“You got a problem with cartoons?”

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a unique, new take on the Spider-Man franchise, and the first Spider-Man movie to feature a completely new and different Spider-Man, not named Peter Parker, as this time we follow Miles Morales, an African-Latino, who has just enrolled into an elite boarding school, mainly due to the pressure put on him by his parents. However, Miles struggles with motivation in his new school, and instead, spends a lot of time with his uncle Aaron Davis, who isn’t exactly the best role model in the world, as they spend a lot of time together vandalizing walls with their art. After being bitten by a radioactive spider, however, he soon develops new abilities and discovers the responsibilities that come with that, especially after the multiverse is opened by Kingpin, bringing in a whole bunch of new Spider-people.

Safe to say, I’ve had a really weird experience with Into the Spider-Verse. I’ve seen it six different times; the first two times I didn’t really like it, the second two times I absolutely loved it, but the last time I watched it, it didn’t really hit as hard for me. Thankfully, I’m happy to say that this time it absolutely hit (hence, the rating I gave it).

I know it’s been talked about to death, but I can’t review this film without first talking about the incredible animation. It literally looks like a comic book put into motion, and it’s easily one of the best-looking animated movies I’ve ever seen (along with its sequel). Other than I would say, hand-drawn anime, this is easily my favorite style of animation. All of the vibrant colors absolutely help, and this is definitely a film you should watch on 4K with a really good screen. I also can’t help but mention how this movie has essentially created an entirely new type of animation in and of itself, with several movies using it, such as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, and even the upcoming Stephen Curry-produced basketball movie, GOAT.

Miles Morales is a pretty new character, not only to movies, but also just in general with comic books, and he is already probably the second most popular Spider-Man, well, ever, and for good reason. I was very unfamiliar with the character the first time I watched this film, as I haven’t ever been a big comic book reader (besides being a big comic book movie fan), and I became a big fan of him, even when I wasn’t really a big fan of the movie itself. Yes, I know the meme of the whole “teenage swag” thing, but it really is what sets him apart from the traditional Spider-Man character. He’s pretty much the complete opposite of Peter Parker, both smart, obviously, but really that’s it. He’s a lot more high-energy and outgoing, I guess you could say, and that’s what makes him interesting.

The whole movie’s main theme is set around faith, which I love. Not really spiritual faith, but more of taking that next step kind of faith to being a better version of yourself. There is this pretty constant quote used throughout the film about “taking that leap of faith,” and it’s used incredibly well, to say the least. Seeing all the potential that Miles has from the start, but is reluctant to use, is incredibly compelling and inspiring. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, I think, has become one of those movies that you watch to motivate yourself, and for good reason. It’s a great movie.

I like all the side characters a lot, as well. There is Peter B. Parker, the alternate, sort of loser version of the Spider-Man we know and love, who has just lost his way, as well as Gwen Stacy, Spider-Woman. Both characters get their own character arcs; Peter’s definitely being more substantial, but Gwen’s still definitely being there, which are both exceptional as well, and don’t get in the way of Miles’s character arc and journey, either. Peter wants to go back to his universe and correct the mistakes that he made in the past, and Gwen, after the death of her best friend, has a hard time connecting with others, but finds a connection with Miles and Peter, as well as the other side characters I won’t talk about, as they are kind of treated as a surprise in the film.

Kingpin makes for an incredibly unique and, honestly, quite deep villain for a PG animated movie. His motivations are all tied to his tragic past that he blames on Spider-Man, and throughout the story, especially towards the end, the film uses that for some pretty emotional and heart-tugging scenes. He isn’t a character you root for whatsoever, as he does some pretty terrible things throughout the course of the runtime, but a character you feel sad for, which I think makes for the best villains, though, there are definitely “pure evil villains” that are among some of the greatest ever and some of my favorites, for sure.

This isn’t exactly story-related, but I wanted to talk about how there are numerous incredible scenes sprinkled in the film, some of which are honestly amongst my favorites of all time. Remember what I said about this movie being inspiring and motivational? Yeah, well, there are scenes that I could honestly just watch endlessly and get goosebumps from every single time. Not going into specifics, obviously, but all I’m going to say is the Prowler and, of course, “a leap of faith.” They are also jam-packed with some great music that enhances them even more.

A great story should always have a great ending, and Into the Spider-Verse, in fact, delivers on that. All three of our main Spider-people get a really good end to their character arcs, as well as Kingpin, and the ending itself perfectly made it possible for a sequel, without just ending unsatisfyingly in a “sequel bait” kind of way. It ends the film on a high note, which was already on a high note to begin with.

The only mixed thing I have to say about this movie is that, while I really love it, I definitely see it not being for everyone. The fact that it is an animated movie makes that pretty obvious, so I won’t talk about that, but other than that, it is definitely a very “high energy” movie. Don’t get me wrong, it’s got plenty of slower, character-driven moments, actually, the whole movie is character-driven, but it definitely can be quite a lot to digest at times, especially with it being a multiverse movie with multiple different characters.

The only negative I really have is that the first half can definitely be a bit slow at times. It’s not boring at all, at least not to me, but it’s definitely one of those first halves of a movie where you are eagerly anticipating the better second half, where all the movie’s best moments happen. It’s entirely worth sitting through, however, as it’s still interesting and compelling (just not as much as the second half), and sets up some pretty incredible moments.

I’m so glad that Into the Spider-Verse worked again for me this rewatch, and I’m both excited and nervous to see how Across the Spider-Verse holds up next, which is somehow even more praised than this film. I had a completely different, but also somewhat similar situation with Across, where I absolutely loved it when I saw it in theaters, but when I watched it at home, it didn’t hit for me as much for whatever reason.