The animated movie Ron's Gone Wrong introduces a robotic friend for its main character that's similar, in some ways, to Baymax in Big Hero 6, but which is better? Anytime a film or series contains similar elements to a previous work, it is inevitable that viewers will want to compare the two. Big Hero 6 and Ron's Gone Wrong both feature a lovable robot coaxing a loner out of their shell, though they do take slightly different approaches to get there.
Big Hero 6's Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter, who plays Titans’ Beast Boy) had everything going for him: a supportive big brother, an acceptance into his dream school, and a promising future career. After experiencing a tragic loss, the huggable "personal healthcare companion" called Baymax (Scott Adsit) tries to encourage Hiro to stop isolating himself in his grief. While they work together to stop a masked villain responsible for Hiro's brother's death, Baymax also helps Hiro lower the walls he'd placed around his heart. Ron's Gone Wrong doesn't deal with quite as heavy themes, but young Barney (Jack Dylan Grazer) does suffer from low self-esteem brought about by bullying at his school.
Similar to how Baymax invites Hiro's friends to help him through his grief, the friendly "B-bot" named Ron (Zach Galifianakis) in Ron's Gone Wrong was designed to provide friends for Barney. Ron's glitchy programming seems at first to do the opposite, but by the film's end, Barney — like Hiro — no longer feels quite so alone. Despite all the similarities between Big Hero 6 and Ron's Gone Wrong, one of them ultimately beats out the other.
Ron Vs Baymax: Who Wins The Adorable Robot Battle?
Both Ron and Baymax are designed to be as adorable as possible, but they take fairly different approaches to endearing themselves to audiences. A personal healer with a non-threatening and huggable design, Baymax's only goal is to keep Hiro safe. What makes him adorable is the naïve way he tries to help Hiro by becoming part of a crime-fighting duo, even though Baymax is hilariously unfit for the role. His squishy exterior, while perfect for hugs, also makes it difficult for the robot to move quickly or fit into tight spaces. Bonding over fist bumps helps balance Big Hero 6’s lighthearted moments with genuine emotion. Baymax's concern for Hiro blurs the line between friend and parental figure, the same way that Hiro's older brother Tadashi (Daniel Henney) used to.
On the other hand, Ron the B-bot steers his charge toward danger, not away from it. His tiny form and chaotic personality give the impression of an energetic younger sibling with little understanding of consequences. Of course, the different approaches Baymax and Ron take to fulfilling their roles reflect the differences in what Hiro and Barney need. Grief-stricken with little concern for his own safety, Hiro needed someone to put his well-being first, while Barney needed someone to encourage him to take risks. Similarly, opinions on the "cuteness level" for each sci-fi movie’s robot ultimately come down to personal taste, but Ron's fiery, more humanlike nature give him a bit of an advantage in this regard.
Is Ron's Gone Wrong Saying Anything New?
While the friendly robot companion is a large part of both films, they each try to convey deeper lessons for their young audiences, but does Ron's Gone Wrong, which came out 7 years after Big Hero 6, have anything new to say? On the surface, Ron's Gone Wrong tells a very formulaic story about a lonely child whose only friend is a glitchy robot. Barney grows isolated from his friends because of worries that he stands out too much at school, which his defective B-bot only seems to exacerbate. Of course, Ron's malfunctions end up making him even more lovable, and Barney eventually fights to protect him from those who want him reprogrammed. This Disney animated movie not only celebrates Ron's glitches — and, by extension, everyone's unique traits — but also contains a familiar warning about social media. The obsession with the internet and one's image online is something all of Barney's classmates seem to share, even at the expense of curating any meaningful face-to-face interactions. By the end of Ron's Gone Wrong, they learn the value of connecting with people in real life, not just virtually.
However, diving deeper into the movie reveals a message about toxic friendships that isn't often present in children's films. The main character's peers are usually either very supportive from beginning to end, or they're one-dimensionally unlikeable, and Ron's Gone Wrong falls somewhere in the middle to portray a kind of unhealthy friendship that children may experience without even realizing it's wrong. Friendships can be just as, or even more, complicated than romances, and animated shows or movies often don't dive too deeply into that topic. Excluding that one plot thread, however, Ron's Gone Wrong doesn't do much that hasn't been done before.
Why Big Hero 6 Is Better Than Ron's Gone Wrong
Big Hero 6 is not the first animated movie to feature a kid who feels alone in the world, and Ron's Gone Wrong proves that it certainly won't be the last. The films contain surprisingly similar storylines, complete with the robot companion's sacrifice and the hint that they're probably not gone forever. Yet, by not being afraid to embrace positive technological advancements, and just have fun with cool inventions, the Big Hero 6 movie actually does a better job promoting the importance of going offline sometimes than Ron's Gone Wrong. Emphasizing such an overused message so explicitly can sometimes have the opposite effect on viewers, after all, and the warning about social media is far from new. It takes screen time away from some of the more interesting themes in Ron's Gone Wrong, such as Barney's rather toxic friendships at school, which would have helped set the movie apart.
It also doesn't hurt that Big Hero 6 came first. People often feel a sense of loyalty to whatever they view as the "original" one to do something. It is usually considered more difficult to create something new than to improve upon something that has been done before. Of course, both Ron's Gone Wrong and Big Hero 6 have their merits and are worth watching, but Ron's cuteness is not quite enough to usurp Big Hero 6.