That person who helps others simply because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero- Stan Lee

Few movies can bring me back to my childhood as easily or potently as Into the Spider-Verse did. Within minutes this movie proved itself to be a vibrant and living comic book with its unapologetic references to comics, with onomatopoeia, text boxes, and the countless Easter eggs, which easily took me back to the seven year old who always had his nose in a book instead of doing literally anything else.

The story at its core concerns basic Spider-Man fare, that of taking responsibility when great power is thrust upon you, however this film adds another layer of depth in the form of Jake Johnson's Peter Parker. Johnson brings to the table a teacher who has lost faith in what he is teaching. It is this that nails home the central concept of the film, and the reason why I've personally idolized Spider-Man since I was six, which is that everybody can be a hero whether it be a teenager who has no idea of what they're getting into or a cynical adult who has forgotten what that means.

This film boasts an overall stellar presentation, with dynamic animation, amazing voice performances and an enticing story. Shameik Moore and Jake Johnson give the standout performances however there are also great supporting performances from the always delightful Hailee Steinfeld as Spider-Gwen (which someone please give her an Oscar for something) to Nicolas Cage's hardened Spider-Man Noir, John Mulaney as the immensely underrated Spider-Ham (who unfortunately had the most disappointing Marvel Legends figure) and Lily Tomlin as Aunt May.

It is still so hard to believe that the studio who brought us such an atrocity as The Emoji Movie turned around a delivered a masterpiece like Spider-Verse. This is the Marvel movie that deserves to be in Best Picture talks instead of Black Panther, as the worst thing about this film is the moment where I had to hear Juice Wrld and the worst thing about Black Panther is the poorly written characters and bad pacing. On a final note, I would like to thank this film and everybody who worked on it for reminding me of the central messages that hit me so hard back as a child- that anybody can be a hero and to never lose hope when all seems hopeless