‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ is the best animated movie of 2018

“Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse.”
Sony

• “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has the perfect blend of
  geeked-out elements for the fanboys and a story structure that
  keeps audiences with less comic knowledge up to speed.
• On top of pulling off that feat, the movie’s
  comic-book-come-to-life look is beautiful.
• This is the best animated movie you’ll see this year.

Turns out Sony isn’t through putting its sweet Marvel properties
in theaters this year.

With “Venom”
still making major coin around the world, the studio is
searching for more with the animated movie, “Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse” (in theaters December 14).

As the live-action Spider-Man franchise is successfully rebooting
itself with Tom Holland as Peter Parker in Marvel Studio’s MCU,
Sony went full geek with its animated introduction to Miles
Morales.

If you’re not up on your Spider-Man comics, Morales, an
Afro-Latino teen, started being your friendly neighborhood
Spider-Man around 2011 in Marvel’s Ultimate Comics series. But
“Spider-Verse” doesn’t stop there in introducing other folks who
have taken on the great responsibility of being the iconic hero.

Miles Morales (voiced by
Shameik Moore) in “Spider-Man: Into the
Spider-Verse.”
Sony

Directed by Bob Persichetti (a longtime animator), Peter Ramsey
(2012’s “Rise of the Guardians”), and Rodney Rothman (producer on
“Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping”), under the watchful eye of
producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord (Rotham and Lord also
wrote the screenplay), “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” gives
us a unique Miles Morales origin story by having him learn the
superhero trade from a handful of others who also call themselves
Spider-Man in other universes.

Let me explain.

Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) is just a high schooler
in Brooklyn going about the usual things every teen boy
experiences at this age. He’s trying to impress girls and not be
embarrassed by his parents. But after being bitten by (you
guessed it) a spider, Morales suddenly has superhero powers. And
it’s just in time because Kingpin (Liev Shreiber) has opened a
portal to other universes, and if Morales doesn’t do something
about it, his universe will be destroyed.

And this is when Peter Parker (Jake Johnson) shows up. But he’s a
Peter Parker from another universe, one where he’s added a few
pounds and is having relationship troubles with Mary Jane. Now
stuck in Morales’ universe, Parker has to help so he can get
himself back to his not-so-amazing life.

Here’s where the writing really shines as Moore and Johnson play
off one another to develop a chemistry for Morales and Parker
that is the foundation of the movie. Once that’s established, the
fun begins as even more Spider-Men appear.

(L-R) Peni Parker, Gwen
Stacy, Spider-Ham, Miles Morales, Peter Parker, and Spider-Man
Noir in “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.”
Sony

Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld),
Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn), and
Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage)
all get sucked into Miles’ universe from their own. And they all
now have to battle Kingpin to get back home, though they aren’t
too sure if Miles is up for the big showdown. Still finding
confidence in his abilities (struggling to be himself instead of
emulating how Parker or any of the others do their own kind of
Spider-Man), will Miles be a liability?

Read more:
22 films coming to theaters before 2018 ends that you need to
see this holiday season

One of the movie’s major strengths is that it is a treasure trove
for fanboys while not leaving the less comic-book savvy segments
of the audience on the outside. And along with the movie’s
beautifully told coming-of-age tale, visually it has a
comic-book-come-to-life feel — all the way down to the “BANG!”
and “SLAP” big letter text coming on the screen. The animation
pops especially in the action sequences. It’s a movie that needs
that huge screen treatment to fully appreciate. But just the
story and funny dialogue — the latter of which we’ve come to
expect from Lord and Miller, the minds behind everything from
“The Lego Movie” to the Fox TV show “The Last Man on Earth” — is
worth the price of admission.

All this makes “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” the best
animated movie of the year.

From its look, to pulling off multiple character arcs without
overwhelming the audience, to telling a story that’s actually
worth following, the movie goes a step beyond any other animated
movie released in 2018.