Image Credit: Disney
The Disney animated film Big Hero 6 took home the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, with its heartwarming story of brothers Hiro and Tadashi, Baymax the healthcare robot with a heart of gold, and its multicultural and mixed-race characters. I had the opportunity to interview producer Roy Conli about the making of this movie.
Image Credit: Disney
One of my first questions for Roy was about the setting of Big Hero 6, the imaginary city of San Fransokyo. The city wasn’t part of the Marvel comic that inspired the film. In fact, the geographical portmanteau started out as sort of a joke, but eventually the crew decided to go with it. Conli lived in San Francisco while studying at the American Conservancy Theater and was inspired by the light that reflects off the Pacific Ocean and the Bay.
Image Credit: Disney
Disney then sent a team of animators to Tokyo to research the aesthetics of the city for the blended locale of San Fransokyo.
Image Credit: Disney
I also had some questions about the role of technology in Big Hero 6. Unlike many Hollywood robots, Baymax is artificial intelligence used for good, not bad. Conli told me that the inspiration comes from the Eastern concept of robots that tend to have soft exteriors, something I hadn’t heard of before.
Image Credit: Disney
And of course, I couldn’t do an interview about Big Hero 6 without touching on its multicultural and mixed-race significance. Click on the link below to listen to my full conversation with producer Roy Conli to find out how the film did at Asian, South American and European box offices and why Big Hero 6 stands out in the field of Oscar contenders…
Enter by March 10 to win a Collector’s Edition Blu-Ray and DVD set in my Big Hero 6 Giveaway!
[…] I got a call from MSNBC asking me to go on The Rundown with Jose Diaz-Balart to talk about the Big Hero 6 Oscar win for Best Animated Feature Film and also about Asian American representation in […]