It happened in 2018. Sony released a movie that basically nuked every preconceived notion of what a "cartoon" was supposed to look like. Most people went into the theater expecting another cash-grab reboot of Peter Parker, but what they got was Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a film that didn’t just change the genre—it broke it and rebuilt it into something better.
It’s weird.
Usually, when a studio tries to juggle six different versions of the same character, the plot turns into a giant, confusing mess of fan service. Yet, Miles Morales somehow grounded the whole thing. He wasn't just a "new" Spider-Man; he was the lens through which we finally understood that anyone can wear the mask. That’s not just a cheesy tagline from the marketing department. It’s the literal soul of the movie.
The visual chaos of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a massive risk
Let’s be real for a second. If you pause this movie at any single frame, it looks like a high-end comic book illustration. That wasn't an accident, but it also wasn't easy. The team at Sony Pictures Animation, led by producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, had to invent entirely new technology to make this happen.
They wanted the "imperfections" of print.
Think about old comic books. You see those tiny dots in the coloring? Those are Ben-Day dots. Most digital animation tries to be as smooth as possible—think Pixar or Dreamworks. But Spider-Verse leaned into the grit. They used "line work" on top of 3D models. They played with frame rates, often animating Miles at 12 frames per second while the world around him moved at 24. It makes him look clunky and uncoordinated at the start, which perfectly mirrors his character arc. He’s literally out of sync with his own world.
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The budget was roughly $90 million. In the world of blockbusters, that’s actually somewhat modest. But the labor was intense. It reportedly took a week for an animator to finish just one second of footage. One second. That’s why the movie feels so dense. You’ve got graffiti art, street culture, punk rock aesthetics, and noir vibes all smashing into each other.
Why Miles Morales actually worked as a protagonist
If we're being honest, replacing Peter Parker is a death wish for most writers. People love Peter. He’s the blueprint. But Miles Morales brought a different kind of weight to the table. He isn't a lonely science geek living in a basement; he’s a kid from Brooklyn with a loving father who happens to be a cop and a mom who works in healthcare.
His struggle isn't just about fighting monsters.
It’s about expectation. The pressure of being "gifted" and attending a school where he doesn't feel like he belongs. When he gets bitten by that glitchy Alchemax spider, he’s not ready. He’s terrified. And seeing a middle-aged, out-of-shape Peter B. Parker show up to "mentor" him—while eating pizza in a sweatpant-clad depression—was the smartest move the writers ever made. It humanized the legend.
The "Leap of Faith" moment is more than just a cool shot
Everyone talks about the scene where Miles jumps off the skyscraper. The music swells (shout out to Daniel Pemberton’s incredible score), the camera flips upside down so it looks like he’s falling up into the city, and he finally shatters the glass.
It’s iconic.
But what people often miss is the narrative setup. Up until that point, Miles was waiting for a signal. He was waiting for someone to tell him he was ready. Peter B. Parker tells him, "You won't. It's a leap of faith." That is the core philosophy of the movie. You don't become a hero when you're ready; you become a hero when you decide to try, despite being totally unprepared.
Breaking down the supporting cast of the Multiverse
The movie somehow managed to make us care about a pig voiced by John Mulaney and a monochromatic private eye voiced by Nicolas Cage.
- Spider-Gwen: She’s the emotional anchor for Miles. Her world is defined by watercolors and loneliness, and her presence proves that the "Spider-Person" curse of losing a best friend is a universal constant.
- Spider-Man Noir: He brought the comedy but also a weirdly dark edge. "I like to drink egg creams and I like to fight Nazis. A lot."
- Peni Parker: An anime-inspired pilot who added a completely different visual language to the screen.
- Spider-Ham: Pure Looney Tunes energy.
Managing these different art styles in a single scene should have been an eyesore. It should have felt like a collage made by a toddler. Instead, it highlighted the "multiverse" concept better than any live-action MCU movie has managed to do since.
The Kingpin and the tragedy of the villain
Liev Schreiber’s Wilson Fisk is a mountain of a man. Literally. His character design is so stylized he’s basically a giant black square with a head. But his motivation isn't "take over the world." He’s just a grieving guy trying to steal a version of his family from another dimension.
It’s a selfish, destructive kind of love.
His actions threaten to collapse reality, but in his mind, he’s the hero of a tragedy. That nuance is why the stakes felt real. When Miles finally faces him, it’s not just a punch-fest. It’s a clash of ideologies. Miles represents the future and the ability to move on, while Fisk is a man literally trapped in the past, trying to break the universe to fix his own mistakes.
Why the soundtrack changed the game
You can't talk about Spider-Verse without mentioning "Sunflower" by Post Malone and Swae Lee. It went diamond for a reason. The music wasn't just background noise; it was Miles’s inner monologue. The heavy use of hip-hop and lo-fi beats grounded the movie in a specific time and place. It felt like Brooklyn. It felt like 2018.
The "What's Up Danger" sequence? Absolute chills. Every single time.
What most people get wrong about the ending
People think the movie is just about Miles becoming Spider-Man. Honestly, it’s bigger than that. It’s about the democratization of heroism. When the movie ends and we hear the voiceover saying "Anyone can wear the mask," it’s a direct challenge to the audience.
It’s not saying everyone is a superhero.
It’s saying that your background, your race, your age, or even your species (looking at you, Peter Porker) doesn't disqualify you from doing the right thing. The "Multiverse" isn't just a plot device to sell toys; it’s a metaphor for the infinite ways people can find courage.
The lasting impact on the industry
Look at the movies that came out after. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Bad Guys, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. They all owe a debt to the "Spider-Verse" style. The era of "everything must look like a smooth 3D plastic toy" is over.
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Studios realized that audiences actually crave artistic expression. They want to see the hand of the artist. They want colors that bleed and lines that shake. Sony took a massive gamble on a non-traditional art style and a non-traditional lead, and it resulted in an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
It’s rare for a movie to be a critical darling, a box office hit, and a cultural touchstone all at once.
Actionable Steps for the Spider-Verse Fan
If you're looking to dive deeper into this world or understand the craft behind it, don't just re-watch the movie for the tenth time.
- Check out the "Art of the Movie" book. It details the specific shaders and rendering techniques used to create the comic-book look. It’s a masterclass in visual design.
- Listen to the Daniel Pemberton score on vinyl or high-res audio. The way he blended scratching, orchestral swells, and synth is much easier to appreciate when you aren't distracted by the visuals.
- Read the 2011 Miles Morales run by Brian Michael Bendis. That’s where it all started. Seeing how the movie adapted the source material—and where it improved upon it—is fascinating for any storytelling nerd.
- Watch the "Along with the Crowd" short film. It’s a smaller piece of animation that explores Miles’s anxiety and internal world even further.
The Multiverse is a big place. Miles Morales is just the beginning. Whether we're looking at the sequels or the inevitable spin-offs, the foundation laid by this first film is basically unshakable. It taught us that being a hero isn't about the powers you have, but about the choice to get back up one more time. No matter how many times you get hit.
That's the real Spider-Man way.