If you were asked to name the best Marvel Comics adaptation, then your mind would instantly wander to the litany of acclaimed blockbusters to emerge from Kevin Feige’s cinematic universe. Similarly, if you were asked to name the finest Academy Award-winning animated superhero movie, then the chances are high Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse would roll off the tip of your tongue, which leaves Big Hero 6 overlooked on both fronts.
Which is strange when you think about it, considering the action-packed adventure racked up $657 million at the box office, scooped the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, holds respective critical and audience scores on Rotten Tomatoes of 90 and 91 percent, launched spinoff series Baymax!, and even features a Stan Lee cameo, along with a post-credits scene featuring the Marvel legend.
And yet, Big Hero 6 doesn’t come up all that often when fans weigh up the top tier of Marvel-related theatrical content, something that seems a little unfair. Then again, streaming subscribers have returned to the film in their numbers to propel it to a plum position on the iTunes global charts per FlixPatrol, so it’s still capable of drawing in a crowd.
We’ve been inundated with Marvel adaptations on annual basis for well over a decade and counting, but somehow an almost universally beloved, infectiously fun, and wildly entertaining romp like Big Hero 6 has been allowed to fall through the conversational cracks. Very few superhero blockbusters have generated as much acclaim, which only serves to make things even more baffling.