Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse’s co-director Kemp Powers talks about the animated feature raising the bar in animation, the research process into nailing the fine details that go into making the film, and the importance of inclusion.
We have numerous live-action film adaptions of Marvel Comics’ popular hero Spider-Man, aka Peter Parker, mostly good, while others are getting a second wind thanks to revisionist history.
But the story of Afro-Latino superhero Miles Morales has taken the world by storm thanks to two animated films, Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse and the latest entry into the trilogy, Across The Spider-Verse.
Comic book fans and casual moviegoers have taken a huge liking to Sony Animation’s gems because of its eye-grabbing animation, which is a mix of different styles that seemingly jumps off the screen.
The animated Spider-Man film’s animation style is so good that you can say that other studios have begun making their animated movies using a similar style.
Ahead of Across The Spider-Verse releasing on 4K UHD and Blu-Ray, Cassius Life spoke with the film’s co-director, Kemp Powers, who is no stranger to the world of animation, having worked on Pixar’s Soul, starring Jamie Foxx.
Both Into The Spider-Verse & Across The Spider-Verse Are Leading The Wave of New Animation
Powers didn’t work on the first film but joined the directing team for Across The Spider-Verse. We touched on how Into The Spider-Verse and Across The Spider-Verse is ushering a wave of a new animation style present in films like TMNT: Mutant Mayhem and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
So I think that rather than inspiring people to copy it, what I love is that it just inspires people to try things completely different.
He continues, “So I think that rather than inspiring people to copy it, what I love is that it just inspires people to try things completely different. I had such a good time watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem because it looked so different than anything else I’d seen. I don’t think it looked anything like Spider-Verse. It looked like its own very, very distinct thing. And that’s exciting. The idea that I could be surprised by something visually going in to see an animated feature. And I think that’s part of the reason why I think audiences feel compelled to go see them, particularly in movie theaters, because it’s like part of that experience. You haven’t really seen it if you haven’t seen it up on the screen. It really optimizes that.”
Kemp Powers Breaks Down The Process Into Making Across The Spider-Verse
When watching Across The Spider-Verse, one thing that will immediately pop out is the amazing detail that goes into every scene. Kemp revealed that nothing is done by accident, and what you are seeing is the experiences of the 1,000 people who worked on the film.
He continues, ” But you obsess over, and everyone obsesses over that. We have people who would obsess over the food, like the food on the table. People who are Afro-Latino or Puerto Rican. And it’s just like, okay, well, what should we have at this barbecue? You know what I mean? And it’s a blended black and Latino family, so what are the foods that will probably be up here? And people just go, it’s evident, and I think in every single frame of the film, but it’s important to know that none of it is casual. None of it is by mistake. All of it is done with intent. And I think that really shows when you see the final film.”
Inclusion Was Not On The Top of Kemp Powers Mind When Working On Across The Spider-Verse
Powers is no stranger regarding the topic of inclusion, being that he worked on Soul, which was Pixar’s first animated feature to have a Black lead. For Across The Spider-Verse, inclusion was already tackled in the first film, but Powers revealed that it’s not a main concern when making his films, pointing out that viewers will know when you are “trying too hard” to be inclusive.
He noted that he uses growing up in Flatbush, Brooklyn, NY as his baseline when working on his films.
He continues, “Because guess what? When you’ve got more than one black character, then no one black character has to represent the whole race. Then they can be different kinds of people. You know what I mean? So it’s like you have multiple representations, you have lots of women, you have lots of men, you have black, Latino, Asian, you have all these different groups, and they’re represented in abundance.”“And that’s just kind of the world, isn’t it? I mean, look at the audience going to theaters. I mean, if you have a real universal film these days, it kind of breaks down like Latino, white, black, Asian, like everybody has to come to everything nowadays. And so it almost feels like the natural order of things shouldn’t… The stories that we tell in the worlds that we create represent the world of the audience that’s coming in to see it. So yeah. You know what I mean? It’s kind of just natural.”
Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse is now available on VOD, 4K UHD, and Blu-Ray.
Photos: Getty / Sony Pictures / Across The Spider-Verse
EXCLUSIVE: ‘Across The Spider-Verse Co-Director Kemp Powers Talks About Being Inspired By ‘Into The Spider-Verse’ Animation Style & More was originally published on cassiuslife.com