Warning! Contains Spoilers for Apple TV+’s Sunny.

A new Apple TV+ sci-fi show that stars Rashida Jones follows an incredibly unique storyline but also shares many narrative and thematic parallels with an acclaimed Disney movie that boasts a 90% Rotten Tomatoes score. Although Apple TV+ is known for its openness to experiment with the sci-fi genre, 2024 has been an incredible year for the streaming site as it has delivered one acclaimed sci-fi series after another. After starting strong with Constellation in February, the streamer released the highly acclaimed genre-bending series Sugar, which stars Colin Farrell.

After Sugar blew viewers and critics away with its shocking twists and turns, Dark Matter premiered on the streamer, walking audiences through a mind-boggling multiversal sci-fi adventure. While it may be too soon to judge where Apple TV+’s new sci-fi series will rank among the streamer’s other offerings, its opening episodes are promising enough for viewers to stick around for more. Interestingly, the story beats from its initial episodes seem a little too familiar.

Sunny & Big Hero 6’s Similarities Explained

The Two Revolve Around Similar Sci-Fi Concepts

While Big Hero 6 is a Disney animated film, Sunny is a live-action TV show on Apple TV+. However, despite belonging to distinct audiovisual storytelling mediums, the two seemingly share many narrative similarities. For instance, both the movie and the show unfold in a futuristic version of Tokyo where their protagonists learn they lost their loved ones in a tragic accident. With what follows, the main characters from the movie and the show, Hiro and Suzie, team up with robots to uncover a hidden conspiracy and find the truth about their loved ones’ presumed accidents.

Both the movie and show present a profound look at human and robot relationships, while walking through their protagonists’ struggles with grief. Even the main robot characters in the show and the movie are similar in appearance and turn out to be more sentient than one expects them to be. However, despite these surface-level narrative similarities between Sunny and Big Hero 6, the two are significantly different because of their tones and how they portray their character beats and themes.

Sunny’s Complex & Dark Take On AI Makes It More Thought-Provoking Than Big Hero 6

Big Hero 6 Is Suitable For All Ages While Sunny’s Subject Matter Is More Mature

Big Hero 6, as its title suggests, unfolds more as a superhero flick in its latter arcs, making it more appealing to younger audiences. Even when it comes to its tone and color palette, Big Hero 6 is bright and captivates audiences with its vibrant aesthetic. The movie also inclines towards featuring thrilling action sequences and focusing on light-hearted family-friendly humor. In contrast, Sunny is far less action-centric than Big Hero 6 and draws viewers in with its compelling mystery drama.

When it comes to settings, Big Hero 6 and Sunny are not too different. While Big Hero 6 unfolds in a portmanteau of San Francisco and Tokyo called San Fransokyo, Sunny takes place in a futuristic Tokyo. However, Sunny‘s visuals and themes are far darker, delving deep into humanity’s complex relationship with AI. Instead of treading the same path as most AI-themed sci-fi shows and merely demonizing technology, Sunny presents a well-rounded look at robotics and AI. It draws a clear picture of how the technology can positively and negatively impact humanity.

Both Big Hero 6 and Sunny dabble with themes of grief and personal loss. However, Sunny’s portrayal hits closer to home because it makes one think about many real-world concerns surrounding the ethical and moral implications of AI advancement. Rashida Jones also puts up a brilliant performance as Sunny‘s main character, Suzie, further immersing viewers in the show’s darkly comical and hard-hitting sci-fi drama.

How Sunny Compares To Big Hero 6 (Based On Rotten Tomatoes)

Their Audience & Critics Scores Are Almost The Same

Big Hero 6 holds a Tomatometer score of 90%, while its audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 91%. Apple TV+’s Sunny, on the other hand, has a critics’ score of 91%. Meanwhile, its audience score is 88%. While both the movie and the show are “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes, Big Hero 6‘s ratings are based on reviews from over 200 critics and votes from more than 100k viewers.

Since Sunny is a newly released show, it has only been reviewed by 36 critics so far and rated by less than 50 viewers. Despite these differences between their review volumes, the Disney movie and the Rashida Jones Apple TV+ show have clearly garnered significant acclaim. Owing to this, both are worth watching depending on what a viewer is looking for in the sci-fi genre.

New episodes of Sunny are released on Apple TV+ every Wednesday.