[EDIT: I’ve noticed that this post still continues to get notes every so often, so I felt that I must update this post a little bit for some context! This post was originally written back when we only had the first teaser trailer for Big Hero 6 and didn’t know anything else about the film. I don’t think we even knew who Tadashi even was back then. This post hasn’t been updated since, so you will see it the way it was originally posted many months ago when we still barely knew anything about the film. With that said: Do check back on my blog for other SF-on-SF posts, as I got a few planned once retail copies of BH6 come out and we can finally dissect each part of the film. I do have other similar posts on my blog already, and I’ll be updating them all to have a similar tag so you can easily track them all. That’s enough of this long edit for an already looong post, so keep an eye out for more posts and enjoy this one! Thanks!]





Hey all! I’ve been pretty hyped on Big Hero 6, especially since it feels like it’s built for me: I’m a San Francisco native that’s a big fan of Japan, Disney & superheros. Not to mention that Hiro’s normal outfit is very close to mine (as seen on my avatar and blog theme).

Anyways, with the new BH6 trailer out showing much more of ‘San Fransokyo’ than before, I felt the need to sort of analyze it all and compare it with real San Francisco. Can’t really compare too much to Tokyo or Japan in general since I’ve only ever been there once, but I’d love to hear from those who lived in Japan!

Also, a little disclaimer that I’m not expert on everything San Francisco, but I was born here and have been living much of my years in the city. With that said, I may not pick up on every little detail that other San Franciscans may pick up.

So, let’s start with some of the earliest looks at San Fransokyo (skipping some of the concept art, since there’s not much to say about those)

Last year, Disney released this footage of San Fransokyo, and I loved it. Right off the bat, they definitely got the hazy look the fog gives us (which we refer to as “Karl” here). The thing that I really loved is that they actually got The Bay Lights on their version of the Bay Bridge, which is reminiscent to various Japanese bridges, like Tatara Bridge or the Yokohama Bay Bridge (and not to mention the new eastern span of the current Bay Bridge). The Bay Lights were turned on for the first time that same year, so it was a little surprising to me that Disney would even include that detail already in this movie.

One thing I will point out is that the cable cars don’t seem to be in line with the real ones.

If you look carefully, the cable car is actually labeled for the “Powell” line, which is an actual station (more on that later). Though, there are no real Powell-Hyde lines that have this view and have tracks side by side. Whenever the Powell line cars face the Bay Bridge, it’s on one-way streets. This seems a bit more like the California St. cable car line. Go give a fly around Google Earth to see what I mean. But yeah: This is “San Fransokyo”. Disney’s free to take some liberties on the design of the city, and they certainly have. Besides; This isn’t the first time Disney made an inaccurate take on San Francisco…

(that’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios, by the way) Seriously, that view of San Francisco makes zero sense to me, especially with the placement of Coit Tower and the angle on Golden Gate Bridge. I mean, you-

nevermind, back to Big Hero 6:

The view in this video is actually different from other official images that Disney released. Here’s one straight from Disney’s official site

The major difference you’ll notice is that the signs were changed to have more English. And surprise: It’ll change again…

Now onto the actual trailer that released today, we see that the sign on the building on the left changed yet again. Just thought I’d like to point that out, though it’s not a big deal. Lots of things change in the production of a movie.

Speaking of signs, the one on the white and blue building on the top right definitely reminds me of all the signs on newer buildings that are open for rent/buy here in the city. No reference photos available for now…

Anyways, this is the first time we’ve seen San Fransokyo in the daytime, and it looks great. We can actually see the East Bay where Oakland is (what would the Japanified version of “Oakland” be? Hm..) along with Yerba Buena Island…Which is lacking Treasure Island for some reason. I guess the World’s Fair never happened in this alternate reality…

oh, One thing I do wanna point out is that the cable car hills are not THAT steep…From what I recall. As a resident, I pretty much never use the cable cars at all.

A great look at the San Fransokyo cable car and it’s destinations. It’s still the Powell-Hyde line, but names have been changed. Market Street is now “Hamakiri Street” and Fisherman’s Wharf is now “Ryoshi Wharf”.

Interestingly enough, the Golden Gate Bridge is still just “Golden Gate Bridge”. Even more interesting is that the little poster, along with having a little QR code, also riffs on the 75th anniversary two years ago. Even the logo is remarkably similar!

Note that even the poster on the cable car even has fake logos for the sponsors! That’s a really neat detail

So, seeing how this is the the 95th anniversary, I guess BH6 is set nearly twenty years in the future. Oh yeah, “goldengatebridge95.org” goes nowhere…for now

Oh yeah, for a comparison on the real cable cars and (especially the labels on them), click here for a picture.

…So yeah, I have no idea where this would be and what buildings they’re directly based on, but it certainly feels like San Francisco. Even got the MUNI overhead electrical wires. And the building in the distance on the right looks similar to Saleforce Tower, which is still under construction and will be the tallest building in the city.

Much of the new trailer is set in an SF police station, and since I’m a good boy, I’ve barely ever been to the SFPD, so I have no frame of reference for the station. However, there’s some really great details in the station, including Hans…

We also get a little glimpse of an empty warehouse (which we have a lot of here) where our Kabuki-masked antagonist hangs out. I’m getting a sort of Dogpatch vibe from it, especially the outdoor part…

Let’s fly, shall we?

Golden Gate Bridge looks great. They got the look of the bridge’s underside and the bay looks gorgeous, as it always is.

Not much to say here either except that the building Hiro & Baymax flies around looks a lot like One Rincon Hill.

The view also shows a bit of the bay again, which makes me wonder if we will see a Japan-mashup version of Pixar in Emeryville, just right across the bay. Granted, Pixar has always been referencing the East Bay a bunch in their movies (that’s a whole other post for me to make), so time for SF to get the spotlight.

No idea where exactly this is referencing, but based off the angle of the Golden Gate Bridge, looks like the Marina or the Presidio.

OK, now that is TOTALLY the Stockton Street Tunnel. LOOK: It even has the “QUIET THROUGH TUNNEL” sign!

The little chase scene showcases that Disney totally got the San Francisco & Tokyo flavor into one. The streets really feels like a fusion of both.

And finally, we get a look inside Hiro’s house. Being that I haven’t been in many other houses in San Francisco, I have nothing really to add to this. For all I know, he could be living on the same street as the “That’s So Raven” house on Ashbury.

And that about does it for this San Franciscan look into San Fransokyo. Just like the movie trailer in general: I just wanna see more. We haven’t seen the Japanified versions of Alcatraz, Coit Tower, AT&T Park, Transamerica Pyramid, or any other San Francisco landmark icon.

As for the trailer itself: I’m totally hyped up for the movie. It just looks so cute & funny. And again: It feels like it was totally made for me, so I may be kinda biased.

If and when Disney releases any more looks into San Fransokyo, do expect another post from me comparing it with real-life San Francisco!

[note: post may be edited soon to include more links and photos as a reference to those who never been to sf. also, i wrote all this late at night/early in the morning when the trailer just released. apologies for any mistakes…]