Baymax and his superhero friends in BIG HERO 6 hit it big at the box office opening weekend. For the voice cast (Genesis Rodriguez, Damon Wayans Jr.), playing scientific nerds wasn’t a stretch. Here are a few fun facts about the stars of BIG HERO 6 and tidbits about the making of the Disney animated film.
SLAM DUNK - Baymax could be a basketball player. The lovable robot is 6 feet tall and 75 pounds-until Hiro mechs him out. Baymax, in his super suit, is more than 7 feet tall and can lift 1000 pounds. "He's all air," says head of animation Zach Parrish.
COOL FACTOR - Artists looked at actors like John Wayne, Clint Eastwood, Gary Cooper and other cowboys to study cool, emotionally reserved traits while developing GoGo Tomago's look and personality. Artists looked at speed skaters to inform the body type and movement for GoGo Tomago, a passionate student of speed.
DUUUUUUDE - Artists studied snowboarders, skateboarders and surfers to develop movement and posture for Fred.
GEEK #1 -Ryan Potter, who voices Hiro in "Big Hero 6," was obsessed with building robots as a kid. "I was 9 or 10 when I got a robotics kit," he says. "I absolutely love science."
GEEK #2 - Genesis Rodriguez, who lends her voice to Honey Lemon in "Big Hero 6," was on her school's robotics team. "I was a welder," she says. "So I made sure my weldings were just perfect and very aesthetically pleasing as well. People didn't expect us to be so good. That was the beauty of it. We were just this bright group of girls who had an idea, executed it and beat the guys."
GEEK #3 -- James Cromwell, who lends his voice to Professor Robert Callaghan, studied at Carnegie Mellon University (then called Carnegie Tech). "Big Hero 6" filmmakers spent time at the school, learning all about the innovative field of soft robotics, which ultimately inspired Baymax, a huggable vinyl robot that takes care of people.
GEEK #4 - As a child, Damon Wayans Jr., who provides the voice of Wasabi, wanted to be an animator when he grew up. He even studied animation after graduating high school before he decided to pursue acting.
LET IT GROW - The "Big Hero 6" animation team topped 100 members (103, to be exact). That's about 15 more animators than 2013's feature film "Frozen."
MARTIAL ARTISTS - Filmmakers selected karate to broaden Baymax's skillset-but animators had to adjust some of the movements to work for the voluminous character's build. A few members of the team visited a nearby martial arts studio to get a feel for the practice. Pros were asked to attempt some of the moves while on their knees to simulate Baymax's signature proportions.
I CAN FLY - Filmmakers consulted with flight specialist Jason McKinley, who worked on both "Disney's Planes" and "Planes: Fire & Rescue," to choreograph and execute the flight sequences with Baymax and Hiro.
