Big Hero 6
There may not be a Year of the Bear, but Eto Pooh is an annual tradition for Disney fans in Japan.
Come with us as we preview the hotly anticipated new magical worlds before their grand opening.
Belle, Beast, and Big Hero 6’s biggest hero part of extensive renovations planned for the park and its neighbor Tokyo Disney Sea.
If you’ve seen Disney’s Big Hero 6, you know that the film’s most memorable character, marshmallowy medical helper/combat robot Baymax, spends about half of his screen time being awesome, and the other being adorable. In one of the best examples of the latter, he becomes a mattress for his exhausted friends, letting them lean into his soft, cushioned body during a brief respite during the bumpy transition to their new lives as superheroes.
If you’re feeling similarly worn out after a hard day, you’ll be happy to know that, just as the trailer for the film promised, Baymax has your back…or your front, or your side, depending on how you sleep, in the form of this amazingly heart-melting semi-posable Baymax bed.
There’s just something soothing about the face of Baymax, the caretaker (and superpowered) robot that plays a prominent role in Disney’s Big Hero 6. Baymax looks like a big pillow to some people. Others say he more closely resembles Japanese dumplings, or the rounded discs of mochi used as New Year’s decorations in Japan.
Or, as these photos show, you could also duplicate Baymax’s inviting aura of soft plumpness with a white T-shirt and large pair of breasts.
Last summer, we took a look at a series of ads from Okinawa’s Bank of the Ryukyus, known locally as Ryugin, that featured magical girl idol singers and giant robots. Those are certainly more visually appealing images than a staid banker or graphs explaining interest fees, but if we’re being totally honest, the sort of CG animation shown in the commercials really isn’t Japan’s forte.
Where the country’s artists really shine is in a more traditional discipline that mimics the style of hand-drawn artwork, regardless of whether or not it’s done with pencil and paper or all on a computer. Thankfully, that’s just what we get in the bank’s newest ad, which comes from one of anime’s top veteran action directors, plus one of its most accomplished voice actors.
While not everyone in Japan quite knew what to expect from Disney’s newest hit Big Hero 6 (or Baymax, as it’s known over here), it hasn’t stopped audiences from loving the film. Or sobbing through half of it like big babies. (That wasn’t just me, right?) So, it was hardly a surprise when I spotted Baymax mitrashi dango at convenience store chain FamilyMart. And, being the curious person I am, it also wasn’t really a surprise when I found myself buying a pack just to see what they taste like!
Check out our review of the Baymax mitarashi dango and see if you’ll want to pick up a pack for yourself before you head to the theater!
Last weekend, my wife and I decided to go to watch Disney’s Big Hero 6, which had just opened in Japan under the title Baymax, after its marshmallow-like central robot character. As we made our way into the theater, she asked me if I had a pack of tissues, adding, “I heard the movie is really touching.”
This kind of took me by surprise. Sure, most Disney films have a heartwarming side to them, but wasn’t this movie about a team of superheroes and their robot?
If you’ve seen Big Hero 6, you know by now that it does a solid job of handling both action and emotional scenes. You probably wouldn’t get that impression from the tender Japanese ads for the movie, though, which is why many Japanese moviegoers were pleasantly surprised to find that Baymax isn’t just sweet, but also pretty awesome.
It looks like Disney fans may have something to look forward to when they visit Family Mart stores in Japan this winter — especially if they have a sweet-tooth. That’s right, for a limited time, Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart is offering some delightful-looking desserts in collaboration with Disney’s mega hit film Frozen and their newest release (or soon to be released in the case of Japan) Big Hero 6. And as if that doesn’t make us happy enough, they even have a campaign going on where you can win special goods tied in with the two movies.
Let’s see what Disney sweetness is being served up at FamilyMart stores across Japan!
Back in May, we reported to you about how we would be getting our first Japanese Disney hero in the upcoming film Big Hero 6 based on the Marvel comic of the same title. Since then, we’ve found out that the film will be titled Baymax in Japan, after the protagonist Hiro Hamada’s white fluffy companion robot. We’ve also learned from a recent announcement that Disney will be getting involved in a highly unique crossover for Big Hero 6 that’s never been done one with any of their other movies before — in advance of the movie release, Big Hero 6 will be serialized as a manga here in Japan starting in the beginning of next month, and there will even be a prequel manga published as well! Now, that’s a piece of news we’re certainly excited to hear!
After the huge success of Frozen, Disney fans are eagerly awaiting the next Disney project! Well, Japanese fans have a really good reason to rejoice! Walt Disney’s Animation Studio’s new movie, Big Hero 6, will feature the first Japanese protagonist!
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