I was under the misapprehension that this was the 6th in some Big Hero franchise, not understanding the 6 referred to "how many" on what eventually becomes a superhero team, with shades of The Incredibles -- and a touch of Scooby Doo.
The unification of Nipponese and US cultures ala Disney is a pure synergy and helps feed the premise that IQ knows no upper limit.
Asia connotes technical brilliance to Pacific Rim folks and this movie is all about being a nerdy genius in a peer group that supports full expression of same ala Johnny Neutrino.
The movie is also about compassion and empathy (qualities in shorter supply).
The world we get is more Zero Theorem in flavor, though minus the existential concern with a global apocalypse. The villain has specific targets. In general the future looks bright for these folks.
I thought the Disney people did a really fine job on this one. I'm glad kids are seeing it.
The world we see is very close to ours, but more utopian. Recent near future science fiction ala Bladerunner has usually gone the other way: the near future is darker than our time, with Japan a source of fascination.
Here's a breath of fresh air then. Japan is still a focus, but in a non-threatening, non-darkening way.
Watching this next to Penguins of Madagascar was an interesting experience. Both feature teams acting in concert, tightly coordinated, against a loner villain.
