Big Hero 6
Big Hero 6 looks like a turbo-charged animated superhero romp, at first glance. There are flying robots, neon cityscapes, and a team of unlikely crime fighters who look like they wandered in from very different Halloween parties.
But then something happens. Someone dies.
And suddenly this “kids’ movie” turns into one of the most emotionally honest portrayals of grief Disney has ever released, wrapped in vinyl armor and a gentle voice that asks, “Are you satisfied with your care?”
Spoiler alert. This film is not really about defeating a villain. It is about surviving loss.
Grief Is the Origin Story
Hiro Hamada’s story does not begin with superpowers or destiny. It begins with the sudden death of his older brother, Tadashi. No slow fade. No noble sacrifice monologue. Just absence.
That loss becomes the emotional engine of the entire film. Hiro spirals. He withdraws. He lashes out. He makes terrible decisions fueled by anger and pain. If you have ever watched someone grieve or done it yourself, you recognize the pattern immediately.
This is not a detour in the story. This is the story.
Baymax Is a Caregiver, Not a Weapon
Enter Baymax, Tadashi’s healthcare robot. He is soft, literal-minded, and designed for one purpose only: to reduce suffering.
Baymax does not tell Hiro to get over it. He does not rush him through his grief. He stays. He scans. He listens. He offers support without judgment. He even plays music when the pain spikes.
In other words, Baymax behaves like an ideal grief companion.
It matters that Baymax is not built for violence. When Hiro tries to turn him into a weapon, the movie treats that moment with the seriousness it deserves. Grief can distort our values. Pain can make us forget who we are. Healing requires remembering.
Legacy Does Not Die
Tadashi is gone, but he is not erased. His values ripple forward through Baymax, through Hiro’s growth, and through the community Tadashi helped create.
Big Hero 6 quietly teaches a powerful truth. Legacy is not about monuments. It is about influence. It is about how love continues to show up long after someone is gone.
That message lands gently, without speeches or sermons. Just actions. Just care.
Vengeance Is a Dead End
Hiro’s anger is understandable. It is also dangerous.
The movie does not shame him for feeling rage, but it does show the cost of letting rage lead. Revenge does not heal Hiro. Connection does. Purpose does. Choosing care over cruelty does.
That is a grief lesson many adults never receive, let alone children.
“Are You Satisfied With Your Care?”
This line becomes the emotional heartbeat of the film. Baymax cannot deactivate until Hiro truly is okay, not fine, not pretending, but genuinely supported.
It is a reminder that love does not end when someone dies. It changes form. It becomes memory, influence, inner voice. And eventually, it becomes something we carry forward.
Why This Movie Matters
Big Hero 6 teaches that mourning is not weakness. It is transformation. It shows that grief can coexist with joy, growth, and even superhero-level bravery.
It is an ideal Mortality Movie for introducing conversations about loss, legacy, and healing to kids, teens, and grownups who swear they are “just watching it for the action.”
Plus, it somehow manages to do all of this with flying robots, fist bumps that go “ba-la-la-la-la,” and a healthcare robot shaped like an emotional support marshmallow.
Now that is some impressive caregiving.
Gail Rubin, CT
Gail Rubin, Certified Thanatologist and The Doyenne of Death
Gail Rubin, CT, The Doyenne of Death, is a pioneering, internationally-recognized death educator. She’s author of the award-winning books A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, Kicking the Bucket List: 100 Downsizing and Organizing Things to Do Before You Die, Hail and Farewell: Cremation Ceremonies, Templates and Tips, and The Before I Die Festival in a Box. Her next book is 98.6 Mortality Movies to See Before You Die.
She is also the coordinator of the award-winning Before I Die New Mexico Festival, a pioneer of the Death Cafe movement in the United States, creator of The Newly-Dead Game, and host of the Mortality Movies TV series and Mortality Movie Night events. She is a two-time TEDx speaker on end-of-life issues. Learn more here.