animated film
Artistic Comic: “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”
Jason Schwartzman lends his voice to the villain The Spot. photo
© Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP/dpa
Spider-Man is back. And the follow-up film to the animated adventure that won an Oscar in 2019 amazes with a story that is as fast-paced as it is artfully implemented.
For the sake of excitement, no details will be revealed. Just this much: Spider-Man not only has to save the world of humans, but also that of Marvel heroes. And everyone in the Spider universe needs to learn what it really means to be heroic.
The story of the animated film “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” cleverly combines elements of classic action cinema with those of a family drama, psychological thrill with a love story, psychological questions with overflowing imagination. Spider-Man also has to deal with himself in particular.
Always different emotions
He rushes through different universes and parallel worlds. In addition to breathtaking adventures, there are numerous moments full of grotesque comedy and soulful pause. You can babble, laugh and even cry. Gorgeous!
With all the fun, the audience hardly has time to catch their breath. The story is full of ideas and surprises. Almost every second there is something amazing to see. Of course, despite all the possibilities of modern computer tricks, an animated film can offer a lot more and almost unbelievable effects than a live-action film with actors.
relation to art
The be-all and end-all of the film is the visual design. Sometimes black and white, mostly brightly colored, the fantasy world comes to life. The screen is also often shared in order to follow different narrative levels at the same time.
Again and again, and completely unobtrusively, reference is made to famous works of fine art, for example works by such legendary masters as Jeff Koons, Edvard Munch or George Grosz. The frenzy of images explodes with ideas. It is very skilfully pointed out that all the love of storytelling stems from the countless ideas of comic art.
The previous film “Spider-Man: A New Universe” inspired audiences and critics worldwide and rightly received the Oscar for best animated feature film in 2019. A success that the new Spider-Man adventure could well repeat. Because it’s not just the originality of the story that keeps viewers in suspense. Many adult moviegoers will be particularly pleased that this story contains a variety of clever thoughts.
Serious topics
The topics touched on range from the question of how difficult it can be to grow up, to an examination of the problems faced by parents in releasing their children from the security of their home, to social issues such as the acceptance of the mindful and togetherness of people from different personal backgrounds. Something as serious as the coexistence of people from different ethnic groups, religions and social backgrounds is also highlighted. But all of this is never offered with a raised index finger in an instructive manner. The story is playfully light throughout. Which opens up the possibility of dropping all references and enjoying the film as pure fantasy fun.
Die-hard film fans will discover many tongue-in-cheek quotes from cinema history for their amusement. There are effective references to famous films such as “Men in Black”, “Indiana Jones” and other classics. That makes for some apt little jokes. But even those who don’t recognize the references, even those who have never seen a film about a character from the Marvel universe, should have a great time.