Batman Needs Ryan Potter for Tim Drake

September 17, 2016February 15, 2017 The Nerds of Color

Even though we originally wanted him to play Peter Parker in Civil War, there’s a new campaign to get Ryan Potter a live action superhero role. As previously discussed, #RyanPotterForTimDrake is the latest fan-led hashtag that’s gaining steam on the internet. Part of the reason is because Potter himself has been very vocal about it. So he came on Hard NOC Life to talk about what it means to be Robin. Just in time for #BatmanDay!

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Marvel, Movies16 Comments

Marvel, Please Cast Ryan Potter for Spider-Man

June 1, 2015March 7, 2016 Keith Chow

Over the weekend, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Marvel Studios had not yet cast the role of Peter Parker — who is either going to have a cameo or a pivotal role in next summer’s Captain America: Civil War before launching into his own franchise within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back in April, news sites were reporting Ender’s Game star Asa Butterfield was the frontrunner for the role, but Marvel is still screen testing several young actors.

One young actor who isn’t being tested — but should — is Ryan Potter who is best known as the voice of Hiro Hamada in Disney’s Big Hero 6. And I’m not the only person who thinks so!

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Animation, Guest Post, Marvel, Movies5 Comments

Seeing San Fransokyo: Thoughts on Big Hero 6

March 3, 2015March 10, 2015 Guest N.O.C.

by Sean Miura | Originally posted at Down Like JTown

Last week was a big week for Big Hero 6. Not only did the film take home an Oscar, but its DVD and Blu-ray releases hit stores Tuesday and owned the Best Sellers list on Amazon.

I’d been anticipating Big Hero 6 since the first teaser slowly revealed a jaw-dropping rendering of San Fransokyo, the Tokyo/San Francisco hybrid that sets the stage. Though I am wary of any films that feature Asian… anything, there was a certain nostalgic familiarity in the Kingdom Hearts-style pan over the city.

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Animation, Television12 Comments

Asian American Boys as the Hero? Props, Disney

February 10, 2015October 9, 2018 Keith Chow

Tonight marks the official debut of Fresh Off the Boat in its regular Tuesday night time slot. Though it did pretty big numbers last week, tonight’s airing is the make-or-break since it’ll be going up against ratings behemoth NCIS — as well as our beloved The Flash. This is why god invented DVRs.

But the Huangs weren’t the only Asian American family to show up on television last week. Over on the Disney Channel, the Callistos made their debut as well with the premiere of the new Disney Junior series Miles From Tomorrowland. And just like FOTB, a precocious Asian American tween is at the center of the show.

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Animation, Hard N.O.C. Life, Marvel1 Comment

Comics Co-Creator David Nakayama Talks Big Hero 6

November 21, 2014November 21, 2014 The Nerds of Color

Hard NOC Life returns with a look at the phenomenon that is Disney’s Big Hero 6. Joining Keith on the panel are Christelle Gonzales (@christellexoxo), the newest NOC to join the fam, and comics artist David Nakayama (@davidnakayama), who penciled the 2008 Big Hero 6 comic series for Marvel and co-created Wasabi No Ginger and Fredzilla with Chris Claremont.

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Animation, Marvel, Movies32 Comments

An Open Letter to The New York Times’ Critic Manohla Dargis about Big Hero 6

November 17, 2014June 11, 2015 Bao Phi

It’s too bad that in making its first movie based on a Marvel comic Disney didn’t decide to take a real leap into the future, say, by making Hiro a girl…

— Manohla Dargis, The New York Times

Dear Ms. Dargis,

I was born in Vietnam shortly before the tanks rolled into Saigon and my family was forced to flee. Raised in South Minneapolis’ largest, poorest, and most racially diverse neighborhood, my father taught me to walk to the library and got me hooked on free books. Later, I would learn to run there, mostly to avoid the myriad groups of bullies wanting to beat me for whatever reason they could conjure that day, and I would read books and comics to take me far away from who I was and where I was. It is safe to say that the majority of my boyhood was spent imagining that I was anything but who I was.

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Animation, Guest Post, Marvel, Movies3 Comments

Big Hero 6 Shows That an Asian American Cast Can Top the Box Office

November 11, 2014November 11, 2014 Guest N.O.C.

by Adriel Luis | Originally posted at Smithsonian APA NOW

This past weekend’s box office numbers are in, and Disney’s latest project Big Hero 6 stands soundly on top. This might not come as a big surprise, considering that Frozen-fever is still holding every auntie’s TV hostage — but the film still breaks ground, especially in the scope of Asian Americans in cinema. And Hollywood should take note.

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Animation, Marvel, Movies, Toys3 Comments

Big Hero 6 is Now Playing Everywhere

November 7, 2014November 7, 2014 Keith Chow

This is a big weekend for nerds. Not only is Christopher Nolan’s highly anticipated, IMAX-sized space adventure Interstellar opening on theater screens of all sizes, Disney is also releasing Big Hero 6, its very first animated film based on a Marvel property since the House of Mouse acquired the House of Ideas in 2009. When the deal went down, I know a lot of fanboys salivated over the prospect of a Pixar-produced Marvel movie, and while this isn’t that, it looks pretty close.

We at the NOC have been stoked for Big Hero 6 for a while now. Not only is it the first animated Disney flick with an Asian American male lead, it’s got one of the most diverse cast of characters (and voice talents) of any Disney movie. It’s also Disney’s first post-Frozen vehicle, and just from looking at the merchandising already available, BH6 looks to be just as big, but more on that later.

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Animation, Marvel, Movies4 Comments

Casting for Big Hero 6 Goes Big on Diversity

July 14, 2014March 13, 2015 Nels

Back in May, I wrote about Marvel and Disney getting ready to start a big promotional push for the upcoming animated movie Big Hero 6 later this year. At that time only a few names had been announced for the voice actors: Jamie Chung as Go Go Tamago and T.J. Miller as Fred. Maya Rudolph was announced as part of the cast but was tied to an unnamed role. Today, Disney finally announced the actors for the rest of the voice cast.

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Animation, Marvel, Movies8 Comments

Marvel and Disney Go Big with Big Hero 6

May 22, 2014November 24, 2014 Nels

If you haven’t seen it yet, Disney and Marvel just released the first trailer to this winter’s upcoming Big Hero 6.

I first was introduced to Big Hero 6 while interviewing artist David Nakayama in July 2008 at San Diego Comic Con. I had asked Nakayama what he was working on for his next project, and he told me about the Big Hero 6 mini-series he was working on for Marvel in a story written by one of his all-time heroes, Chris Claremont. Set in Japan featuring a group of Japanese superheroes, Nakayama provided details about how they really wanted to emphasize a lot of Japanese style into the art of the five-issue mini-series. I was excited to hear about Big Hero 6, and picked up issue #1 a few months later when it was released.