Tadashi Hamada

Tadashi Hamada is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 54th animated feature, Big Hero 6. The film is inspired by a Marvel comic book of the same name. He is voiced by Daniel Henney. In addition, Tadashi is ethnically Japanese but also half Caucasian.[1] In the film, Tadashi, a student at the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, is the creator of Baymax, and the older brother of Hiro Hamada. Baymax, as described in the film, is a personal health care companion.[2]

Tadashi Hamada
Big Hero 6 character
First appearanceBig Hero 6 (2014)
Last appearanceBig Hero 6 (2014)
Created by
Voiced byDaniel Henney (Big Hero 6)
In-universe information
FamilyHiro Hamada (younger brother)
RelativesCass Hamada (aunt)
HomeSan Fransokyo

Appearances

Big Hero 6 (2014)

Tadashi appears in Big Hero 6 as Hiro Hamada's older brother. Due to their parents being deceased, Tadashi is Hiro's primary voice of reason and father figure.[3] In the film, Tadashi and Hiro live in San Fransokyo with their aunt Cass.[4] Although his age is not explicitly described in the film, Tadashi acts very mature for his age.[3] Additionally, Henney describes the character as "pure", even comparing Tadashi to an angel.[3] Tadashi is also a "tech-wizard" who attends the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology, where he conceives, builds and programs Baymax.[5][6]

"Tadashi is a good guy. He just is. He actually developed, built and programmed a state-of-the-art nursebot—a Healthcare Companion named Baymax that will likely help millions worldwide. But it's his role as big brother that makes Tadashi truly special. Every kid needs a guy like Tadashi looking out for him, and Hiro knows just how lucky he is to have him in his life."

—Official Disney blog release (2014).[6]

Daniel Henney, voice of Tadashi

In the film, Tadashi suggests that Hiro should attend the San Fransokyo Institute of Technology as Hiro is also gifted in robotics and engineering, even more so than Tadashi, his intellect allowing him to graduate from high school at 13. Initially, Hiro dismisses the request, as he chooses to pursue monetary gain from his domination in illegal bot fights in San Fransokyo, even in spite of any risks.[7] Tadashi responds to this by redirecting his little brother's intelligence, taking Hiro with him on a quick trip to his college. From it, Hiro sees just how remarkable the institution really is, and is introduced to Tadashi's friends[4][8]—Honey Lemon, GoGo, Wasabi, and Fred. Tadashi also introduces Hiro to his project Baymax, a personal healthcare robot.[9] Tadashi designs Baymax to have a huggable build. The film's animation team researched at Carnegie Mellon University to help conceive Baymax's design. Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams wanted Baymax to be "appealing but also huggable."[10] Ryan Potter (Hiro's voice actor) states that Hiro sees Baymax as a representation of Tadashi.[3] The experience inspires Hiro to want to attend the school himself, and, with a small amount of help from Tadashi, he begins working on his own endeavor in order to gain admission.[8][11] Hiro showcases his project, Microbots, controlled by a neurological headband and highly versatile, at a student exhibition held at the school.[4][12] Shortly after being accepted by Robert Callaghan, the institute's professor, the exhibition hall catches fire. With Professor Callaghan still inside, Tadashi runs into the burning building in an effort to save him.[4] Moments later, the building explodes, killing Tadashi and as everyone else assumes, Callaghan.[12] Hiro, Baymax, and Tadashi's school friends mourn Tadashi throughout the rest of the film, while most of his legacy remains present in the form of Baymax.[4][12] Following Tadashi's death, Baymax ends up taking over the role of being Hiro's emotional support.[4] A series of further events leads to the formation of a group who helps Hiro investigate Tadashi's death and the criminal plot that surrounds it:[12] this same group would go on to honor Tadashi's wisdom and dedication of helping people, through becoming the superhero team that would call themselves Big Hero 6. Prior to the film's climax, Baymax shows video footage of his testing by Tadashi to Hiro, revealing it took Tadashi several dozen attempts to perfect Baymax's original programming, body, and their compatibility with each other. Portions of these tests are seen in the second official US trailer of the film.[13][14]

Korean version

In the Korean version of the film, Tadashi's name, which is of Japanese origin, is changed to "Teddy".

Big Hero 6: The Series

Tadashi briefly appears, as a recording, in the first episode "Baymax Returns". It is revealed that he taught Hiro how to ride a bike. Henney reprised his role.[15] He also appears in "Obake Yashiki" where he appears as an illusion created by augmented reality that made Hiro to believe that Tadashi is alive.[16] The series gives more insight into how he created Baymax. In "Failure Mode", it is revealed that he nearly gave up on completing him[17] and he needed a medical expert named Lily in order to properly program him, as seen in "City of Monsters – Part I".[18] In the season 2 finale "Legacies", Hiro accepts Tadashi's diploma on his behalf at graduation.[19]

Printed media

Tadashi appears in the prequel manga, Baymax, which was released prior to the film's release, in August 2014.[20] Unlike other Disney properties that received a one-shot manga, Baymax is a full manga story which had the goal of previewing the film's story.[21] Tadashi also appears in other Disney books, such as The Art of Big Hero 6, and Big Hero 6: Hiro and Tadashi.[1][22]

Reception

A review by Manohla Dargis of The New York Times describes that Tadashi "isn't much better" than the "disappointingly bland maternal creation", Aunt Cass.[23] In her review, Dargis states that this is despite Tadashi being a "hunky brainiac who studies at an institute of higher nerdiness alongside a Scooby Doo-like posse."[23] The Japan Times describes that Tadashi "fits the normal Hollywood bill of a polite young Japanese male".[5] At one point in his review, Sam Adams of Indiewire's "Criticwire" blog, writes that Tadashi has a "nurturing spirit".[24] Adams also criticizes Tadashi's death, calling it "underplayed and unseen".[24] After mentioning another blogger's interpretation of why Hiro didn't want to lose Baymax, Adams writes that, "Even in retrospect, Tadashi's death isn't rendered significant."[24]

In other media

The character is alluded to in Avengers: Age of Ultron. While looking for a replacement AI, Tony Stark looks through several other AIs; one is labeled Tadashi and another is Jocasta but both were passed over for F.R.I.D.A.Y..[25]

References
  1. Patten, Fred (January 20, 2015). "Book Review: The Art of Big Hero 6". Animation World Network. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
  2. Palmeri, Christopher (October 31, 2014). "'Big Hero 6' Turns Godzilla Into Lovable Disney Robot". Bloomberg. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  3. Big Hero 6: Daniel Henney "Tadashi Hamada" & Ryan Potter "Hiro Hamada" Official Interview. ScreenSlam. YouTube. October 21, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  4. Davis, Lauren (September 3, 2014). "How Disney Will Make You Cry Again With Big Hero 6". io9. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  5. Shoji, Kaori (December 17, 2014). "Disney's 'Big Hero 6' reassembles Japan without the 'cultural cringe'". The Japan Times. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  6. "Baymax and the Big Hero 6 are Ready For Action". Disney Insider. July 14, 2014. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  7. Croot, James (December 30, 2014). "Review: Big Hero 6". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved January 9, 2015.
  8. "Cast Announcement: Six Reasons We Can't Wait to See Big Hero 6". Oh My Disney. July 13, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  9. Nicholson, Max (July 14, 2014). "Big Hero 6: Voice Cast and Character Images Revealed". IGN. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  10. Blair, Elizabeth (November 7, 2014). "The Challenge Of 'Big Hero 6': How To Make A Huggable Robot". All Tech Considered. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  11. McAnulty, Sofia (November 19, 2014). "Big Hero 6 is A Huge Hit". The Californian Paper. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  12. Wilkinson, Tyler (November 9, 2014). "'Big Hero 6′ Brings Revenge Tale Back To Disney". Boston College Heights. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  13. Dornbush, Jonathon (September 25, 2014). "Puffy robot Baymax takes center stage in new 'Big Hero 6' trailer". Inside Movies. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  14. Disney's Big Hero 6 - Official US Trailer 2. Walt Disney Animation Studios. September 25, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2015 – via YouTube.
  15. Heneveld, Stephen and Ben Juwono (director); Sharon Flynn and Paiman Kalayen (writer) (November 20, 2017). "Baymax Returns". Big Hero 6: The Series. Season 1. Episode 1. Disney XD.
  16. Heneveld, Stephen (director); Sharon Flynn (writer) (October 6, 2018). "Obake Yashiki". Big Hero 6: The Series. Season 1. Episode 21. Disney Channel.
  17. Good, Kathleen (director); Kenny Byerly (writer) (June 23, 2018). "Failure Mode". Big Hero 6: The Series. Season 1. Episode 7. Disney XD.
  18. Ono, Kenji (director); Jenny Jaffe (writer) (September 4, 2019). "City of Monsters – Part One". Big Hero 6: The Series. Season 2. Episode 12. Disney Channel.
  19. Heneveld, Stephen and Kenji Ono (director); Han-Yee Ling, Jenny Jaffe, Jeff Poliquin (writer) (February 8, 2020). "Legacies". Big Hero 6: The Series. Season 2. Episode 24. Disney XD.
  20. Schilling, Mark (July 16, 2014). "Disney Takes Unusual Promo Route With Japanese 'Big Hero 6' Animation". Variety. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  21. "Big Hero 6 Is 1st Disney Film to Be Previewed With Manga Series". Anime News Network. July 15, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  22. "Big Hero 6: Hiro and Tadashi". Goodreads. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  23. Dargis, Manohla (November 6, 2014). "Happiness Is a Warm Robot". The New York Times. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  24. Adams, Sam (November 10, 2014). "'Disney Deaths' and 'Big Hero 6': How Children's Stories Process Loss". Indiewire. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  25. "Avengers: Age of Ultron Has A Big Hero 6 Easter Egg?". Movie Web. Watchr Media. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
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