With all due respect, Tina Turner was wrong. We do need another hero. We need lots of them. Disney gets it, which, in theory, is part of the reason it acquired Marvel and made those little films about Avengers and Guardians, respectively. Maybe you’ve heard of them.

 But Disney didn’t stop there. Obviously kids look up to superheroes, so how about some heroes they can relate to? Say, six of them? That’s where Big Hero 6 comes in—the first animated Disney film based on a Marvel concept, and as far as firsts go, it’s a good one.

These aren’t aliens from outer space or the result of some terrible experiment, but rather geeky, science-loving teenagers that have the opportunity to put their brains where their hearts are. Or maybe it’s vice versa. They are the kind of heroes that any of us could be if only we paid a little more attention in math and science—like Tony Stark, but with less attitude.

Big Hero 6 finds its strength in the bonds of family and friendship, the moral compass to do the right thing, and a commitment to learning that, with any luck, may reflect itself across the report cards of America. The film is full of lessons that parents have been sharing (and learning) for generations: family and friends matter, use your head, follow your heart, try new things, stand up for what you believe in, and always wear clean underwear. Yes, that’s covered, too.

“Science and math are my favorite subjects,” said my sixth grader one afternoon, about a month into the wilds of middle school. Prior to his uttering of that sentence he had never even pretended to like anything about school but for holidays and weekends. Sometimes field trips.

Part of me wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that his science and math teachers do not weigh him down with hours of work each night like his language arts instructor does. Another part of me felt slighted in that I am a man of written words and less so the action of numbers. But such thoughts were fleeting as a) it wasn’t about me, and b) holy cow, my kid enjoys something at school that doesn’t involve a bell (unless, of course, a bell is part of an experiment, see Pavlov’s dog).

That’s the glory of science and math—the possibilities are infinite, and where once such pursuits were regulated as the cootie-filled lot of geeks and nerds, it is now celebrated as the awesome glory of geeks and nerds. Things have changed. And films that promote math and science are supporting that shift to the bold embracement of knowledge and the championing of thought. Kids are watching, and they are absorbing—they are feeling the empowerment that education provides.

We do need another hero. And another. And another. If Big Hero 6 is any indication, they may be on their way, and it would seem that my boys plan to be among them. They wear their brains like the hearts on their sleeves, figuratively speaking, and they see the world for the good that they can do.

When we left the screening of Disney’s Big Hero 6 the car filled with chatter, quotes and wonder. There was talk of love, robots, laughter and brothers. There was an air of possibility, and it bordered on something that sounded like inspiration.

I’m sure Tina Turner has a song about that, too.

Whit Honea is the author of The Parents’ Phrase Book  and his personal website the Honea Express. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, two sons, and too many pets.