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The debate over how the Marvel Cinematic Universe depicts Peter Parker/Spider-Man has been interesting. After being introduced in “Captain America: Civil War” by Tony Stark, his subsequent appearances always made him feel like a Spider-Man seeking to impress his Iron Mentor. Even in his solo movies, many of Peter’s internal conflicts or notable villains’ motivations are linked to Stark. The MCU Spidey films benefited from Holland’s star-making performance and the fact that Peter Parker actually acted like a teen.
Still, it was frustrating to see Peter and his foes’ lack of agency in shaping their own stories outside of Stark. The Disney+ animated series “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” spins a new web on that discourse and returns to the roots of what makes Peter Parker Spider-Man. It’s a riveting series, although it’s better heard than seen for reasons we’ll get into later.
We know the basics of this story: Queens-based science whiz Peter Parker (Hudson Thames) lives with his Aunt May (Kari Whalgren) following the passing of their Uncle Ben. On the first day of freshman year at Midtown High School, right as Peter is making his first friend in gothic horror enthusiast Nico Minoru (Grace Song), an interdimensional battle between Dr. Strange and a Symbiote creature right on the campus grounds ensues. Pete interferes to protect a new friend, but in the aftermath, Pete is bitten by an interdimensional spider. We know the rest, as the show time jumps to a few months later: Peter has already integrated himself into the community as Spider-Man, saving the day from small-time crimes.
During the same events captured in “Civil War,” the wrong billionaire appears at Parker’s doorstep in Oscorp’s Norman Osborn (Colman Domingo, commanding the screen with each line read). He offers Parker an internship at Oscorp but subsequently learns he’s Spider-Man and offers to take him under his wing.
That’s not the only switch to the status quo, as his Midtown friend group features neither Ned nor MJ. However, the alternate Spiderverse characters here are more compelling. The one who stands out the most is football quarterback Lonnie Lincoln (Eugene Byrd). Peter first assumes that he’s just another stereotypical jock while envious that he’s dating his crush, the sweet-natured Pearl Pangan (Cathy Ang). Quickly, his expectations are subverted as they share the same passion for science and strike a genuine, heartfelt, and well-written bond. Lincoln has more to offer than meets the eye, as showrunner Jeff Trammell (of “Craig of the Creek” fame) and his writing team pen Lincoln a John Singleton-like tragic arc as he joins a Harlem gang to protect his younger brother. The writers cleverly interweave the web between his and Peter’s double lives, juxtaposing them both coming into their power, and it receives a remarkable payoff.
Within the first season’s ten episodes, the writers rework the script plaguing the most recent iteration of Peter Parker we’ve known for nearly a decade and follow through on the ‘what if Norman was Peter’s mentor’ set-up. Despite Osborn’s influence, Peter is confident in his morals, eager to assist others, and embodies the Spider-Man we all know and love. It’s truly the best animated iteration of Peter Parker since “The Spectacular Spider-Man.”
That said, the animation quality drags down the series’ quality exponentially. I haven’t felt strongly about how much writing triumphs over animation quality since “Hoodwinked.” Polygon Pictures, which has worked on other Disney projects, most notably “Tron: Uprising,” knows how to deliver quality work, but they were the wrong choice to bring an action-packed Spider-Man series to life. The ensemble design is strong across the board visually, but the character movement is stilted and floaty. Every action sequence is a slog, and the characters rarely emote. The background of NYC is hollow and lifeless, and every scene where Parker swings into the air looks like a cutscene from a Wii game. Even in the 3D “Spider-Man” animated series for MTV (starring Neil Patrick Harris as Peter Parker), the movement was more kinetic, and the characters were expressive. That was 2003!
“Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” has the same issue as Disney Animation’s “Wish”: It wants to adapt to the 2D/3D animated style that Spider-Verse pioneered but doesn’t want to conform, so they go for a middle ground that doesn’t satisfy anyone. It’s a frustrating feat that does a disservice to the strong visual look and outstanding writing the series has. Flying Bark Productions, which animates Disney Channel’s stylish animated series “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur,” would’ve been a solid fit for the show as their portrait of NYC is exuberant and lively in every frame. As is, “Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man” looks great on the page, but doesn’t exactly leap, or wall-crawl, off it.
Whole season screened for review. Premieres on January 29th on Disney+.
from Roger Ebert https://ift.tt/PLZuHmC
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