As an aspiring artist, animation, as an art medium, is important to me. The possibilities achievable through animation are limited only by their creator’s imagination, so to see big studios taking the easy way out by creating sequel after sequel of popular properties over the years has been a little disheartening.

When Sony Pictures Animation announced another Spider-Man movie I was concerned that the same studio who spat out “The Emoji Movie,” would use its rights to the comic book characters to pander to its audience for the sake of a quick buck.

I’m happy to say this was not the case. The film was colorful and nothing if not stylish. The studio went out of its way to hire passionate artists to work on the environments and even the background characters.

The film is primarily 3D computer animation, but it borrows, blends, and exaggerates several visual quirks from different mediums. For example, chromatic aberration, seen in traditional film cameras, Ben-Day dot overlays like the days of comic books past, and flat 2D shapes for added flair, reminiscent of traditional animation.

This isn’t to say that the film relies on its visuals alone. Where it really shines is in its heart and depiction of character relationships. We get to see versions of Spider-People from alternate dimensions interact with each other and lost loved ones. They go from feeling alone in the universe to knowing they are not the only ones. 

The climax of the film revolves around a doomsday device that only the hero can bring down. It’s a little simple and predictable, but it makes sense for the source material. After all, it is a Spider-Man movie.

The story follows Miles Morales, an intelligent young man from Brooklyn who feels like a fish out of water when sent to a school for gifted students. Miles’ father, loving but strict, puts a lot of pressure on him for fear of losing his son in the same way he drifted apart from his brother, Aaron. Miles prefers to spend time with his Uncle Aaron who encourages his creativity. One night they go out to graffiti under the subways where Miles receives his Spider-Man powers via radioactive spider bite.

From there, Miles is thrust into the responsibility of stopping the Kingpin from using a supercollider that not only pulled five Spider-People from alternate dimensions, but could potentially destroy reality all together with continued use.

Hilarity ensues as the Spider-People try to teach Miles to use his newly found powers to get them home and save the world at the same time.

It was an interesting take on the Spider-Man universe that clearly shows love, care and respect for its audience, the source material, and animation as a respectable art form. A must see for Spidey fans everywhere.