Don Hall

Baymax is an inflatable medical robot whose job is to look after people, and that is enough to make him interesting. In Big Hero 6 (2014), Don Hall and Chris Williams understand how much comedy and tenderness they can get from putting him beside a grieving fourteen-year-old boy. We were moved by their bond because the robot keeps caring without making the film solemn. Hall is worth watching for that warmth and comic precision, even when the adventure settles for familiar business.

The care in those scenes fits his way of developing films: repeated storyboarding, with voice work brought in early. It is a sensible method for a director whose strongest material here depends on how two characters respond to each other. His first feature as director, Winnie the Pooh (2011), was made with Stephen J. Anderson, and he later co-directed Moana (2016) with John Musker and Ron Clements. Those shared credits matter: we should be cautious about crediting Hall alone for what reaches the screen.

Big Hero 6 is also where our reservation becomes clear. Hall and Williams discard most of the Marvel comic beyond its names, yet the superhero story they build is less distinctive than the boy and his nurse. The team, armour and masked villain make the film busier without giving it more to say about the boy. We recommend it, but its warm, precise first hour gives way to a film that could have been made almost anywhere.

With Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), his interest in mixing cultural influences extended to a story drawing on Southeast Asia. He followed it with Strange World (2022), then left Disney Animation in 2024 to develop and produce an original animated feature at Skydance Animation. We hope he keeps trusting characters as uncomplicated as Baymax; there is plenty to do with someone who wants to help. Start with Big Hero 6, with some patience reserved for the superhero business.