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Production
First and foremost, the animation is nothing short of astonishing. Everything from the lighting, to the uniquely low framerate, to the usage of classic comic book art tropes make for one of the most distinctive animated movies in years. Many have pointed out that this is literally what it should feel like to have a comic book come to life on the big screen.
A frame-by-frame analysis of the film shows just how much thought was put into to the film's animation techniques. Generally, when animating a scene, you'd do everything either "on the ones" or "on the twos"note Animation is done 24 frames per second. Animating "on the ones" (1s) means you have a unique image for each of the 24 frames. Animating on the twos (2s) means you have a unique image every other frame. 1s are smoother, while 2s are "snappier". Sometimes you'll encounter animating on threes (3s), where there's a unique image every third frame, but this movie doesn't utilize that at any point.Into the Spider-Verse does something unheard of in film, but perhaps familiar to those versed in 2D fighting game animation, by having most CHARACTER movements done on 2s while the CAMERA movements are all animated on 1s. But Wait, There's More! Even though characters usually only change once every two frames, that held image is still moved/shifted for every single frame along with the camera. That's not even getting into things like characters in the same shot animated on alternating 2s or ways motion blur is "faked". What you end up with is a style that allows for distinctive character movement while still allowing for expert communication of high-speed action and impact. Just reading aboutall the work that was required to pull this off is inspiring. To quote CellSpex, "This is more than just a living breathing comic book. This is a celebration of animation as a medium."
Most poignantly, this variable animation is used to show Miles’s growth. For most of his scene throughout the movie, most notably the Alchemax Escape, Miles himself is animated at 12 frames per second, while Peter B and the other spider people are animated at 24 frames. This makes the “What’s Up, Danger” sequence even more important, as that’s the moment where Miles starts to be animated at 24 frames per second.
Then you have the fact that each Spider is in a different animation style. While Miles, Peter, and Gwen all share a fairly similar cel-shaded look, Peni Parker and Sp//dr have a more anime aesthetic, Spider-Ham goes for a more cartoony Looney Tunes style, and Spider-Noir is homage to black-and-white Film Noir detective movies. Each of them maintains their unique art-style throughout while smoothly interacting with everyone else, both in character moments and fight scenes.
Trailers
The big moment in the initial teaser trailer, which turns out to be one of the film's climactic moments, is Miles going for a swing. While we've seen this before, it's never been quite so stylish. The best part is the upside-down shot of him descending toward the ground in slow motion, which serves as the page image.
Also how she introduces herself: She catches both Peter and Miles off-guard and then lands nearby on a tree branch using an en pointe ballet pose with her feet - which takes skill - instead of the traditional superhero landing.
The final trailer gives us the rest of the Spider-People, including Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham, and SP//dr.
Also, above and beyond for the already outstanding animation, those three universe-shanghai-ers have their own art styles. Noir is more starkly shaded, to the point that he seems to be purely black and white, Peni Parker and SP//dr are both in an anime style, and Spider-Ham is colored simply and drawn like a Saturday morning cartoon. It would have been so easy to just keep them all consistent with one art and colouring style, so the variance shows immense attention to detail.
It recreates some famous moments from the Raimi trilogy. The upside-down kiss from Spider-Man and the train scene from Spider-Man 2. They also did the cafe scene from 2 only for Pete to turn around and smack the car away, before going back to talking with MJ!
This crosses over as heartwarming if one interprets that Miles' eventually taking up the mantle is Parker's posthumous way of getting back up once more.
A relatively small moment, but Miss Caleros, Miles' physics teacher, being discerning enough to figure out that the only way Miles could've completely failed a true-or-false test is on purpose. A lesser teacher would've taken it at face value that Miles was a hopeless student. But Miss Caleros? She makes the deduction that whilst a blind-folded person would probably get at least half the answers right on luck alone, Miles got all the answers wrong because he knew all the right ones.
This is also an awesome moment for Miles because this shows that he is smart enough for Brooklyn Visions Academy despite the previous montage scene making it look like he's cracking from the pressure he got from it earlier and his earlier insistence he only got accepted into the school because he won a scholarship lottery.
Spidey 1610 saving Miles from an oversized Green Goblin and Spidey 1610 vs The Prowler. These both occur in the same action beat during the initial confrontation at the Supercollider, and they expertly convey the speed, power, and dexterity of Spider-Man in a way that even the live action Spider-Man films haven't quite achieved. It's the first major action beat in the movie, and an excellent tone-setter.
Special mention to Spidey 1610 getting kicked behind a giant turbine by the Prowler, before catching it with one hand and holding it at bay, then slinging a web at Prowler's chest to yank himself back out.
Another point worth noting is extremely brief: while fighting the Goblin, Spidey 1610 dodges some of his attacks so quickly that it almost looks like he's doing a Flash Step. It really gives the impression that this is what a normal person would see if they witnessed a real Spider-Man battle, with the hero thwipping around all over the place faster than the eye can really see.
Peter B. Parker's casual control over his powers, especially when it's contrasted with Miles.
He then proceeds to jump up and spin-kick the punching bag, sending Miles flying against the wall. Not bad for a jaded washout. Note that just before he does the spin-kick, he had been hanging on the punching bag, and the ropes didn't fall while he was talking, meaning he was using his sticking powers on his body and back to hold himself and the ropes up, all just to show just how on top of his game he actually is.
The break-in of Alchemax is a particular testament to Peter B.'s competency. In any lesser movie, the downward spiral he's caught himself in would've likely completely destroyed any credibility he'd have as a superhero and turn him into a massive Broken Pedestal. Instead, it's shown that Peter is still quite the competent superhero whose plan only derailed because he had Miles to take care of, the unforeseen presence of Doctor Octopus, and an attack of dimension phase glitching. And while it's played for laughs, the scene definitely demonstrates how savvy and attentive he is to details, managing to figure out a password despite it being hidden and read off a window reflection. Also adding to this scene is that Peter does it rather casually while Miles is just lost because this is his first time dealing with super villains. All the while Peter picks apart literally everything and makes witty jokes all the while. He may be more cynical and a bit depressed, but there's still some of the class in the Parker we know and love.
The reveal of Spider-Gwen, dropping in at the last second to web up Miles and Peter B. to keep them from falling, fighting off Doc Ock AND retrieving the stolen computer singlehandedly, and all without seeming to break a sweat. Even Olivia breaks into a huge smile at the revelation that another inter-dimensional Spider-Person has shown up for her to fight.
Doc Ock's reveal —out of nowhere, because Sony hadn't previously even given so much as a hint that any version of one of Spider-Man's most infamous foes was going to be in this movie at all— is widely acclaimed as one of the best parts of the movie and one of the greatest supervillain introductions ever. Peter is attempting to charm the ditzy, spacey scientist girl to buy time for Miles to get the data they need off her computer and she's geeking out over Spider-Man not only being still alive but right in front of her, casually shoving Peter into a restraint chair in her overwhelming enthusiasm to study him. Then she diagnoses the cause of Peter's glitching, estimating that he will soon disintegrate completely, in horrible pain... and she can't wait to watch it. A few seconds too late, Peter asks her what her name is and she calmly pulls off her glasses as she answers "Doctor Olivia Octavius". Her coat hits the floor, revealing her skin-tight combat suit, the tentacles snake out of her back, she ties her hair up and a tentacle puts her goggles on as Doctor Octopus suddenly materialises in the movie and on everyone's list of favourite characters.
Especially notable is when Peter asks if her friends call her 'Doc Ock' and she responds:
Doctor Olivia Octavius: My friends actually call me Liv. My enemies call me Doc Ock.
One small detail that might have slipped people's notice is that Olivia didn't trigger Peter's Spider-Sense. Either her genuine fascination of him as a science experiment didn't peg her as a threat, or she figured out a way to avoid being detected by Spider-Senses. It gets even better when you realizes it's Peter B., who probably had seen many A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing before and should have seen it, meaning she's that good at hiding her true colors.
Doc Ock returns from her failed attempt to catch Peter and Miles and is met by Kingpin and Tombstone. Tombstone pulls his guns on her, and, without looking, she catches him in her tentacle. Then she raises herself up to Kingpin's level, looking him in the eye, and telling him that the presence of three more Spiders is just proof positive that her Collider works. All the while, Tombstone is still trying to aim at her, and she pays him no mind.
To his credit, Tombstone keeps his guns on Ock, even as she's holding him by the throat, and only holsters his guns after a nod from Kingpin, seeming none the worse for wear.
A subtle one from Spider-Man Noir; in his origin explanation, he states one of his favorite pastimes is fighting Nazis despite him being from 1933 when hatred for the Nazis was nowhere near as widespread as it would be during World War II. It shows how, despite his own admitted moral ambiguity from the violence of his actions, that his moral center is solid enough to fight Nazis long before it became cool.
Aunt May brings Miles, Peter B. and Gwen out to the little shed in the backyard where Peter kept all his Spidey stuff. Nothing special, until the shed transforms into an elevator leading down into an incredibly awesome Elaborate Underground Base.
Kudos to the filmmakers on this one too. Originally there was going to be a line where Spider-Ham tells how he lost his Uncle Frankfurter, but while the filmmakers thought it was funny, they decided it was too inappropriate and ruined the emotions of the scene, so they replaced a hilarious yet unsuitable line with basically one of the most poignant, deepest, and sincere pieces of dialogue. Therefore not only did the line kept the mood of the scene on focus, but it also provided Spider-Ham with some good Hidden Depths.
Miles faces his Darkest Hour, abandoned by the other Spiders for his inexperience and basically told by Peter B. Parker that he's just not ready. Webbed up in a chair with his mouth stuck shut, he can only listen to his father's heartfelt talk about being proud of him and thinking there's a spark of greatness inside him. That speech from his father cuts through the doubt and hesitation in Miles' heart. He closes his eyes... and Spider-Man opens them.
The "Leap of Faith" sequence:
As Miles is finally ready to take up the mantle of Spider-Man, he heads to the Spider-Cave, which opens up for him without him even touching it. As he descends, he sees Aunt May waiting for him:
May: Took you long enough.
Clearly knowing that Miles would be ready sooner rather than later, Aunt May gifts him his own webshooters (that she made herself!), commenting that they "fit perfectly" (a Call-Back to the costume salesman saying it always fits eventually), with a knowing wink. Then Miles runs across the city, with the now iconic moment of him jumping off the skyscraper and swinging up at the last second. After getting a feeling for everything, succeeding in all the locations he utterly failed earlier in the film one by one (swinging through the streets, flipping off a flagpole, jumping across two buildings), he looks over to Kingpin's gala and swings towards it. Like the other Spider-Heroes who had comics of their histories shown throughout the movie, Miles' own comic is finally placed on top of the pile, signaling that he's finally ready to accept his role as a hero.
Throughout the movie, it was established that Miles needs to relax in order to unstick from a surface. Keeping that in mind, some of the glass breaks off and comes with him when he takes his leap of faith. Miles is still terrified out of his mind, but he knows he can't stop running and that this is something he has to do, making the scene all the more powerful.
The scene is essentially perfect. The breathtaking cinematography, heroic remix of What's Up Danger, and incredible animation all combine to form such an emotionally resonant sequence. It pulls off the concept of a superhero origin story where a hero accepts and embraces his destiny after showing how hard it was to get there, and takes it flying towards the climax.
The remix of the song also cues up some cool visual symmetry between Miles swinging, parkouring and leaping across the New York skyline.
It's really blink-and-you'll-miss-it, but during this sequence you can notice the citizens of New York, some very subtly some very blatantly, noticing Miles sailing through the air with authority, the most obvious reaction being the people in the office building with one lady dropping a plate in shock. After mourning the loss of their Peter over the course of the movie, the people of New York have a Spider-Man again.
Imagine you're one of the New Yorkers who we see pausing and looking up while Miles is doing his leap of faith. You see someone falling from the tallest building in the city, flailing uncontrollably through the air, and your heart leaps into your throat. Oh, god, no is the thought- you're seeing a suicide, you're certain, and there's no Spider-Man to swing in and rescue them. But then... but THEN, the figure stabilizes, shifting from wild flailing to a controlled dive, and you notice the eyes of the mask. And just as realization hits... WEBS come sailing out of his hands, anchoring him to the building, and he swings away. The torch has beenPASSED. There is a Spider-Man of New York again!
The stage direction from the screenplay◊ puts it wonderfully:note Although the final version from the movie is even better- rather than leaping off the edge of a building, Miles starts already clinging to its side before leaping out.
Miles walks to the edge of the roof, wind buffeting... and LEAPS! The camera is upside down. Miles isn't falling through the frame. He's rising.
Before any animation work was even started, the FIRST thing shown to the animators was a rough storyboard of this scene, a surprising amount of which made it to the final movie intact. The entire film was literally made around this scene. And it shows.
If you listen closely to the music, it has a mixture of the Prowler's theme, Miles' heroes theme, but also a mixture of hip-hop. Aaron was right, Miles really is the best of all of them.
The first time in the Spider Cave when Miles looks at the Spider-Man outfit, he's looking at it from below, his eyes filled with a sense of awe and nervousness. But the next time he looks at the suit, he's looking at it with confidence and the eyes of the costume match up with the reflection of Miles' eyes.
Makes the next moment when he spray paints the outfit all the more special, because he's going to be his own Spider-Man.
One of the Running Gags in this film is that every time a Spider-Person is introduced, we get, "Let's do this one last time," plus an intro montage; at the end, a comic book is added to the pile with that character front-and-center. At the end of Miles' acceptance of the mantle, one final book lands on top of the pile. No voice-overs, no jokes, no music, no montages, no nothing: just Miles Morales, bona fide Super Hero. Spider-Man is back.
Doc Ock's reaction makes the moment perfect. She's one of Peter's oldest enemies, and has shown herself repeatedly to be a huge threat, dismissing the Spider-People from the other dimensions as "little spiders" to be swatted. But now she reacts with shock, and immediately recognizes Miles, not as "Peter's little friend", not as "just a kid"– Spider-Man is back.
Spider-Noir: Is that all you got? You gonna fight or you just bumping gums, ya hard-boiled turtle slapper? (Webs up a car and slams it over Tombstone's head)
Most notable is how smooth Noir is for a guy that mostly relies on fisticuffs — he weaves from Tombstone's first two punches and jabs him with body-blows like a seasoned boxer, ducks away from his next two and grabs his hat as it's falling off his head, pushes it into Tombstone's face to temporarily blind him, knocks him down with a right cross, and finally finishes him off by slamming a Model A down on him, webbing away and grabbing his hat in one fluid motion. The entire fight lasts only seven seconds, and he doesn't even throw a kick.
Spider-Ham: Awww, did THAT feel like a cartoon? [blows a raspberry]
Amid all the chaos, Miles manages to do the something that Spider-Man has traditionally failed to do: save Gwen Stacy.
Gwen, Miles, and Peter all landing punches on Doc Ock in quick succession. After Miles' rescue of Gwen, he sends up a web to Peter, who launches them in a Fastball Special towards the Doctor. Gwen strikes first, Miles is right there after, Peter follows up, and the kids finish with a simultaneous haymaker. One of the best-flowing scenes in the film.
After Doc Ock has been defeated, Miles steals the goober from Peter B. and does a series of flashy jumps and flips to get to the collider's console (prompting Peter B. to say "We taught him that, right?" and Gwen to respond "I didn't teach him that. And you definitely didn't."), his movements are a close mirror to blonde!Peter's series of jumps to get to the same console right after he first meets Miles. Even the musical motif that plays is the same. He didn't learn those moves from Peter B. or Gwen, he learned it from his own Peter Parker.
The climactic fight between Miles and Kingpin. Kingpin gives him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, only for Miles to rally after seeing his dad watching in horror and begging for him to get up. Miles gets up, places his hand on Kingpin's shoulder and say "Hey", venom-striking him and throwing him into the button to shut down the collider.
The shoulder-touch move is essentially Uncle Aaron's posthumous retribution against Kingpin.
For all other Spider-People, their first gig as a superhero was maybe beating one super bad guy. Hell, OG Peter Parker's first adventure was hunting down an ordinary human robber. What's Miles' first gig as his universe's Spider-Man? Fighting Doc Ock, then later the Kingpin amidst a chaotic vortex of space-time distortions, and saving multiple dimensions by himself. Beat that with a stick.
Capping this off is that Kingpin is later revealed to be alive, strung up with webs and sporting a note on his chest saying "Courtesy of your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man". It's a signature no other superhero can claim, showing that Miles has truly embraced the role.
Miles glimpses headlong into the Spider-Verse itself as the collider deactivates. We know this as we’re treated to an extended shot of countless web-like nebulae zooming toward us, intercut with a wide-eyed Miles with the same image across his mask, sheer awe overtaking him. Peter Parker received much the same image earlier and reacted similarly, but it isn’t until now that Miles and the audience see it.
. Many have pointed out that this is literally what it should feel like to have a comic book come to life on the big screen.
