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Spending Time with the Creative Minds Behind BIG HERO 6 at Walt Disney Animation – #BigHero6Event

November 11, 2014 by Dawn Winston

This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy here.

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Disney sent 5 Minutes for Mom contributing blogger Dawn Cullo to Los Angeles to attend a BIG HERO 6 press day. Dawn’s expenses were paid for the trip but no other compensation was paid and all opinions are Dawn’s.

The BIG HERO 6 press day was held at the Roy E Disney Animation Building.  It is quite a treat to be able to step inside the workplace of so many creative geniuses.

Roy E. Disney Animation Building

The entrance and lobby of the building are decorated with BIG HERO 6.

Big Hero 6 Display inside Roy E. Disney Animation Building

But one frozen fractal still remains. =)

Frozen Fractal inside the Roy E. Disney Animation Building

On display are a variety of awards including the Oscar for FROZEN, the Golden Globe for BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, FROZEN as well as LION KING. Disney Awards - Roy E. Disney Animation Building

Interview with Filmmakers Don Hall and Chris Williams

Big Hero 6 Directors Don Hall and Chris WilliamsChris Williams and Don Hall – Photo Credit: Staci Salazar

What attracted you to the story of Big Hero 6 being that it’s a small publishing in the Marvel comic book world?

Don Hall: We normally pitch at least three ideas and the title sounded interesting.  It was a story about a Japanese super hero team and I thought it was cool.  The characters were interesting and I loved their names.  The creators loved Japanese Pop culture as well as anime and infused it with a Marvel superheroes story so I loved that.

Chris Williams:  The fact that it was an obscure property really helped us because the way we make movies here is we sit at this table and talk about it for years.  It evolves quite a bit, and we have screening after screening, and the story changes a lot. We know that whatever we start out with, it’s going to end up being something different. The fact that it wasn’t a well-known property where people were going to have their own idea of what it should be really helped us.

What is the biggest change from the initial script to the final cut of the movie? 

Chris Williams: I know that one that may not be the biggest but one thing comes to mind and it’s that Baymax became more central. We realized that when he is driving the story, and driving the plot it really helps. Baymax became a real interesting character in uniting the story of “boy and his robot” and the superhero origin story.

Don Hall: You want the protagonist driving the story.  But the story wasn’t coming together, and it didn’t come together, until we put Baymax front and center.  We really took that idea that he wants to heal Hiro.  We put that idea in the forefront and made it really proactive, as opposed being reactive.

Chris Williams: I would say also the specific thing is the scene on the wind turbine after that first flight scene.  Where it’s just the two of them sitting on the wind turbine above the clouds and it is really sort of a sweet scene.  It was a very late addition but that’s the way we work.

We kept questioning our assumptions and kept challenging the story and then we realized there was something missing.  Once we added that scene it really solidified their relationship.  We understood how much they were invested, and how much they loved each other.  We then became invested in their relationship too.  I think that is a credit to the way that we make movies at Disney. We allow ourselves to constantly reassess the story and so I was really proud of that scene.

Big Hero 6 Interview with Don Hall and Chris Williams

Big Hero 6 Interview with Don Hall and Chris Williams

The scenery is really exciting, mesmerizing, and there is so much to see in it. How did you go about researching what the actual backgrounds would be and how much attention you wanted to draw to it? 

Don Hall:  The scenery is a credit to our production designer, Paul Felix and our art director of environment, Scott Watanabe.  They really shared the burden of how we were going to integrate all of the Japanese elements into San Francisco.

Chris Williams:  To get all of the details the team took pictures and they really studied.  That is how you get all of the details to add up so that it feels really complete.  Even the placement of the sun in the sky, the sun will always be in the right place in the sky, depending on the time of day in the scene.  Depending on the geography of San Francisco and the moisture in the air.  These are things that I wouldn’t have thought about that most of these guys are consumed by.

There were so many things we could recognize.  Instead of making something completely fantasy or completely real, how did you come up with the combination of these real places like that? 

Don Hall:  We had a meeting with Marvel and they said, “You know what, you don’t have to worry about setting this in the Marvel Universe.  Don’t worry about trying to integrate Captain America and Iron Man. Just take this and go make your own world.”

Marvel Universe really takes place in sort of the real world, like it’s New York essentially.  But I wanted to stay away from New York, and I really wanted to stay away from LA.  We knew we that no matter what we picked it was going to have this Japanese stamp on it.  San Francisco just felt cool because it’s very recognizable and it’s a contained beautiful city.  There’s so many things that people recognize around the world, like the Golden Gate Bridge, cable cars, the topography and Coit Tower.  It just felt like we could make it really grounded and relatable.

Chris Williams:  Something that John Lasseter emphasizes is that over the course of the years of production the story is going to change a lot but you’re going to live with the world that you create.

Don Hall:   I just want to bring up one little minor detail that we knew that there was going to be no superpowers in the movie.  That was another stake in the ground. Nobody is magic, or irradiated by anything, any kind of ray, cosmic ray or gamma ray or spiders, or anything.  It’s going to be real people, and their superpower is gonna be super technology.  Both of those cities, Tokyo and San Francisco are kind of hubs of technology and that kind of felt like another kind of easy integration.

Big Hero 6 Interview with Don Hall and Chris Williams 2

Big Hero 6 Interview with Don Hall and Chris Williams

The technology in the film is not only futuristic, but it’s kind of ultra-modern.  Is that based on anything?  Did you guys work with a science team?

Don Hall: When you watch the credits you’ll see, “Thank you, science.”  There were many roboticist that I consulted with on the movie.   On a research trip I meet  Dr. Tom Wagner from iRobot, he became a consultant on the film early on.  We ran all types of technology through him such as plasma blades.  We want Wasabi to have plasma blades.  Can that happen? And he’s would say, “Well, yes, if you do this, and you did that,” and some of it we’d use and some of it we pulled back just for design reasons.

Everything in the movie is researched and grounded because we tried to keep it real as possible. Even with telekinesis which we thought we were really bending the rules there, but come to find out that people are actually working on that.

Chris Williams: It’s a hard thing to do, to make a movie where you’re trying to deal with the latest cutting-edge technology.  One of the challenges is the actual technology is moving so quickly and we have to make sure we get our movie out ahead of it.  I think we managed it.

Is there a message that you are trying to send about the emotional relationship between a boy and his robot, compared to nowadays, it’s people and technology and their SmartPhone?

Don Hall: Early on as I was doing my research it became very apparent that Western and Eastern cultures view technology differently. This came to a head with Chris Atkinson, who was the soft roboticist.  He explained how frustrated he is as a roboticist that Western movies always portray the robots as villains.  He said “When is somebody is gonna put a robot up on screen that I’ve never seen before, and when is that robot going to be the hero of the movie?”  And I was said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, you had me at inflatable.”

There’s an Eastern philosophy that technology will give us a brighter tomorrow. But a lot of times in the West, it’s going to be our downfall.  So ultimately it has nothing to do with the technology, it’s about who wields that technology.  The theme of loss is really our main theme, but there were a lot of elements that went into the movie.

Group Photo with Big Hero 6 Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams

Group photo of Bloggers with Don Hall and Chris Williams

Artwork

The room we had the interview in had a ton of concept art lining the walls, I couldn’t stop staring at all of it.  Here is my favorite piece that I saw.

Big Hero 6 Concept Art

In the hallway of the second floor you can find even more artwork by the talented folks who worked on BIG HERO 6.

Big Hero 6 Concept Art - 4 Pieces

Drawing Demo

I had the honor of sitting in a 15 minute presentation with Jin Kim, Character Design Supervisor to learn how to draw Baymax.  I was in awe of how quickly he drew Baymax and then added in Hiro.

Jin Kim - Big Hero 6 Drawing Demo

Jin Kim Big Hero 6 Drawing Demo

Finished Drawing by Jin Kim of Hiro and Baymax

My Baymax looks like he is on a diet.

Dawn Cullo Draws Baymax

Now you can learn to draw Baymax with Jin Kim, Character Design Supervisor

When you have finished your drawing you can submit it to the Big Hero 6 Creators Lab.

Be sure to come back later in the week for more pictures of inside the Roy E. Disney Animation Building and my interview with Jamie Chung and Genesis Rodriguez voices of GoGo Tomago and Honey Lemon in BIG HERO 6.

Written by 5 Minutes for Mom Contributor, Dawn Cullo.

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About Dawn Winston

Dawn has been writing a Mom Blog since 2004. She writes about her nerdy side which includes Social Media, Disney and life with two little girls. Her advice is to keep on dreaming, do what you love and life will lead you a path to your happiness. You can find her blog at http://www.IAmAMommyNerd.com on Twitter at http://www.Twitter.com/DawnWinston24 and on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/IAmAMommyNerd

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37 Comments

  1. Betsy Barnes says

    December 5, 2014 at 7:32 pm

    This was a great interview! It is amazing how much goes into an animation movie! I love seeing the artwork 🙂

    Reply
  2. Thomas Murphy says

    December 5, 2014 at 2:51 pm

    Looks like a interesting place!

    Reply
  3. Sarah L says

    December 5, 2014 at 3:47 am

    I like the art they have on the walls. Neat place to visit.

    Reply
  4. Doris Calvert says

    December 4, 2014 at 11:51 pm

    Disney is so amazing! How cool you got to do that!

    Reply
  5. Tammy S says

    December 4, 2014 at 8:49 pm

    Both my kids saw this movie and loved it! I think it’s amazing the attention to detail they put into their films. Like making sure the sun is always in the correct spot. Wow! Great interview!

    Reply
  6. Mary Dailey says

    December 4, 2014 at 4:21 pm

    I hope I can take my grandkids to see this! It looks wonderful!

    Reply
  7. Amanda Sakovitz says

    December 4, 2014 at 11:03 am

    What a wonderful experience!

    Reply
  8. Jeanna says

    December 4, 2014 at 8:42 am

    This was such a good family movie! We all enjoyed it!

    Reply
  9. icefairy says

    December 4, 2014 at 7:46 am

    We love this movie.

    Reply
  10. Angela Asbell says

    December 3, 2014 at 4:08 pm

    Awesome!!!!!

    Reply
  11. DEBIJOT says

    December 3, 2014 at 11:57 am

    The previews look great, can’t wait to see this movie.

    Reply
  12. Alisha says

    December 1, 2014 at 10:29 am

    I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews about the film and the one child I have who has seen it said it was wonderful! Very interesting interview, loved the artwork!

    Reply
  13. Melissa P. says

    November 30, 2014 at 8:45 am

    It’s always nice to see something else from Disney other than Princesses. LOL Very cute film.

    Reply
  14. Leela says

    November 24, 2014 at 5:18 pm

    I’ve always wanted to get into animation.

    Reply
  15. vickie couturier says

    November 23, 2014 at 6:43 am

    my grandchildren would have loved this

    Reply
  16. hali says

    November 22, 2014 at 3:48 pm

    I love baymax!

    Reply
  17. EVANGELINE HULL says

    November 22, 2014 at 12:51 am

    I’m always amazed at how easy they make it all look.

    Reply
  18. Carolyn Barnett says

    November 21, 2014 at 11:21 am

    I love the art. Amazing talent!

    Reply
  19. @n210ss says

    November 21, 2014 at 4:39 am

    What a fun experience!

    Reply
  20. Melissa Johnson says

    November 19, 2014 at 9:15 pm

    Looks like a fantastic family movie!!

    Reply
  21. Echo says

    November 18, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    This is the next family movie we are seeing!

    Reply
  22. kymi a says

    November 18, 2014 at 10:27 pm

    My boy is so in love with this movie & I love this post I can explain to him how his favorite movie is made and maybe he will love to become an artist too.

    Reply
  23. June S. says

    November 18, 2014 at 6:19 pm

    I have been seeing the previews for this movie on TV lately and it sure does look good to me. Cannot wait to go and see it-

    Reply
  24. Tammy says

    November 16, 2014 at 11:55 am

    What a fantastic experience!

    Reply
  25. Jo-Anne Pfoh says

    November 14, 2014 at 10:07 pm

    this is just awesome and i think your drawing was great

    Reply
  26. Claudia M says

    November 13, 2014 at 10:41 pm

    what an amazing opportunity!!! … a little jealous now lol 🙂

    Reply
  27. Denise Taylor-Dennis says

    November 13, 2014 at 8:26 pm

    I can’t wait to see this movie I am a big time Disney movie fan.

    Reply
  28. carol clark says

    November 13, 2014 at 7:34 pm

    wow so cook to see this how they come up with what they do i just dont have any idea there so brilliant i cant wait to see this

    Reply
  29. Louly says

    November 13, 2014 at 9:06 am

    I can’t wait to see this movie with my daughter! The creativity and hard work that goes behind these movies is incredible.

    Reply
  30. anne says

    November 12, 2014 at 9:47 am

    this is very creative and inventive.

    Reply
  31. Meagan bs says

    November 12, 2014 at 9:28 am

    it’s very cool that you got such an inside look on this movie, thank you for sharing this!

    Reply
  32. Linda Stewart says

    November 12, 2014 at 9:25 am

    I love how creative Disney animation has gotten!

    Reply
  33. Barbara Platt says

    November 12, 2014 at 7:08 am

    Love that he came up with an inflatable, good robot

    Reply
  34. Cheryl says

    November 12, 2014 at 6:01 am

    I love Disney! This movie looks like so much fun.

    Reply
  35. Nicole Dz says

    November 12, 2014 at 1:02 am

    This movie is on our movies to see, we are excited about this adventure in this movie! The animation looks spectacular.

    Reply
  36. Sarah Matos says

    November 11, 2014 at 11:11 pm

    The artwork is amazing. Its inspiring how much work goes into the making of films

    Reply
  37. Crystal Rose says

    November 11, 2014 at 8:34 pm

    I had never thought about the difference between eastern and western views on robotics. Now that I’ve read it I agree. I’m in the West and everyone I know agrees that technology will be our downfall.

    Reply

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