Skonflix Overview & Editorial Review
Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales struggles to adjust to an elite boarding school while trying to meet the high expectations of his father, a dedicated police officer. After being bitten by a radioactive spider in an abandoned subway terminal, Miles develops extraordinary powers, only to witness the tragic death of his universe's Spider Man at the hands of the crime lord Kingpin. Kingpin's dangerous particle collider rips open dimensional rifts, drawing five alternate Spider Heroes into Miles's world—including a weary, middle aged Peter B. Parker, Gwen Stacy, Spider Noir, Peni Parker, and Spider Ham. Guided by his reluctant mentor Peter B. Parker and forced to overcome severe personal tragedy, Miles must discover his own inner strength, master his unique abilities, and take a leap of faith to save his home and return his newfound friends to their original realities.
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) was written by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman and produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, and Marvel Entertainment. The production redefined modern computer animation by blending cutting edge three dimensional CGI with traditional hand drawn, comic book printing techniques like half tone dot textures, line work, and variable frame rates. Instead of imitating realistic camera physics, the visual team designed every frame to look and feel like a living comic book page come to life, setting a brand new artistic benchmark across the animation industry.
Released in December 2018, the movie earned nearly $394 million worldwide against a $90 million production budget. The ensemble voice cast stars Shameik Moore as Miles Morales alongside Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Nicolas Cage, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Kathryn Hahn, and Liev Schreiber. Universal critical acclaim praised its groundbreaking animation style, razor sharp humor, heartwarming narrative, and standout score by Daniel Pemberton. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, solidifying its place as a generational classic and one of the most influential animated films ever made.