Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Main character Miles Morales, who's Puerto Rican and Black, is the first Afro-Latino superhero to headline a Marvel movie. (He's voiced by Jamaican American actor Shameik Moore.) Other Black characters include Miles' father and uncle. In smaller roles, Peni Parker is voiced by Kimiko Glenn, who's biracial White and Japanese. A few women have important roles, such as Aunt May, Gwen Stacy, and villain Doc Ock, but their storylines do orbit around male characters.

Intense large-scale action violence/destruction/explosions and close-up fighting/confrontation, nearly always between a Spider-person and enemies (monsters, villains, etc.). Frequent suspense/peril and potential for mortal danger. Chases, pursuits, narrow escapes; the multiverse portal dangerously destabilizes the city. For the most part, superhero powers/laser-type weapons are used for fights/combat, but an actual gun is used to injure/kill a few characters. And (spoiler alert!) characters do die: Not only does one Peter Parker/Spider-Man die at the hands of a supervillain fairly early in the film, but so does an important secondary character later on. In quick flashbacks, various Spideys share whom they've lost; a villain's personal losses are also shown.

Miles flirts with Gwen using a move he learns from his Uncle Aaron. They later make eyes at each other but don't go further than hugging. Uncle Aaron jokes that his nephew has to have "game." A married couple embraces. Uncle Aaron says "smart girls is where it's at."

"What the..." (unfinished), "crap," "hell," "dang," "freakin'"; insults like "janky," "old," "broke," "hobo," "fat," "stupid," "dumb," and "pig."

Parents need to know that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a funny, original, action-packed animated Marvel adventure that centers on Brooklyn teen Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore). He becomes a new Spider-Man and ends up meeting other Spider-people from parallel universes. It's sure to appeal to Spidey fans of all ages, and it's more tween friendly than the live-action wall-crawler movies, but it's still pretty intense. And while the violence is mostly cartoonish, there are lots of fights that involve weapons (including guns), injuries, and even death. (Spoiler alert: One version of Spider-Man dies, as does an important supporting character.) There's also large-scale destruction, as well as frequent peril, suspense, and mortal danger. Characters flirt a little and occasionally use words like "crap," "hell," "dang," "fat," "stupid," and "dumb." But kids won't fail to notice the movie's Afro-Latino and Black main characters, plus clear messages about friendship, courage, mentoring, perseverance, teamwork, and (of course!) the nature of power and responsibility. Jake Johnson, Hailee Steinfeld, and Nicolas Cage co-star.

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