Animating the Multiverse: The Rise and Impact of Sony Animation Pictures’ Spider-Man
From their Universe to Ours
In the 21 years since its inception, Sony Pictures Animation (SPA) has released several notable animated films, including the franchises Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, The Smurfs, and Hotel Transylvania and later other incredible stand-alone movies like The Mitchells vs. the Machines.
These early films helped set the tone for SPA as an animation studio— each franchise with its original story and preference for a 3D animated art style. Since then, SPA has expanded its repertoire with 28 feature-length films, 21 shorts, and half a dozen animated TV shows.
Among their most notable pieces of work is an animated movie that broke barriers for animation across the board. Earning $375.54 million worldwide against its $90 million budget comes the Academy Award-winning movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
At the time, SPA found that the one thing driving the market forward was an audience craving innovation. In many ways, movie-goers and animation aficionados sought a unique experience in theaters that they had not seen before. This need in the market became the perfect opportunity for the studio, along with writers and producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, to fill the gap with something extraordinary.
The thing about animation is that it is the perfect medium for breaking all of the rules of reality and creating something brand new. And that is precisely what Into the Spider-Verse’s team of over 140 animators and creatives did with its release in December 2018. With a combination of unique art styles mixing 2D and 3D elements and an incredibly compelling and heartwarming story, this film inspired thousands of people worldwide.
So much so that some of Sony Pictures Animation’s peer studios began experimenting with approaches similar to their animated features, the 3D Pixar-esque style that had become the norm up to that point started to subside a bit, allowing a more experimental approach to animation to enter the mainstream scene.
We see this reflected in Netflix’s Klaus (2018), SPA’s own The Mitchells vs. The Machines, which was acquired and released on Netflix in 2021, as well as Dreamworks’ 2022 movies Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, which adopted an oil painting art style to compliment its 3D elements and The Bad Guys which had some impressive use of lighting, shading, and textures on its 3D models, even Disney’s upcoming film Wish, set to release in late 2023, has a similar feel to it.
Introducing Miles Morales
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse tells the same origin story of Spider-Man we have all been acquainted with over the last two decades. What it does differently, however, tells a charming, self-aware tale not about Peter Parker– who we have seen in multiple live-action iterations, but that of Miles Morales.
At the core of this story is an ordinary Afro-Latino high school boy from Brooklyn who is bestowed with Spider-Man's extraordinary abilities when a radioactive spider unsuspectingly bites him.
Having a character like Miles Morales on the big screen has allowed a new spin on this classic tale to take shape. Blending fresh and new storylines with the same tropes we know and love. The superb script is another considerable factor that elevates this movie to new heights.
At times, it has impeccable comedic timing, and at others, it delivers some genuinely heart-wrenching moments. Despite being animated, these characters feel real and relatable to the audience, a testament to the quality of the writing and the incredible actors whose voices bring them to life.
The year following its release, Into the Spider-Verse was nominated and subsequently won the Oscars for the Best Animated Feature Film category, beating two Disney animated movies up for the same award. It went on to win 48 different awards that season, including Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globes, the BAFTAs, the Producers Guild of America, and the 46th Annie Awards.
Some of the movie’s most memorable marketing strategies included bringing its animated style to its promotional partnerships. This McDonald’s ad, for example, is animated in the exact art style of the film.
We see a similar type of ad with the movie’s Hyundai Motor partnership. We also consider the fact that the film’s release was just in time for the Winter holiday season also played a role in its partnership marketing. Sony, Marvel, and Nike teamed up to release a pair of Air Jordans reminiscent of the ones Miles Morales wears in the movie. The shoes hit select Nike store shelves on December 14th, the same day the film premiered across theaters in the United States.
The Sequel That Crossed Dimensions
In true Marvel fashion, Sony’s animated Spider-Man movie ended with a post-credit scene that alluded to the fact that it was not the end for the Spider-Verse. And in the four years since, fans have been eagerly waiting for more. Finally, on June 2nd, 2023, the superhero’s fan’s patience was rewarded when Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was released.
According to Box Office Mojo by IMDbPro, Across the Spider-Verse earned $120.66 million on its domestic debut, totaling $221.58 million worldwide as of June 6, and is estimated to surpass its predecessor. Across the Spider-Verse has also already broken records! With a runtime of 140 minutes, it is now the longest animated feature film from an American Hollywood studio.
Both audience and critical reception toward the film has been overwhelmingly positive. Currently holding a 96% on the Tomatometer and Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes and becoming the highest-ranking film of all time on Letterboxd just three days after its release! Sitting at 4.7/5 stars, the movie has been marked as ‘watched’ by over 376,000 members on the platform and has garnered 173K likes and 163K reviews on the app.
Fans have also taken to social media to express their love for the movie. After an early film screening, Alex Billington tweets, “[...] a followup that's as good as if not even better than the first, which is already a masterpiece.”
James Poole at DiscussingFilm calls it a triumph, “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a triumph of a sequel, a triumph of a comic-book film, of animation, and so much more. It’s a massive, shockingly subversive take on the wall-crawler that takes every single aspect of the first film, remixes it, and improves upon it.”
Others, particularly artists and illustrators, have started a trend where they draw their own original versions of Spider-Man characters to honor the incredible artwork and art styles that make up the movie's visuals. This art trend is a revival of the trend that took over social media among artists and Spider-Man fans back in 2018 when the first movie premiered and this Twitter user reminds us by Tweeting, “with across the spider-verse out now, can we bring back the “spideysona” trend that was fun.”
What This Film Means for Representation
As the Spider-Verse expands, so does the diversity it embodies. During the creators’ acceptance speech at the Oscars back in 2019, Phil Lord spoke about what the movie has meant to him and many worldwide regarding representation on the big screen.
He stated that hearing about kids feeling like they’re watching themselves on screen when experiencing this movie makes [the creators] feel like they’ve “already won.” Whether that’s because of Miles’ physical appearance or cultural background, he does have a Puerto Rican mom after all; they highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion in mainstream media, especially animated films like this one.
The audience gets to experience more of this in Across the Spider-Verse, with the introduction of Hobie Brown, a Black British Spider-Man voiced by Daniel Kaluuya of equal descent, Miguel O’Hara, the Spider-Man from Nueva York voiced by Oscar Issac, a Cuban-Guatemalan actor, and Pavitr Prabhakar an Indian Spider-Man from the fictional city Mumbattan voiced by Indian actor Karan Soni. Twitter user Anish posts, “Pavitr Prabhakar and the whole Indian aesthetic of Mumbattan was so perfect, he's so fun and just looks amazing. Loved feeling represented like this #SpiderVerse.”
In a roundtable discussion for Sony with Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy’s voice actors Shameik Moore and Hailee Steinfeld, Soni talks about his experience working with the film's writers. Recounting the fact that he was invited to some of the writer’s meetings and could give his input on the authenticity of his character, highlighting the importance of honest representation in media.
Everyone gets to be seen and heard in this film, and it’s beautiful. It’s not something you see every day in animated films, and it makes complete sense that this is the franchise and film studio to do so. With its infinite possibilities, the Spider-Verse franchise and Sony Pictures Animation have already broken many barriers and opened many doors in the industry; there’s no telling what they’ll do next!
