Marcel The Shell With Shoes On: Sometimes The Biggest Marvels Come In The Smallest Of Shells
Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.
A wholesome hybrid of stop-motion and live-action, Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is an affably effervescent and breezy little adventure about tiny shells and “big feeling.” It’s a highly imaginative, downright touching, and wholly hilarious 90 minutes that goes down incredibly smooth, and given the whirlwind of bad feeling and sour news that’s flooded the media over the recent months, the film is precisely the kind of lighthearted and adorable entertainment that the world needs right now. At the very least, it offers audiences a reprieve from the woes of the outside world, but in its best moments, its hopeful demeanor and uplifting messaging is so surprisingly infectious that it may cause you to see the world in a new light, or even restore your faith in humanity, however briefly.
Framed as a “documentary” that’s initiated by what a filmmaker, named Dean (played by actual co-writer and director Dean Fleischer-Camp), finds in his Airbnb, the film centers around Marcel (voiced by comedian and co-screenwriter Jenny Slate), a one-inch-tall talking shell, and his grandmother, Nanna Connie (voiced by the always lovely Isabella Rossellini). What begins as a portrait of Marcel quickly blossoms into something slightly bigger: a quest to locate Marcel’s lost community of shells in an attempt to reconnect them. Although Dean is adamant on keeping the focus on Marcel, like many documentarians, he becomes a major part of the film’s story and its arc.
Thematically, the film keys in on separation and connection within the context of relationships in various forms. Both Marcel’s family situation and his friendship with Dean are products of divorce. The former was initiated by the parting ways of the married couple who own the home Marcel’s family occupied and the man’s hasty departure, which whisked away Marcel’s colony; the latter was brought on by a breakup, which left Dean in desperate need of a place to stay. The devastation of each circumstance resulted in its own form of heartbreak, but much of the film is spent illustrating how these tears become mended and how every disconnection leads to new connection or reconnection.
It even uses the internet as a plot device that oozes with a bit of irony as it showcases the yin and yang of how it connects us. When Marcel is introduced to the internet and its wonders (as Dean’s short portraits of Marcel have become a YouTube sensation, which, given Marcel’s origins, veers even further into the meta), he’s enamored by its beauty, entertainment value, and potential. He even tries to use it to solicit help to find his colony, but in true satirical fashion, he finds out firsthand how disconnected it can make you feel. But it all works out in the end, as Dean’s uploaded videos of Marcel also attract the attention of 60 Minutes’ Leslie Stahl (who Nana and Marcel are avid fans of), and she’s able to work her journalistic magic to neat and tidy ends.
Although it works its themes carefully, its threadbare plot occasionally makes it feel as though it’s running in place. It’s never fully without direction, but it definitely ambles about in a way that sometimes loses momentum. Luckily, it’s filled with so much charm and artistry that it never becomes too much of a detriment. Some of its best moments come from how it fills the world full of whimsy and wonder. Marcel makes the world feel larger than life, literally and figuratively, and the film has the capacity to make you feel touched by all the little things we often take for granted.
Filled with poetic flourishes and underscored by some lovely compositions from Disasterpiece, Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is proof that sometimes the biggest marvels come in the tiniest of shells. It’s an innocuous little picture that’s occasionally profound and frequently laugh-out-loud funny. In the wake of the pandemic, its emphasis on reconnection and coming out of your metaphorical shell to embrace life and share it, feel especially needed and resonant. Sure, it lacks a bit of narrative propulsion and surprise, but its message and its presentation are too smile-inducing to really hate on or be upset about. If Everything Everywhere All At Once was the feel-good hit of spring, Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is the feel-good hit of the summer.
Recommendation: Brisk and breezy, hilarious and heartwarming, Marcel The Shell The Shell With Shoes On is gleefully cutesy cinematic medicine. Definitely give it a watch!
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!