It’d be interesting to see just how many people cared that much about the animation that went into the movie Into the Spider-Verse, but it might be surprising to find that a lot of people did notice it, but couldn’t tell you how it was done or why they liked it as much. Listening to the technical jargon that two of the top guys on the project had to offer was kind of interesting since it made a great deal of sense when one really stops to think about it. Regular animation, the type that a lot of people are used to and that we’ve seen in movies for years and years, wouldn’t have been likely to tell this story as well since like it or not, the animation has to fit the story, much as live-action does, or things break down very quickly and interest tends to wane. The fun thing about animation is that there’s so much room to do so many things with it that those that work on said movies tend to have a lot of different options to choose from. But again, depending on the story, those options tend to narrow down quite a bit as one goes along since in order to convey feeling, emotion, and many other aspects of a story, the animation in question really needs to be specific to what the designers and the storytellers want and are willing to work with.
For this movie, there were quite a few things that needed to be used and they became a kind of a free for all when it came to effects at certain parts of the movie since each new Spider character had their own specific needs and the coloring had a lot to do with it, as did the body motions and the overall characters since they each required something a little different in order to work. One thing that many of us are starting to learn is that the mantle of a superhero is not bound to the hero that starts it, but can be used with other characters as well, so long as the general idea is still held to and the mythology of the idea is clung to in some way. In other words, anyone can take on the Spider mantle, just as long as they’re paying some kind of respect to the original character in a manner that is consistent with the original character. Another good example of this is that there is a rumor that there will a black Batman coming out eventually, which could be interesting since in keeping the general idea of the story alive it can be adopted by pretty much anyone.
That’s the point of Spider-Man as well since it can be taken on by just about anyone so long as the story is being pushed forward at the same time and the main idea is being followed more or less. The animation techniques used in this movie made it pretty clear that things haven’t just changed when it comes to the overall methods that are being used, but that the story is changing quite a bit as well, since if anyone remembers, Peter Park excelled in school to start with but was kind of awkward everywhere else, while Miles Morales is a bright kid that is kind of overwhelmed in school, despite being a bright and outgoing kid that’s popular in his part of the world. It’s a change that was bound to come at some point since mirroring the same character, making them all outcasts, would have been kind of odd, to say the least. But the animation, from the lines to the colors to the way that each character has their own expertise and how Miles has to learn how to hold himself while swinging through the trees, is evidence that things have continued to change and evolve. The animation is the vehicle through which this change is taking place and it’s fun to watch since the different techniques that are used have continued to shape and change things up in a manner that a lot of people have picked up on and fully enjoyed consider that Into the Spider-Verse has been called one of the best Spider-Man movies ever.
It’d be easy to say that it will be interesting to see if anything can ever top this, but I’ll bet that animators back in the day were saying the same thing when they were still working with the cells that are now on sale as collector’s items. One of these days something will surpass this technology and new methods and techniques will no doubt come around to make this feel like something that’s quaint and low-tech, but until then, it’s easy to be impressed by what’s been put up for people to enjoy.
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