What’s even cooler than a female superhero? Two of them. Disney’s newest animated film Big Hero 6 details the adventures of boy-genius Hiro Hamada as he tries to investigate a fatal and suspicious fire that took everything away from him. With the assistance of his friends and a robot, Hiro forms a superhero team that can solve any mystery.
Korean American actress Jamie Chung voices one of Hiro’s two female, college-aged friends, GoGo Tomago.
“What’s so great about her and Honey Lemon is that there’s no stereotype of, or cookie-cutter character of what they think a strong female character is,” Chung says about the brainy, female characters, each of whom are completely unique. While both GoGo and Honey Lemon are studying the sciences along with Wasabi and non-student Fred, they couldn’t be more different. Honey Lemon is “girly,” but can still use chemicals to create a destructive weapon; GoGo can get answers out of anyone with her cool yet direct personality.
“She’s a woman of few words — she’s like the Clint Eastwood character of the group,” says the actress, who has recently gained popularity for her role as Mulan in Once Upon a Time. “She’s got quite a lot of sass, she’s got a need for speed, she’s an adrenaline junkie, and she’s got a secret crush on Fred — I’m just making that up, but I’m gonna go with it.”
After earning some major upgrades with costumes and gadgets, GoGo can out-race anything with her speed-inducing rollerblades and boomerang-like discs which she can throw at targets. Just as impressive, Honey Lemon can type a few elemental equations into her periodic table purse to produce chemical, explosive orbs.
“I think what I love about this group and the reality is that intelligence is not sex-biased. Everyone is pretty equal in that world, and they can hang and if anything, they’re a bit more fearless than their male counterparts,” Chung says.
And when the mystery has been solved, the superheroes don’t go their separate ways to their ordinary lives; they hang out at Hiro’s aunt’s cafe and spend time with each other.
“It really celebrates a new kind of family — a very contemporary, unconventional family, and that’s with your friends.”
