It isn’t often that an animated films ranks as one of my favorites of the year, but Big Hero 6 is just that. And I’ve seen enough of the year’s big releases to believe that Big Hero 6 will stay on my Top Ten list. This smart and sophisticated, yet warm and friendly flick clicks all the right buttons.

When you look at the Big Hero 6 posters , you realize that Disney took a bit of a risk. After all, although it’s based on a Marvel Comic, it stars a big, marshmallowy looking robot with none of the long eyelashes, pretty dresses, flowing hair or bulging muscles that attract most young girls or boys. This means it doesn’t quite have the engagement or marketing potential of an Elsa or an Anna of Frozen fame. Baymax is more of an Olaf, without the vocabulary or or the big production numbers, but he’s no less endearing. And the entire film is filled with enough cutting edge wit and sophistication, without sacrificing any charm whatsoever, to enchant and entertain both adults and children.

It’s about brotherhood, it’s about family, it’s about the values of loyalty, commitment, research and education. And it’s about high tech wonders in our not too distant futures, that genius kids, both girls and boys, manipulate at lightening speed. 3D printers abound, and beautiful, kite-like wind generators float in the skies over San Fransokyo, a delightful marriage of San Francisco and Tokyo. It is indeed an origin story of a super hero team, but it doesn’t take itself as seriously as so many of the others.

The animation, of course, is big, bold, bright and beautiful—we would expect nothing less from Disney. But the vocal performances are just as brilliant and colorful, from actors you haven’t seen much of in the past, like Scott Adsit as the rotund Baymax, Ryan Potter as lead character Hiro and Daniel Henney as his big brother, Tadashi. You might recognize Damon Wayans, Maya Rudolph, James Cromwell, Alan Tudyk  and T.J. Miller (unforgettable as Erlich in Silicon Valley), but then again, you might not, which is all the better, because you can sit back and get lost in the characters, rather than observing the actors.

Directors Don Hall and Chris Williams, who are best known for writing other Disney animated features such as Tarzan, The Princess and the Frog and Brother Bear, have proven they are more than comfortable in the director’s chair.

And if I haven’t yet given you enough reasons to see this film at this point, know that the short feature beforehand, called Feast and about an adorably hungry puppy and his owner, is worth the price of admission alone.

Rated PG

1 Hour 48 Minutes