Spider-Man Re-Animate feels like the kind of project that could only exist because of and thanks to internet culture.
The project, which was started by Ron Doucet, an animation director on Cartoon Network’s Teen Titans Go! series, uses different forms of animation and art from a variety of animators across the province of Nova Scotia in Canada to recreate an episode of Spider-Man. In the episode from 1967, J. Jonah Jameson is kidnapped by one of Spidey’s nemeses, the Vulture, and put next to a revolving pendulum. It’s up to Spider-Man to defeat Vulture and rescue Jameson before the newspaper editor gets cut in half.
Although this type of fan recreation video has been done in the past, the speed at which the different animation styles switch out and the homage to Spider-Man’s online legacy — including its meme culture — makes it feel pretty unique. Many of the animators who worked on the project are involved in other mediums, like comic books, and have worked on a variety of popular shows for a variety of networks, including FX and Disney XD.
The video can be a little disorienting at times, but the 11-minute project is pretty impressive and includes quite a few homages to other popular cartoon series and, of course, Spider-Man moments that fans of the superhero will appreciate.
Next year is amping up to be the year of Spider-Man. There’s a new animated series heading to Disney XD and a live-action film that will mark the superhero’s first feature-length movie as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Although there’s no premiere date for the animated series at this time, Spider-Man: Homecoming will be released on July 7, 2017.
