We saw Big Hero 6 last Saturday at the now world famous Century 16.  I like going there from time to time, both because it’s cheap, and because I see it as a bit of a middle finger to the d-bag who made the place famous. They have cops working the place full time now, which makes me feel a bit more secure.

As for the movie itself, it deserves the positive ratings it’s received. It was fun, smart, and something that I would be willing to to have run in the background again and again (and again, ad nasuem, until Finley and Kella start fighting over what movie to watch and dad has to step in to say Big Hero 6 is off limits forever and ever, amen).

But this isn’t a review. This is a look at the lessons the movie teaches. Let’s delve into it (warning, some minor spoilers ahead):

What I Think It Teaches My Kids

Lesson 1: Human ingenuity is a thing of wonder

Have a problem? You can figure it out using technology. Since I’m a bit of a technophile myself, I couldn’t be happier with Disney stuffing that knowledge into my kids heads. And even though the protagonist is a boy, there are two genius females to help my daughter learn the lesson as well.

Considering how many other popular kids movies like to teach us that technology is the way for humans to become fat, lazy, and destroy the world (Wall-E, I’m looking at you), I love that this one teaches the opposite.

Though just like Wall-E, it teaches that robots are adorable

Lesson 2: Creating enough technology to destroy your enemies is a great way to solve your problems

This lesson tempers the first one a bit. Yes, they use technology to solve their problems, but considering their problem is an evil mad man trying to kill them, the first message might get a bit lost.

It’s made worse by a scene where our intrepid protagonist makes his robot go crazy and almost murder someone on screen. The other good guys stop him, and he eventually realizes the error of his ways, but I could see that part of the lesson lost on 3 and 4 year olds. Fortunately, neither of my kids are hormonal genius 13 year olds with a vendetta against me, so I think I’m safe for now.

Lesson 3: It’s bad to set buildings on fire.

It sucks and it kills people. Considering how obsessed Finley has become with fire detectors and automatic sprinklers, it fits right into his interests.

Lesson 4: Dealing with death sucks

A lot of recent kids movies deal with death. Big Hero 6 is the first one I’ve seen that shows how tragic the subsequent depression can be. It made me want to give Hiro a big hug. I hope it helps my kids recognize depression in their friends as they get older.

What My Kids Say They Learned From The Movie

Finley (my son, 4 yrs old): The Paddington Bear trailer is disgusting. He almost wouldn’t watch the movie after this trailer, and focused on it every time I asked him about Big Hero 6.

Kella (my daughter, 3 yrs old): Robots are cool. Slash, pow.

(Don’t miss the other Disney Lessons, which will be posted on the intro page as they’re written)