How and why does someone become a hero? To protect yourself? Others? Is it because you were bitten by a radioactive spider and are now sticking to your ceiling? “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is ready and willing to answer those questions.

“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” tells the story of how Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man and how other Spider-Men, Women, and Ham (yes you read that right) are crossing into Miles universe. They must team up to stop the threat to all their separate realities while also teaching Miles how to be Spider-Man.

The film came out in Dec. 2018 to massive critical acclaim, making a total of $374 million with a budget of $90 million. It went on to win awards at the Golden Globes, Critics Choice, and Academy Awards.

This film is a fantastic example of what animation can do in film making. With a plethora of colors and character design, it looks amazing. Not to mention the actual cinematography of the shots, they have the film deliberately low in frames per second only to add speed and movement lines. The addition of speech bubbles and the classic onomatopoeia makes it feel like you’re actually watching a comic book.

The soundtrack is amazing since the hip-hop and rap genres that fit right into the setting and characters. All the songs were written specifically for the film so you have to applaud them for their creativity and sound design. This is especially the case when the cinematography and music combine. In certain scenes, you are left on the edge of your seat with chills. ‘The Leap of Faith’ scene is a prime example of this and an example of apex film making.

The other heroes are welcome additions, especially since they come from not very well-known comic book lines. It is very heartening to see their inclusion on the silver screen. Additionally, these characters are written well. They give quick comedic lines that only people from other dimensions can give, Spider-Man Noir and Spider-Ham being the main example of this. Not to mention their collection of designs and general movement are fascinating to watch in juxtaposition to the other cast members. Same goes for the villains, their redesigns are perfect for the art style and general inclusion against the now even more colorful cast of heroes for the film. Thankfully, they avoid the standard ‘Sinister Six’ line up of villains we normally see in Spider-Man media.

I cannot deny that the Stan Lee cameo almost made me cry. The quote he gives is not only powerful for the plot, it was his personal philosophy when it comes to heroes and it was beautiful. I think it was very fitting for this film. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” does not just tell the tale of how Miles Morales becomes a super hero, it tells the tale of how anyone can become a hero. “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is the best superhero movie of all time, full stop. 10/10