Original, bright and funny. Spider-Man: Web of Universes is just the perfect superhero cartoon
Miscellaneous / / June 03, 2023
A worthy continuation of the first part.
On May 31, the world premiere of the cartoon "Spider-Man: Web of Universes" took place. It turned out to be a brilliant attraction that will appeal to both fans of comics and just lovers of good animation.
«Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"was released in 2018 and made a splash not only among viewers, but also among critics. It won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature and grossed over $370 million at the box office. The second part was a matter of time.
Three directors worked on the project: Joaquín Dos Santos (Avatar: The Last Airbender), Kemp Powers (Soul), and Justin Thompson (production designer for Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse). The script was written by the authors of the first part, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, as well as Dave Callaham ("Wonder Woman: 1984").
Spider-Man Miles Morales is trying to balance his superhero duties, his studies and, most importantly, his family. One day, his old friend Gwen comes to visit him. Miles begins to follow her and accidentally ends up in another universe. Now he wants to join the Spider Society, but he is not accepted. Morales still tries to help the spiders, not knowing what consequences this will lead to.
Incredible and very different visuals
The new "Spider-Man", like the first part, pleases with stunning animation. The creators deftly move from computer graphics to cutouts from printed comics, also adding hand-drawn sketches. Different styles look incredible not only on their own, but also perfectly combined. It turns out a great animation attraction.
In addition to excellent general plans, the film pleases with details. The interaction of characters in the foreground is always emphasized by the background. For example, in one of the scenes, a touching conversation between the characters is accompanied by watercolor smudges. Every little thing that appears only for a second is perfectly worked out. The animators managed to create dynamics even in scenes where the characters are silent - their internal monologue can be seen on the screen.
Brilliantly drawn and fights. Each of them is better and more detailed than the previous one. They look so impressive that one wonders why most superhero movies don't even aspire to that level. Spider-Man looks like a benchmark that other comic book writers should be guided by. Including Marvel.
A detailed picture is accompanied by an excellent soundtrack - as colorful and varied as the visuals. Music is a kind of decoration of this film. Most often you can hear hip-hop, soul and jazz, but some scenes are accompanied by well-chosen electronics.
Living protagonists
Like the first part, "Web of Universes" features great characters who are easy to empathize with. Miles Morales balances between heroism and the ordinary life of a teenager, but this does not always work out. Because of his abilities, he has a hard time making friends, which is why he is lonely.
The filmmakers add metatext, forcing Morales to challenge the canons of Spider-Man stories. In fact, the teenage hero must not only save the world, but also resist it.
Gwen reappears with typical teenage issues (such as having trouble deciding which rock band to play in and where to make friends). And they are no less important than saving the multiverse. Throughout the film, it is obvious how she lacks warmth and love. A bad relationship with her father weighs heavily on this character, and the Spider Society becomes an oasis for her, where she can find friends and support, as well as feel needed and important.
The writers skillfully intertwine the teenage and adult problems of the main characters. But despite all the seriousness, the cartoon still retains lightness.
Perfect entertainment
The cartoon is pleasant to watch because of the many jokes. They, like spider-men, are full of variety. For example, in one of the scenes, the American Spiderman cannot understand British because of his accent, in the other, Spiderman is seen by a psychologist who is also a Spiderman. Some jokes are based on visual perception - for example, even a villain called Font is shown, who uses letters as weapons.
The film is 140 minutes long, but it feels much shorter. All because of the high pace of the story. The picture begins with a scene with Gwen Stacy, closing one of the lines of the first part. Then the story of Miles Morales starts. After a couple of minutes, the villain-loser Spot appears, who is trying to rob an ATM in a grocery store. In the first 20 minutes, the cartoon tells and shows more than some pictures Marvel in a few hours. And the point is not only in the constant change of places and events, but also in the variety of characters.
Rich and detailed universe
The filmmakers again did a great job with a huge number of universes, each of which has its own spiders. Among them are Lego Spider, and Spider Horses, and Spider Dinosaurs, and a pregnant Spider Woman, and Spider Man in a wheelchair, and Spider Man Psychologist, and Spider Man Punk - and so on ad infinitum. Each of them has its own visual style and background. Despite the fact that they are very different, the authors of the film managed to connect them into a single story.
Most of the characters and their worlds will be understandable to a viewer who is new to the Marvel universe. However, there are an endless number of references prepared for the fans. For example, among the villains there is an actor Donald Glover, who played in the movie "Spider-Man: Homecoming" - in the cartoon he sits in a cage. The hero also meets Mrs. Chen from the Venom dilogy and the editor of the newspaper Jay John Jameson (the one that always demands a photo of Spider-Man). There are footage from other Spiderman movies (including Tobey Maguire), old cartoons, and references to Spiderman memes.
"Spider-Man: Web of Universes" turned out to be as bright as the first part. The cartoon has retained its lightness, humor and original approach to working with visuals, so not only fans of comics will like it. Now we have to wait for the continuation, which is scheduled for 2024.
In general, it's good that "Spider-Man" is so great. Too bad other similar projects are much worse.
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