“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 (1922-2018)

“Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” takes a new approach to the comic-book superhero feature movie genre.

It’s more like an old-school approach.

“Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” is the first animation feature film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Even though it’s CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” eschews the slick style that dominates superhero movies in favor of the clunkier 2D-style animation of yesteryear, or at least the appearance of it, that is more akin to Saturday-morning cartoon fare.

The film gives you the sense of flipping through the pages of a comic book or reading a newspaper comicstrip, complete with benday dots (a printing technique starting with lithography in 1879 and continuing with letterpress), not unlike the enlarged dots in Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) paintings. The film has a hip, pop-art sensibility.

“Spider-Verse” is a wordplay on “Universe,” as in Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Another interpretation of the title, “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse,” could be that it’s a wordplay on the word “verse,” as in poetic verse. At times, “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” is cinematic poetry. The film was seen in 2D for this review, but would probably be great to view in 3D.

“Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” takes place in a “multiverse,” dubbed the “Spider-Verse,” which has alternate universes.

The plot strains credulity. The movie’s own website puts it thusly: Miles Morales, a teen-ager, “becomes Spider-Man of his reality, crossing his path with five counterparts from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities.”

Got that?

I didn’t.

Anything goes, plot-wise, in “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.”

A particle accelerator provides access to parallel universes where alternate versions of characters exist. A USB drive also figures in the plot.

To try to follow the plot made my head spin faster than the pages of a Marvel Comics book being read by a fan.

Once I crossed the plot Rubicon, I rendered unto Caesar. Rubicon is not the latest comic con (comic-book convention). Rather, it refers to Julius Caesar’s 49 B.C. crossing of a river in northern Italy. The Gaul of Caesar.

In “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse,” I would have preferred even more scenes with the character of Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore), the Brooklyn teen who imagines himself to be Spider-Man. Morales is the heart of “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.”

The heart of the animation in the film is Miles Morales’ co-creator Sara Pichelli. Pichelli illustrated the first image of the Spider-Man character portrayed by Miles Morales in Marvel Comics’ 2011 “Ultimate Fallout” and the relaunched “Ultimate Comics: Spider-Man.”

There were so many characters in “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse,” including the “dimension-displaced heroes” Spider-man Noir and Spidey-Ham (rendered in styles befitting the characters’ names) that I couldn’t keep track of them. However, MCU fanboys and fangirls will be delighted.

Directors Bob Persichetti (feature animated film co-directorial debut; head of story, “The Little Prince,” 2015; “Puss In Boots,” 2011), Peter Ramsey (director, “Rise Of The Guardians,” 2012) and Rodney Rothman (feature film co-directorial debut; screenplay, “22 Jump Street,” 2014) work from a screenplay by Phil Lord (director, “The Lego Movie,” 2014; director, “Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs,” 2009) and Rothman and the story by Lord.

The dialogue is conversational, heart-felt and fun.

The film had some 140 animators, said to be the largest ever used for a Sony Pictures Animation project.

The voices for the animated characters are excellent. In addition to Shameik Moore, there’s Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Brian Tyree Henry, Lily Tomlin, Luna Lauren Velez, John Mulaney, Kimiko Glenn, Nicolas Cage and Liev Schreiber.

”Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” is a comic-book brought to life on the big screen that should even please non-comic-book fans.

“Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse,” MPAA Rated PG (Parental Guidance Suggested Some material may not be suitable for children. Parents urged to give “parental guidance.” May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.) for frenetic sequences of animated action violence, thematic elements, and mild language; Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure; Run-time: 1 hr., 57 mins; Distributed by Columbia Pictures Corp.

Credit Readers Anonymous: The “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse” closing credits include Spider-Man 2099, who time-travels to the “Spider-Man” 1967 show. The film is dedicated to “Spider-Man” creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, who died in 2018.

Box Office, Feb. 22-24: “How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” ruled the box office, with $55 million, weekend, and $57.5 million, since opening, battling “Alta: Battle Angel” to No. 2, $12.3 million, $61 million, two weeks.

3. “The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” dropped one place, $9.6 million, $83.2 million, three weeks. 4. “Fighting With My Family” moved up 37 places, $7.8 million, $8 million, two weeks. 5. “Isn’t It Romantic” dropped two places, $7.1 million, $33.3 million, two weeks. 6. “What Men Want” dropped two places, $5.2 million, $45.1 million, three weeks. 7. “Happy Death Day 2U” dropped two places, $4.8 million, $21.5 million, two weeks. 8. Cold Pursuit” dropped two places, $3.2 million, $26.9 million, three weeks. 9. “The Upside” dropped two places, $3.1 million, $99.7 million, seven weeks. 10. “Run The Race,” $2.1 million, opening.

Oscar winners: The 2019 Oscar recipients, of those in Lehigh Valley Press Focus section “Readers Pick The Oscar Contest” are: Leading Actor, Rami Malek, “Bohemian Rhapsody”; Leading Actress, Olivia Colman, “The Favourite;” Supporting Actor, Mahershala Ali, “Green Book”; Supporting Actress, Regina King, “If Beale Street Could Talk”; Directing, Alfonso Cuarón, “Roma”; Best Picture,” “Green Book,” and Animated Feature, “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.”

None of the dozens of entrants correctly picked all seven recipients in the “Readers Pick The Oscar Contest.” Three entrants correctly picked six of the seven winners: Donna Wagner of Catasauqua; Sandra Lambert of Bethlehem, and Noreen Kromer of New Tripoli, whose entrant was received the earliest, so the contest winner is: Noreen Kromer.

Many entrants correctly chose five of the seven contest categories and more correctly chose four of the seven categories. I correctly chose four of the seven categories.

Unreel, March 1:

“A Madea Family Funeral,” PG-13: Tyler Perry directs himself (as Madea) and Cassi Davis, Patrice Lovely and Mike Tyson in the Comedy. Madea and the family travel to backwoods Georgia and attend a funeral.

Three Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes