See ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' this Sunday, Feb. 16

Head to the Mission Viejo Civic Center this Sunday, February 16 to see “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” as part of the free Film of Character program.

The movie, which starts at 1 pm in the Council Chamber, highlights this month’s character trait of “unity” and contains a vital element that has been missing from too many recent superhero movies: fun. The main Spider-Man, in whose universe a variation on the familiar original story unfolds, is a Brooklyn middle-schooler named Miles Morales (Shameik Moore). The son of a hospital worker (Luna Lauren Velez) and a police officer (Brian Tyree Henry), Miles is a new transfer to an elite boarding school where the side effects of the radioactive spider bite compound the usual humiliations and anxieties of adolescence.

Like his arachnid-bitten comrades — and with the counsel of an out of shape “Peter B. Parker” from a different dimension — Miles undergoes an initiation we have witnessed many times. He passes through stages of bewilderment, excitement and grief on his way to learning that “with great power comes great responsibility.”

The story is clever and just complicated enough, moving quickly through silly bits, pausing for moments of heart-tugging sentiment and losing itself in wild creative mischief.

The characters feel liberated by animation, and the audience will, too. Old-style graphic techniques commingle with digital wizardry. To view the movie's trailer, click this link.

For more information, call 949-470-8436.