Despite having been released for only a month in the US, Sony Animation's Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse has already proved a massive success, grossing over US$275 million (8.8 billion baht) worldwide, with glowing critical response. The film, released in Thai cinemas this week, also won for best animated feature at the recent Golden Globes.
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey and Rodney Rothman, and written by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller -- the creative team behind hit films 21 Jump Street and The Lego Movie -- Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse brings a completely new take to Marvel's beloved web-slinging superhero with the introduction of brand-new characters and storyline.
Based on the comic-book characters created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist Sara Pichelli in 2011, the movie centres on the adventures of the Puerto Rican/African-American Brooklyn teen Miles Morales as he tries to fit in at a new private school in Manhattan. Just like Peter Parker before him, Miles develops special powers after accidentally being bitten by a radioactive spider. And while adjusting to his new life and new abilities, Miles is aided by familiar characters such as Peter Parker and Aunt May, and new characters such as Spider-Gwen, Spider-Man Noir, Spider-Ham and Peni Parker, as he learns to accept the challenges and responsibilities of being a real superhero.
Lin Ayetut. LINAYETUT
All the hype and positive feedback that the film's been receiving so far are mainly due to its unique animation style, which boasts a comic-book aesthetic. The movie blends modern CGI-style animation with old-school style hand-drawn techniques, creating the groundbreaking animation style that makes you feel like you're reading a comic book while watching the film.
Completing Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse required over a hundred animators, said to be one of the largest teams ever assembled by Sony Pictures Animation for one project.
Vancouver-based artist Lin Ayetut was one of a few Thai animators who worked among the animation and VFX team for the film. Lin talked to Life in a phone interview about his experience working on the project.
What was your job title while working on Into The Spider-Verse?
Officially, I'm a senior lighting technical director. I did lighting and compositing. I created lighting conditions, mood, the vision of the director and concept art, and used 3D software to convey the story. So that's usually the later part of the project, which ran from June until around November of last year.
How well do you know Spider-Man history, and were you a fan of him growing up?
Honestly, I was not really into him that much before as a kid. Growing up in Thailand, I didn't have much chance to see that on TV, like morning cartoons in America. I remember him vaguely as a kid that he is able to climb walls, or swing from building to building, but that was about it. Later on, I developed my appreciation for Spider-Man a lot more when I started working for Marvel movies. I did some research and watched movies, and found a lot of cool things about him.
What was your first job in Thailand?
I worked at an animation studio that worked on TV commercials and movies. I was on the TV-commercial team as a generalist. It was where I learned VFX for the first time since I did not go to school for it. The talented artists there taught me everything and I watched a lot of tutorials. Then I got my first break in the global VFX scene at Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, working on the animated TV series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. It was the people I met in Lucasfilm Singapore that led me to the job opportunity in Vancouver.
Please list the movies or key projects you have worked on?
Apart from The Clones Wars, I was lucky enough to have worked on Rango at ILM Sinagpore, which was my first fully animated feature. Another special one was RIPD. Not the biggest blockbuster, but it is special to me because it was the first live-action credit and my first project in Vancouver. Since then, I've worked on a few other special ones like Jurassic World, Independence Day: Resurgence, Transformers: The Last Knight, and Solo: A Star Wars Story.
As the film features the brand-new Spider heroes and their stories, do you think the film will appeal to older or newer generations of Spider-Man fans?
Of course it will. The story is so unique and creative that I think the kids will like it no matter what. The film looks really beautiful. And if you're a fan of comic books, then you're definitely going to love this movie because it looks like a moving comic book playing out in front of you.
What is your most favourite scene or character from Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse?
Everything about the movie looks so beautiful. It's fresh and something we haven't seen before in animated movies. I also really love New York -- I'm so happy to get to work on some iconic night-time New York scenes on the film.
Do you have any favourite superheroes?
I would pick between Ironman and Spider-Man. But I think I probably liked Ironman more, because that guy has so many cool gadgets and stuff. I wish I had something like that too.
