Balloon Man
By: Connor Lenahan
I am getting way too old to to go see animated movies. When you’re a 20 year old walking into a Disney film there better be a great reason. I mean, it’s one thing if it’s a connection straight to your childhood, like Monsters University, but seeing a brand new story is a bit odd. At least, this was my thought before this weekend.
When I went to go see the superb Guardians of the Galaxy this past Sunday I was greeted with a trailer for something I had never heard of before. This project, Big Hero 6, was the latest from Disney. Simply by seeing the Magic Kingdom pop up it was apparent this movie would be good.
Nothing in this trailer matters except for the giant, white balloon man. Surely he has a name, but I don’t care too look it up. Why? because I’m laughing too hard at everything he does. Nothing makes me laugh harder than over-innocence. That’s why Ralph Wiggum will always be hilarious.
The second I heard him say “I am not fast” robotically for the first time I lost it. I almost jumped out of my chair I was laughing so hard. I couldn’t contain myself as he repaired leaks in his body. When he slurs “we jumped out a WINDOW” I was on the verge of tears. And when he hold his “hairy baby” I knew that Big Hero 6 was destined to win every single Oscar this year. It’s perfect.
I don’t care that there will be plenty of confused adults wondering why a bearded man is seeing Big Hero 6 alone while eating Reese’s Pieces at a furious clip. I need to see this movie. This is all I want.
Connor Lenahan (@ConnorLenahan) is a sophomore at Boston University, majoring in journalism.
I find that what you say in the beginning of your article particularly ignorant: “When you’re a 20 year old walking into a Disney film there better be a great reason.” Is wanting to enjoy a quality film a good enough reason for you? There is a lot of garbage in animation (Planes, the Shrek films after the second, Shark Tale, etc.), but there are also a lot of animated films that I would consider masterpieces. Plot, symbolism, character development, and cinematography are all points that people use to analyze films, and those are all present in animation as well, even down to the camera work (this is especially prevalent in Pixar movies, and to an extent in Dreamworks). Can you honestly tell me that Toy Story was just a silly movie about some toys running around and did not at all discuss the concept of knowing when to lead and when to just be part of the group with the dynamic between Woody and Buzz? Or that Shrek was some cracked up fairy tale and did not break down the archetypes so common to fairy tales with things such as an ogre being the hero or the ‘powerful’ villain being a short man who has no ability to fend for himself? Or that the LEGO Movie is just a glorified version of a fifth grader’s stop motion animation project and doesn’t represent the homogenization of media? If you’ve written off these movies as being “for kids” then I feel bad for you. Do yourself a favor, and watch Up, watch the Incredibles, and don’t assume that just because it’s animated that it’s “only for kids.” A great animated movie has the power to entertain and speak to everyone. Also, I primarily used Pixar/Dreamworks/Big Studio films in my examples, but there is also great independent animation work, especially shorts.