When I first heard of Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse, I was completely not interested. I had not heard much about the plot, and I was not too interested in an animated superhero film. In my head, I equated an animated superhero film to either a Disney movie or an old-fashioned Saturday morning cartoon. I thought this movie could be just average, at best. My friend kept begging me to watch it with her, so being the great friend I am, I found myself in the movie theater with her and another friend. I wondered if I had wasted six dollars. After watching, I knew my six dollars were used well.

The plot was engaging. Brooklyn teenager Miles Morales is bitten by a radioactive spider, and he struggles to adapt to his new life as Spiderman. Along the way, he finds that there are different kinds spider-men from different universes. Morales and his new gang of spider-people battle the evil Kingpin, who might inadvertently destroy the universe.

Aesthetically, the animation was beautiful. The animators used a unique style that mixed traditional animation and animation that mirrored the style of comic books. This combination along with a broad color palette made a vivid movie that anyone would enjoy. Spider-man fans could pause the movie almost anywhere, screenshot and use the picture as a background. Even if you removed the plot from the movie, I still probably would have enjoyed watching anyways, just because of the aesthetics.

Furthermore, the movie was a perfect combination of humor and seriousness. Scenes like those where Spider-Man Noir, who could only see in black and white, tried to solve a Rubik’s Cube added comic relief to tense situations. Additionally, a fair amount of unexpected jump scares kept viewers on the edge of their seats.

Though all of these were parts that made the film great, my personal favorite aspect of the movie was the characters. Each different Spider-person has their distinct personality. Even the villain, Kingpin, has motives that makes him more understandable. Also, Miles Morales is a character that many of us could relate to. His reactions to becoming Spider-Man are realistic and not unreasonable. Despite his initial panic of becoming Spider-Man, he becomes more comfortable with himself by the end of the movie. I liked that his relationships with other characters are natural and not forced.

If you have time and are looking for something to do, watch Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse. You won’t regret it.