It is not entirely controversial if I say that Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse is one of the most incredible animated movies to ever be released. The writing is tight, the characters are endearing, the dialogue is engaging, and the voice acting is phenomenal. But one of its biggest highlights is its unique style of animation. To imitate the comic style inspired by the origins of Spiderman, the animators added bright colors and comic effects, such as speech bubbles and dotted shading to the scenes. The animation itself is in “stepped” animation style or “2s”: instead of every scene being different, every two scenes would depict a different moment. This allowed the movie to still retain a sense of 2D animation, while still being a 3D animated movie. They played a lot with the balance of 2D and 3D, with the overall inspiration being 2D mediums. However, the colors and shading emphasized a 3D look. You can tell by just watching the movie that the animators really tried to break outside traditional 3D animation and, ultimately, it worked, and an incredible cultural phenomenon was born.
I definitely did not think that this style of animation would catch on since it felt so connected to the themes of Into the Spiderverse that no other movie would ever be able to replicate it. However, I was wrong: several new movies embraced this stylized 3D animation. Sony’s The Mitchells vs. The Machines is a heartwarming story about a family surviving a robot apocalypse, with the main protagonist being a spunky future college freshman with dreams of being a filmmaker. The animation style fits perfectly with the 2D-like 3D animation; you can see video effects being added every so often, giving the movie charm, but also giving a nod to the main character and her passions. The most recent movie with this style is The Bad Guys by Dreamworks, where anthropomorphic animal thieves try to find their place in a society that rejects them. I definitely adore a good heist movie and, like Into the Spiderverse, it looks like an animated comic, bursting right out of the pages.
I am incredibly excited about this new trend in animation. It shows that no matter what, animators will always strive to be new and original in order to create incredible works of art and storytelling. I hope that future animated movies will contain this style, or even create an even new one, truly showcasing how there is no limit to inspiration and creativity in the realms of animation.