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Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

A dazzling, emotionally grounded superhero adventure that pairs inventive multiverse spectacle with a sincere coming-of-age story. Its visual style, humor, and heart make it one of the most distinctive mainstream animated films of the 2010s.

96% (5,139,805)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Where to watch: Netflix

Movie · Animation · Action · PG

2018 · 1h 57m · ★ 96% (5M)

Enter a universe where more than one wears the mask.

Director: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Starring: Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld

Overview

Struggling to find his place in the world while juggling school and family, Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales is unexpectedly bitten by a radioactive spider and develops unfathomable powers just like the one and only Spider-Man. While wrestling with the implications of his new abilities, Miles discovers a super collider created by the madman Wilson "Kingpin" Fisk, causing others from across the Spider-Verse to be inadvertently transported to his dimension.

Director

Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman

Production

Columbia Pictures, Lord Miller, Pascal Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Arad Productions, Marvel Entertainment

Cast

Shameik Moore, Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Vélez, Zoë Kravitz, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage, Kathryn Hahn, Liev Schreiber, Chris Pine, Natalie Morales, Edwin H. Bravo, Oscar Isaac, Greta Lee, Stan Lee, Jorma Taccone

Where to watch

Netflix

Curator Review

Verdict

A dazzling, emotionally grounded superhero adventure that pairs inventive multiverse spectacle with a sincere coming-of-age story. Its visual style, humor, and heart make it one of the most distinctive mainstream animated films of the 2010s.

Best for

  • superhero fans looking for something fresh
  • viewers who care as much about character as action
  • animation lovers
  • families and teens
  • people who enjoy fast, funny, emotionally sincere crowd-pleasers

Skip if

  • you dislike kinetic, comic-book-style editing and visual overload
  • you want a straightforward origin story without multiverse chaos
  • you prefer live-action over stylized animation
  • you are tired of superhero mythology entirely

Overview

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is the rare franchise movie that feels like it discovered a new language for the genre. It uses bold graphic design, layered textures, and elastic motion not just as decoration, but as part of the storytelling. Every frame feels alive, and the film’s confidence makes even familiar beats feel newly charged.

Worth noting

What gives it staying power is that it never loses sight of Miles Morales as a kid trying to grow into himself. The movie is funny and wildly inventive, but its real emotional engine is about identity, pressure, inheritance, and learning that heroism is something you build rather than something you’re handed. That balance of spectacle and sincerity is what makes it resonate so strongly.

Bottom line

It also works as a celebration of Spider-Man as a myth that can hold many different voices without losing its core. The ensemble is playful, the action is thrilling, and the soundtrack and pacing keep everything moving with real momentum. It’s one of the clearest examples of mainstream animation feeling genuinely auteur-driven.

Top Letterboxd reviews

Ralph (5★) · 15721 likes

The best spider-man film. Beyond being funny, creative, and wonderfully animated, it truly has an understanding of the character of Spider-Man.

siobhan (5★) · 15013 likes

not to be dramatic but the animation is SO fuckin nice i want to liquify it and inject it into my veins heroin-style

Alex IHE (5★) · 9966 likes

Best Spider-man movie without question.

andrea🌹 (5★) · 8249 likes

the g in lgbt stands for gwen

Taylor Williams (5★) · 8142 likes

See what happens when you just let talented people do their thing?

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Themes

coming of age, identity, multiverse, legacy, found family, self-discovery, grief and responsibility, heroism

Topics

superhero, animated, multiverse, coming-of-age, action-comedy, stylized visuals, family-friendly, urban, 2010s, emotionally sincere

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