Yes, Stan Lee was known for punctuating his commentary with a hearty “excelsior!”. But this cute animated short, using some archival recordings from the Marvel Comics legend in action, sees him express a fondness for a shorter, equally emphatic bit of profanity.
“Sessions With Stan” is the product of animator Kosperry and Aron Fromm (via Laughing Squid), a former sound editor for Lee who worked with him for nearly a decade. Taken from an archival recording Fromm had of Lee performing some VO work, the short, sweet video sees the late writer, preparing to deliver one of his trademark excelsiors, instead celebrate the the simple joy of, well… saying “fuck.”
The animation is wonderfully done, capturing Lee’s little foibles as he admires the “so-called dirty word” — that he of course would never say as he doesn’t curse, he charmingly notes. But the recording itself is just a delight, as Lee launches from his campaign to legitimise cursing right into the “excelsior!” takes Fromm actually needed to record from him, and right back into having a laugh with everyone around him. It’s a lovely, if profane, remembrance of an icon.