It's the closest thing I've seen to an actual comic book on screen.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse boasts some intense animation, with a crazy, kinetic style that keeps the story moving at a frantic pace. At the same time, elements of the printed form creep into the presentation, from textual sound effects to screen wipes and other features that remind viewers constantly that this is, at its heart, a four-color comic book.

And the story is pretty intense, too.

Miles Morales (voiced by Shameik Moore) is a Brooklyn kid who feels out of place, forced into an upscale charter school by his well-meaning cop dad and nurse mom who want him to rise above his upbringing.

Then a thing happens with a spider. I'm not sure how that worked, exactly; perhaps some understanding of Morales from the comics is required but, since I don't know how he became the new Spider-Man in Marvel Comics' Ultimate line, I can't say how closely this reflects that origin story. In any case, he gets bitten and develops powers -- most are just like the original Spider-Man's abilities, although he also gets invisibility and electrical powers as well. (No, I don't know why.)

He runs into the original Spider-Man (Chris Pine) battling Kingpin (Liev Schreiber), the Green Goblin (Jorma Taccone) and the Prowler (Mahershala Ali), and Spider-Man, against all odds, dies.

More stuff happens, some of it involving comic-book science, and the Marvel multiverse sort of implodes in on itself. Most of the world doesn't notice, but several variations on the Spider-Man theme from other universes fall into Morales's world.

Let's keep the introductions short. There's Gwen Stacy as Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld), the porcine Spider-Ham (John Mulaney), the black-and-white Spider-Man Noir (Nicolas Cage), the anime-driven Peni Parker (Kimiko Glenn) and an older, more busted-up version of Peter Parker (Jake Johnson).

Together, along with a little help from a grieving Aunt May (Lily Tomlin), they must stop the Kingpin from destroying the world.

That's enough about the plot. The point of this movie is, it looks cool, and it tells a great story. I don't think I've seen anything that looks quite like this, and the blending of bold visual styles is a treat for the senses. It's stylish, fresh and a whole lot of fun. Don't get me wrong, it has serious and touching moments, but by the end of the movie you're going to walk away with a big, goofy grin on your face.

And that, my friends, is a big win for everyone.