Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

This splashy, psychedelic, Oscar-winning animated adventure should delight comic-book fans of all ages. “I always find a way to come back,” says Marvel’s aging Peter Parker (voiced by Jake Johnson), forecasting his relationship with Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), an Afro-Latino teenager living in Brooklyn with his parents (Luna Lauren Velez, Brian Tyree Henry). When his imprudent Uncle Aaron (Mahershala Ali) takes him deep into the subway system, Miles is bitten by a glowing radioactive spider, turning him green overnight. Suddenly, bewildered Miles finds that he’s sticking to whatever he touches. Could there be two Spider-Men? Initially, Parker is reluctant to be Miles’s mentor, but he sees something special in this savvy kid. And because of a glitch in the space-time continuum, web-slingers appear as Spider-guys, Spider-gals, even a Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), known on Larval Earth as Peter Porker. The villain here is Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), who can access alternative universes. Based on Marvel Comics characters, the irreverent, cleverly chaotic screenplay is credited to Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, who directs along with Bob Persichetti and Peter Ramsey. Also on hand are Aunt May (Lily Tomlin), who lost her own Spidey (Chris Pine); strong, sensible Spider-Gwen (Hailee Steinfeld); and Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage) with his Rubik’s cube. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Granger)