It’s no secret that superhero movies have been ruling the box office for quite some time now. Classic comic books recreated on the big screen with massive budgets is something truly special. That being said, there are an awful lot of them and not all of them fully capture the magic of the source material. There have been times when live action adaptations haven’t quite been able to recreate the look or feel of a comic. Sometimes they are forced to use bad CGI while other times they make gigantic changes, like Redwing being a drone instead of a falcon in the MCU, the X-Men wearing all black leather, or the Dark Knight trilogy being more grounded and realistic compared to comics. 

Plus, whether it be from superhero movie fatigue or certain studios not trying quite as hard as they once did, it seems that many folks have been less excited about newer live action superhero movies. That’s definitely not to say that they’ve been bad. In fact, most of them are usually extremely fun to watch and some are especially fantastic, must-see films. It is worth noting, though, if animated superhero films are the way to go in the future.

Obviously, live action superhero movies are still a huge success. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 wowed critics and audiences and was a box office hit. However, studios and audiences also need to realize that animated big screen adaptations can be just as entertaining and successful.

Both Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have been cinematic triumphs. The LEGO Batman Movie was loved by critics and audiences. DC’s slew of straight-to-DVD animated films are usually extremely entertaining and are clearly successful enough they’re able to continue making more. DC League of Super-Pets is positively charming. The upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem looks incredible, and an early screening at the Annecy International Film Festival received a standing ovation.

It’s clear that these animated superheroes movies are being praised by those who see them. They’ve each gained millions of fans, but there aren’t nearly as many animated superhero films coming out as live action ones. That needs to change.

Animation allows filmmakers to do things that can’t be done in live action. With the power of animation, anything is possible. Not only can laser eyes, energy blasts, explosions, giant robots, killer aliens, interdimensional portals, and the like look organic to the world they’re in, but the overall aesthetic of a comic book can also be captured. Movies are visual media, so the visuals are vital. The heroes looking like normal people from the bland real world isn’t quite as captivating as the various visual styles used for Miles Morales’ web-slinging adventures in the Spider-Verse films.

Those who work on the live action movies are able to pull off some fantastic feats with the immersive special effects. They just wouldn’t need to do so and could do much more with an animated movie. Most of the special effects in modern superhero movies are CGI, which is essentially a form of animation. Why not make animated movies if parts of the live action ones are animated anyway?

Live action superhero movies don’t need to go away or be looked at as less, but it’s certainly time that more animated ones are made and looked at more seriously.

Related: Animation is For Everyone