“Big Hero 6″‘s Hapa Brothers: Daniel Henney and Ryan Potter

“We actually just met last week to promote this movie,” Ryan Potter laughs, gesturing to his neighbor, Daniel Henney. A startling revelation, as Potter and Henney voice a pair of loving, biracial brothers who tell each other just about everything.

Disney’s Big Hero 6, while a superhero cartoon, focuses on much more than just the combat scenes. Whether the young protagonist Hiro Hamada is hanging out with his friends or bantering with his older brother Tadashi, he’s at his happiest when he’s being affirmed and supported by his unconventional family. Family doesn’t always mean two parents and the dog.

“[Big Hero 6 is] about the idea if you utilize the brain of a brilliant child, or children in general, to its full capacity, what they can do, what they can overcome with the right support system,” says Henney, who voices Tadashi.

Tadashi has assumed the role as family protector from the start of the film, when he rescues his little brother Hiro from a few crooked robot fighters. Gently nudging Hiro in the direction of applying for college, Tadashi watches over him lovingly as their parents would and proves that broken families don’t lack love.

“I’m kind of his rock, and I try to guide him the right way when he seems to step off the path a little bit,” Henney says of his character. “Tadashi sees that Hiro isn’t up to his full potential, but by the end of the film, [Hiro] definitely sees his own purpose,” adds Potter.

While Tadashi might not be physically present for the majority of the film, Hiro carries his brother’s influence and his passion for helping people in his mind, and it’s this love for caring that has him committing to fighting crime with the Big Hero 6 by the end of the movie.

CL1331-Hyphen728x90