You know, I wasn’t going to post anything for a few more days, just so no one missed the Christmas story I put up … But I’m gonna link that right here and say “Hey, you should check that out.”

So hey, you should check that out.

Now, why am I posting? Because I just came back from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and … Yeah, I enjoyed it a lot.

I mean, you should probably see this one for the visuals alone. It’s incredible. If someone at Pixar isn’t going “Why didn’t we think of that!?” for some of these visuals, it’s only because they haven’t seen it. I’m not even sure how to describe some of it (though I’m sure a film student would have a better shot). Suffice to say, there’s a whole team of brilliant animators over at Sony pictures who deserve accolades for some of the incredible visuals they pulled off. It feels like a comic that’s coming to life in front of your eyes. Again, I can’t explain it in technical terms, but the visual treats the trailers show off? They’re not even scratching the surface.

But there’s another reason I want to talk about it while it’s fresh in my mind. Because it has a human quality to it.

I get it: Whoever made this move could have just satisfied themselves with throwing the various characters together alongside the amazing visuals and called it a day. But they didn’t.

Instead, we get character. Like, real character. Sure, sometimes it’s a little light (especially with some of the later additions as more and more characters start to occupy the screen), but even then its there. Central to Miles character is his family, and while again, it’s hard to give them screentime in such a packed movie, the team made sure that when they did have them on screen, they made every second count.

I liked Into the Spider-Verse but not just because it was visually a treat. I liked it because it had character. Or rather, the characters had character. They had heart. They felt like people. And not just in the way they moved or spoke (though they did well there, giving every character their own touches that brought their personalities forward) but in what they said.

The movie wasn’t afraid to take itself seriously sometimes, to let the moments that had heart have heart. They felt like people. Extraordinary people, sure, but people all the same.

It wasn’t just visual spectacle. And it very easily could have carried itself through the box office on that alone. But instead, they gave the characters some humanity. Even the … well, I won’t spoil that. But there’s a really solid premise that everything is built on with regards to our antagonists.

Seriously, this movie did a great job. It had heart. It had growth. It had humor. It had quiet, somber moments. Its character earned that ending.

So seriously, go see it. Reward these guys and show the world we want more films that aren’t just shameless grabs for your cash, but films with heart and character to them.

Oh, and stay after the credits. All the way. Trust me.