We are almost at the end of our search for the Best Movies of 2015 and Big Hero 6 has just missed out on the top spot. 2015 has been a wonderful year for animation - not only have we been treated to some great films, but many of them have been met with critical and huge commercial success.
Big Hero 6
It was at the end of January when Big Hero 6 hit the big screen here in the UK and it was the fifty-fourth Disney animation movie and the first since smash hit Frozen.
Big Hero 6 is inspired by the Marvel Comic superhero team of the same name and is the first Disney film to feature Marvel Comic characters. Don Hall and Chris Williams teamed up for the first time in the director's chair - the duo were no stranger to Disney movies with Hall having helmed Winnie the Pooh and Williams was on board for Bolt.
Big Hero 6 features brilliant robotics prodigy Hiro Hamada, who finds himself in the grips of a criminal plot that threatens to destroy the fast-paced, high-tech city of San Fransokyo. With the help of his closest companion-a robot named Baymax-Hiro joins forces with a reluctant team of first-time crime fighters on a mission to save their city.
I am a HUGE Disney fan - have been my whole life - and Big Hero 6 was one the animation films that I was looking forward to this most this year... I have to say, it well and truly did not disappoint and sees Disney carry on the fine tradition of wonderful animation films; they really have produced some gems in recent years.
Firstly, Big Hero 6 is a wonderful adventure that is packed with some great action moments and wonderful characters. It truly is an entertaining spectacle and the animation looks fantastic - the city of San Fransokyo just pops off the screen.
This is a movie that doesn't hang around and, with a run time of ninety-three minutes, it never really allows the audience to sit back and take a breath. I love the fast pace as it never gives the story chance to lose momentum or get distracted by less important strands of the tale. The plot is slick and tight as Williams and Hall never deviate from the main goal - saving the city from impending doom.
Great characters, wonderful animation, and a fast-paced story is something that we have come to expect from Disney, and we have got it in bucket loads with Big Hero 6... but it is the heart and charm in this film that really elevates it and makes it something more.
Yes, it is a movie about heroes and saving the world, but it is also a movie that explores, grief, how people deal with it in different ways, and the struggle some face to overcome that and move on.
Baymax is the film's central character and the robot really has the task of mending the heart of a young boy, who is left devastated after the death of his older brother. With the help of Baymax, Hiro starts to put his life together again and realise the potential that his brother always knew he had.
It is a touching story about friendship, family, the pain of grief and the tough reality of death. These are themes that we can all relate to in some way and this is a movie that really will tug on the heartstrings.
Big Hero 6 is a perfect mix of great action, beautiful animation, and a real human story and the directors really do strike that perfect balance. But it is the human story that takes centre stage and Hall and Williams never forget that is the heartache that is really driving Hiro forward.
Big Hero 6 was a deeper and more profound movie than I was expecting and I love that it explores these important themes of death, grief, and the importance of friends and family during these tough times. It is a wonderfully acting-packed yet touching movie that is a perfect watch for the whole family - it really is another Disney classic.
Big Hero 6 was a big box office hit upon release and went on to win the Best Animated Feature at the year's Oscars; seeing off competition from the likes of The Boxtrolls, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Song of the Sea, and The Tale of Princess Kaguya.
Bit Hero 6 is everything that I was expecting and so much more and lived up to my very lofty expectations that I have every time I sit down to watch a Disney movie. I am not always a huge fan of the sequel, but I would love to see these great characters make a return.
Take a look at our Best Movies of 2015 countdown so far: