It’s time for some Big Hero 6 coverage! During the McFarland USA press trip I had the opportunity to sit down with Big Hero 6 Movie Directors, Don Hall and Chris Williams, in regard to their 3 year journey to bring this box office hit to the big screen.
Big Hero 6 Movie Directors Interview
When asked how he got involved with the film Don mentions that he loves Marvel Comics, but had never read Big Hero 6 before. After a bit of research he thought the emotional story behind the comic would be perfect for a movie and pitched the idea to John Lasseter, the chief creative officer for Walt Disney Animation Studios. A year later Chris got the invite from Don to join him in the creation of the movie.
Q: Did you ever expect the success of Big Hero 6?
A: Don confidently says “yeah!” Then follows up with, “No, we’re very fortunate because we’re always the first audience, and our studio likes it, hopefully everyone will.” It really hit them after the movie rolled out to audiences and the movie started resonating with people. Chris chimes in to share that Baymax is one of those characters that’s relatable to Bambi, Dumbo and Pinnochio – characters that have a purity and sweetness to them. “At times it’s an overwhelming idea for us to be apart of a group that’s helping carry on a Disney legacy. We’re very proud of the movie.”
Q: How important was the Clinical Psychologist that you brought in to mold Hero’s Character?
A: Don – “it was hugely important. On a couple of different levels.” They later brought in a Child Psychologist that helped give new insight into teen loss, and reinforced that they were on the right track with the film.
Q: Whose idea was it to get Stan Lee into the Movie?
A: Don shares that it was a back burnered idea that they pushed right up to the deadline. Only after seeing “Guardians of the Galaxy” together and noticing that everyone in the theater stayed through the credits did they panic and put a fast forward on completing that part. They even kept that part from the crew and had those animators sworn to secrecy so it would be a surprise for everyone who worked on the film.
When asked how San Fransokyo came to be, the directors share that they had the green light to create their own world, apart from Marvel Universe. Since Big Hero 6 is a Japanese super hero team they wanted to keep with the Japanese aesthetic and mash it with a recognizable city like San Francisco. Don said, “a mash-up of Disney and Marvel….Eastern and Western kind of things.”
We really appreciated the directors taking the time to sit down and chat with us about the film. It’s always neat to get behind the scenes information, and I’m happy to be able to share that with all of you.
Look for Big Hero 6 on Blu-Ray Feb 24th!
This is a partnered post on behalf of Disney. All opinions are mine alone.
