5 Cool Trivia Facts Inside the Making of Big Hero 6!

Photo by: The Academy's Science and Technology Council presented "Deconstructing Big Hero 6" in Beverly Hills, on Thursday, April 23, 2015. Pictured (left to right): Bill Kroyer, Roy Conli, Don Hall and Chris Williams.

Photo Disney Animation Studios

This week I was extremely fortunate to attend Deconstructing Big Hero 6 by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater! Grossing $652 million worldwide, Big Hero Six continues to break innovative boundaries! It not only won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Animated Feature and a Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film but here are some cool little secrets that were revealed at the venue…

1.    Largest Cast of Animated Disney Main Characters!

Did you know that Big Hero six to date is known for the largest cast of animated main characters in a Disney film, 14 to be exact! According to Zach Parrish (Disney Head of Animation) they utilized  Maya software to create the main cast as well as their own specially made software; Denizen,  to create 701 unique characters used to populate the entire film and 1324 animation cycles. Through the use of Denizen, Disney employees also created their own caricatures that were featured within the film as pedestrians, street vendors, bystanders, and more!

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2. The Face of Baymax!

Did you know that the face of Baymax is based off of Japanese bells found by co-director Don Hill while on his research trip to Japan! He found that the more simplistic the face of Baymax the more loveable the character became!

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Soft Robotic Arm Photo by: Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute

3. A Soft Robotic Arm Was the Ticket!

Did you know that a single inflatable robotic arm was the inspiration that lead to the making of Baymax! Co-director Don Hall discovered the soft robotic arm while visiting Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute a mecca of unique robotic creations! "It really became apparent when we saw the soft robotics that that would be our ticket to putting a robot on the screen we had never seen before," Don Hall.

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Disney Animation Studios

4. San Fransokyo a Hybrid!

Did you know that the vibrant San Fansokyo hybrid mash-up setting of San Francisco and Tokyo was created with a Disney rendering system Hyperion. According to visual effects supervisor; Kyle Odermatt, bringing San Fransokyo to life without having to hard code 83,000 buildings and 215,000 street lights was made possible through the use of Hyperion!

5. Creative Minds at Work!

Did you know that Disney’s Big Hero Six animation team reached 103 members? Have you ever wondered what the process of Disney brainstorming & story boarding looks like? Here’s a sneak-peak into the countless hours and dedication of Disney’s Big Hero Six creative minds!

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Displayed at Deconstructing Big Hero Six