It’s no secret Stan Lee is the pinnacle of cultural icons; a creator/writer who has brought us some of the most transcendent stories in comics, graphic novels, and films. With a career spanning nearly 50 years, Lee’s stories and characters have infiltrated nearly every facet of media. His work at Marvel Comics has been integral to the global scale of cultural iconography, and the new Disney+ documentary “Stan Lee” peels back the curtain a bit to let him tell his life story in his own words.
This isn’t the first documentary to be made about Lee, but it is the first of its kind based on how uniquely the story is told. Narrated by Lee himself, “Stan Lee” is a journey through his life and career, highlighting key events that influenced the timeless stories we hold so dear and continue to reimagine even after all this time. It is a celebratory memoir of a man synonymous with heroes that continue to feel transcendent and carry his memory into the future.
Directed by David Geib, “Stan Lee” is a historical retelling of the Lee’s life through his own words. Almost all of the narration is aggregated from interviews Lee gave over the years, and seeks to paint of a picture of the man behind the comic. These are best kinds of documentaries, ones that do away with the talking heads and journalist interviews and let the life speak for itself. Recent outings like “Lucy and Desi” and “Arnold” also take this approach, letting their subject interpret their own life instead of letting others shape it how they see fit. Of course, this skews some of the more controversial aspects of his career (which we will talk about later) but largely remains focused on who Lee is, what he accomplished, and the long lasting impact of the characters and stories he created. If you’ve ever wanted to gain a deeper understanding about the creation of Marvel and the ever changing effects of comics on the culture throughout the years, “Stan Lee” is probably the best execution of that.
The film is uniquely told through reanimated miniatures from Fonco Studios, interspersed with interview clips and comic panels. The animation is refreshing in “Stan Lee,” acting as a sort of meta narrative of how Lee would create stories based on pre-drawn panels. It feels very appropriate for how Lee would want his life story to be told, and Laci Barker’s artistry shines as we move through his life from beginning to end. Lee is largely honest and forthcoming, maintaining that self deprecating charm and self aware humor as he recounts his experiences. “Stan Lee” doesn’t really cover anything you may not already know, but it is fascinating to watch it be reimagined through animation as his familiar voiceover details the events.
The nondescript timeline of the interviews is a bit distracting, as “Stan Lee” never defines when the interviews being used were given. This leads to a rather broad brush approach to a very complex and complicated career, and the lack of time stamping makes “Stan Lee” feel more like a tribute than an actual documentary.
It’s clear that that was intentional, because for all the great things that “Stan Lee” does, Geib has no interest in getting into the more controversial aspects of Lee’s long career. We can put our heads in the sand all we want, but the reality of his nasty business practices and ugly fallouts with his artists and friends who played just as big of roles in creating the Marvel brand as he did are no longer fallacy or hearsay.
Though Geib tries to briefly touch on the subject by including a very uncomfortable call between Jack Kirby and Lee towards the end, it merely scratches the surface of the deeper issues. This omission makes “Stan Lee” a slightly frustrating watch. It is so one sided in its portrayal of Lee that it becomes hard to take everything at face value. The stripped down, wonderfully animated, personal account of his life from his own words works well enough, but doesn’t quite capture it all by refusing to address the gigantic elephant in the room.
But I guess there isn’t really a reason to get into the nitty gritty here, as “Stan Lee” isn’t meant to be a tell all book adapted into a documentary. Its sole purpose is to serve as a touching tribute to a man credited with so much culturally entrenched storytelling and characters it feels impossible to truly capture it all. Disney is a brand at heart, a corporation dead set on making as much money as possible and painting all of its prized pupils and cherished creators in the most positive light possible. So it shouldn’t be all that surprising that “Stan Lee” is only about the positive impacts and brushes over the dirty work. And that’s perfectly fine, because while one can find many faults in Lee and his business practices, it’s hard not to appreciate those positive things that Gieb puts front and center.
“Stan Lee” is a solid documentary worth checking out. If for nothing else, the exploration of the history of Marvel is fascinating and well executed enough to be worth the watch. “Stan Lee” is a love letter to the creator and the creation, and reminds us that stories can last forever if we’re willing to let them.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 Stars
“Stan Lee” is now streaming on Disney Plus. You can watch the trailer below.
