Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 is an action comedy adventure that introduces Baymax (Adsit), a lovable, personal companion robot, who forms a special bond with robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada (Potter). When a devastating turn of events catapults them into the midst of a dangerous plot unfolding in the streets of San Francisco, Hiro turns to Baymax and his diverse group of friends––adrenaline junkie Go Go Tomago (Chung), Neatnik Wasabi (Wayans, Jr.), chemistry whiz Honey Lemon (Rodriguez), and Fanboy Fred (Miller)––who transform into a band of unlikely heroes. Big Hero 6 won the Academy Award for Animated Feature Film.

Special features include the theatrical short Feast (HD 06:13); the featurettes The Origin Story Of Big Hero 6: Hiro’s Journey (HD 15:10) and Big Animator 6: The Characters Behind The Characters (HD 06:39); Big Hero Secrets (Easter Egg); four deleted scenes with introduction by Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams (HD 13:10); a theatrical teaser; upfront previews; and an UltraViolet digital copy.

The 2.39:1 1080p AVC animated picture is spectacular! Color fidelity is richly saturated with strong primaries and warm hues that result in a beautiful rendering. Even the animated fleshtones are humanly hued. Contrast is excellent with deep, solid blacks and shadow delineation, while Baymax’s vinyl body is a creamy white. Colors pop with image resolution that is incredibly nuanced in fine detail. Spatial dimensionality is superb, no doubt due to the original 3D capture and rendering (which strangely is not included on this release). This is a fun, visually imaginative and brightly rendered character animation that is rendered with masterful reference-quality imagery that is engagingly lovable.

The DTS-HD Master Audio™ 7.1-channel soundtrack is wonderfully dynamic and spatially enveloping, with an aggressive soundfield dimension enhanced with two additional surround channels. Sounds are effectively positioned and panned in accordance with the animated action. Atmospherics and sound effects nicely define settings and provide support for the action sequences, accompanied by energized sub-25 Hz .1 LFE response. The orchestral music score is well recorded with a wide and deep soundstage presence that extends aggressively to the four surround channels. The music is supported with a nicely defined and natural bass foundation. Dialogue is always intelligible and effectively creates a sense of spatial integration. This is an exciting and engaging holosonic® experience that is reference quality throughout.