful manner. While the soundscape didn’t stun us on a constant basis, it provided enough to succeed.
Audio quality seemed consistently solid. Speech appeared natural and distinctive; no edginess or other issues marred the dialogue. Music sounded warm and full, while effects showed good clarity and accuracy. When necessary, bass response came across as deep and tight. All of this led the track to “B” status.
Only a handful of extras round out the set. Shown theatrically before Hero, a short called Feast goes for six minutes, 13 seconds and shows a stray dog who finds himself a happy home. Longtime readers will know I’m a major dog-lover and a sucker for movies about canines. Feast does nothing remarkable but it presents an enjoyable, charming effort.
Four Deleted Scenes fill a total of 13 minutes, 10 seconds. We find “Alternate Opening – Prologue” (4:05), “Alternate Opening – Silent Sparrow” (4:53), “Yokai’s Crew” (2:42) and “’Every Great Super Hero Origin Story Starts With a Grappling Hook’” (1:12). All four prove to be interesting. “Prologue” lets us learn more about Hiro’s childhood, and “Crew” brings us a clever band of baddies. Those become the best of the bunch, but I like all of them.
Note that the running times include introductions from directors Don Hall and Chris Williams. They tell us a little about the sequences as well as why the pieces failed to make the film. Their comments add value.
Two featurettes ensue. The Origin Story of Big Hero 6: Hiro’s Journey occupies 15 minutes, 10 seconds. Hosted by actor Jamie Chung, we find notes from Hall, Williams, producer Roy Conli, heads of story Joe Mateo and Paul Briggs, writers Robert L. Baird and Daniel Gerson, Marvel Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada, executive VP/head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb, head of effects animation Michael Kaschalk, lead character designer Shiyoon Kim, production designer Paul Felix, and director of cinematography and lighting Adolph Lusinsky.
We learn about the project’s path to the screen, story/character areas, research and robot design, and the creation of “San Fransokyo”. I feel disappointed the Blu-ray lacks an audio commentary, but “Story” delivers a pretty good overview. It touches on useful topics and becomes a worthwhile piece.
Big Animator 6: The Characters Behind the Characters lasts six minutes, 39 seconds and features head of animation Zach Parrish as well as animation supervisors Nathan Engelhardt, Jason Figliozzi, Michael Franceschi, Brent Homman and Doug Bennett. They cover character design and animation. Despite the show’s brevity, it boasts a lot of insights.
If you look for it, you’ll find an Easter Egg. This two-minute, 46-second clip concentrates on hidden images found in Hero. ut delivers a fun view of these buried elements.
To fund the egg, highlight “Info” from the “Bonus Features” menu. This shows an image of Baymax – press “enter” and the featurette will run.
The disc opens with ads for Inside Out, Aladdin, and Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast. Sneak Peeks adds promos for Disney Infinity, Star Wars: Rebels and Star Wars: The Clone Wars – The Lost Missions. We also find the teaser trailer for Hero.
A second disc provides a DVD copy of Hero. It includes Feast, the “Characters” featurette, the teaser and the “Sneak Peeks” but loses the other elements.
As a comic book adventure, Big Hero 6 provides reasonable fun. It could be tighter, better paced and more inventive, but it delivers enough entertainment to make it worthwhile. The Blu-ray offers excellent visuals as well as good audio and a small but interesting set of supplements. While Hero never becomes a great animated experience, it offers reasonable fun.