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#4: Learning To Overcome Grief And Loss

Disney is no stranger when it comes to death. From Bambi’s mom to Moana’s grandmother, every Disney movie either features a character dying or a character who’s family member (usually a mother) had previously died prior to the movie.

But while death remains prominent in Disney movies, rarely has any of them dealt with the subject proper, as most character deaths serve as mere catalysts for the main character’s story arc. In worse case scenarios, Disney movies have even utilized fake-out deaths to create a false sense of suspense.

What makes Big Hero 6 refreshing is that while death remains a motivation for Hiro’s story arc, his story arc involves him learning to overcome his grief and cope with his loss.

Hiro already knows what it’s like to lose a close family member, as both his parents died ten years prior to the movie, leaving him and his brother to be raised by their aunt, but ultimately with his brother Tadashi serving almost as a surrogate parent.

During the first half of the movie, we get to see a close look at Hiro and Tadashi’s relationship, and in doing so, we get to learn more about Tadashi as a character. We form an emotional bond with him, so when he inevitably dies, we feel the same loss that Hiro experiences. (Contrast that with Frozen, where Elsa and Anna’s parents die in the first ten minutes of the movie!)

The rest of the movie involves Hiro learning to come to terms with his brother’s death. Helping him through this process is one of Tadashi’s old projects, Baymax, who serves as Hiro’s healthcare companion by helping to “take care of him” during his time of need.

As Lady Geek Blog wrote in her review, “the important takeaway here is that until Baymax was activated, Hiro was only wallowing in his grief, not making any steps to escape it. Baymax forces him to go outside, and later, as his personal healthcare companion, Baymax takes the steps to help Hiro with his grief.”

Hiro’s entire story arc following Tadashi’s death essentially follows the five steps of grief: “Denial” that Tadashi had passed away, “Anger” at the villain who killed him, “Bargaining” through the process of becoming a superhero in order to defeat said villain, “Depression” upon realizing that his current solution would do nothing to alleviate his loss, and “Acceptance” by learning to cope with his loss and becoming “satisfied with his care.”

Helping to serve as a contrast to Hiro and his story arc is that of the villain. No spoilers, but we later learn that the villain, Yokai, is also motivated by grief, and while Hiro has been learning to cope with it in a healthy manner, Yokai has only allowed his grief to consume him and force him down his evil path. As Lady Geek Blog wrote, “He never got rid of his red chip, as it were.”

Overall, the movie provides a great lesson on learning to deal with grief and loss by handling the subject of death more gingerly than in previous Disney films.