Marcel the Shell with Shoes On review

MARCEL THE SHELL WITH SHOES ON: 

THIS LITTLE TALKING SHELL WILL DELIGHT AND TUG AT YOUR HEARTSTRINGS!

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

A24

A little shell goes on a big adventure in Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

 

            A talking shell goes where no shell has gone before in Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, a mockumentary film that combines live-action and stop-motion animation, based on the 2010 short film of the same name. While I’ve never seen the original short, I was fascinated by the film when I first saw the trailer and despite not seeing the short, I could tell it was based on one because the whole movie looked like one of those shorts that you’d see at the Oscars except stretched out to feature-length. 

            This also marks A24’s first venture into animation (Not counting the upcoming animated series based on Hazbin Hotel!) who have been on a roll lately in terms of film with releases such as Ex-Machina, Moonlight, Room, The Farewell, The Disaster Artist, Lady Bird, Hereditary, and The Lighthouse being some of the best films I saw in their respective years. Even this year alone with Everything Everywhere All at Once currently as my best film of 2022, so I was intrigued to see this independent studio take on animation…and it’s delightful! 

            Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is one of the most wholesome films I’ve seen in a while, and I don’t mean that as mindless fluff. In a summer where subpar animated features like Lightyear and Minions: The Rise of Gru dominate the box-office, it’s nice to see something in animation that’s very unique and one of a kind with a ton of originality and doesn’t rely on popular animated/family movie tropes. 

            The film follows Marcel (voiced by Jenny Slate-Bob’s Burgers, Zootopia, The Secret Life of Pets 1 and 2 who also co-created the short), a one-inch anthropomorphic, talking shell with a googly eye (Which I’m realizing is starting to become a theme in A24 films!) and tiny shoes living with his grandmother, Nanna Connie (voiced by Isabella Rossellini-Blue Velvet, Death Becomes Her, Incredibles 2) in an Airbnb home. Their lives are being documented by filmmaker, Dean (Co-creator and the film’s director, Dean Fleischer-Camp) and Marcel quickly becomes an internet sensation when the videos are uploaded to YouTube. 

            After garnering a large online fanbase as well as being interviewed on 60 Minutes (Which happens to be he and his grandmother’s favorite show!), Marcel gains the courage to embark on a life-changing adventure in search for his long-lost family. 

            The film also stars Rosa Salazar (The Divergent Series: Insurgent, Maze Runner 2 and 3, Alita: Battle Angel) as Larissa, Thomas Mann (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Kong: Skull Island, Halloween Kills) as Mark, Andy Richter (Madagascar franchise, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Semi-Pro) as Mario, Nathan Fielder (Nathan for You, The Night Before, The Disaster Artist) as Justin, Jessi Klein (Chappelle’s Show, Inside Amy Schumer) as Judy, Peter Bonerz (McGurk: A Dog’s Life, Nobody’s Perfekt, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege) as The Maestro, and Lesley Stahl, Conan O’Brien, and Brian Williams as themselves. 

            Overall, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On takes the cake as the most feel-good movie I’ve seen all year as well as being one of the best films I’ve seen so far in 2022. I was thoroughly delighted and emotionally invested in this film as I was watching it, to the point where I actually want to check out the original YouTube videos that inspired it. 

            I will say, the plot isn’t anything groundbreaking as we’ve heard stories like this before, a character known by very few people becomes an overnight sensation and the whole child finding his missing family premise. However, the film itself is so sweet, so charming, and so thought-provoking that it makes this simple narrative work to its advantage.

            And a lot of that is because Marcel the Shell himself is such an endearing character, he’s adorable, curious, and irresistibly charming with a lot of childlike wonder, not to mention an excellent vocal performance by Jenny Slate. Some of his best scenes involve his relationship with his aging grandmother which is incredibly sweet and the emotional highlights of the film while also having excellent chemistry with the cameraman, Dean. 

            Despite being a movie with a talking shell that’s aimed at kids (to an extent), the themes and subject matter explored are handled in a very mature and realistic way. Themes of isolation, loneliness, dysfunctional relationships, and even death are explored in this film, and I appreciate how they don’t sugar-coat the heavy content for the kids, these are very relatable and relevant things for kids to discuss with their parents and even adults who have felt those emotions before while also taking advice from the titular talking shell to look on the brighter side of things. 

            The animation on the characters is beautiful and even though they’re a little exaggerated and semi-cartoonish, they interact with the live-action world flawlessly. I also love the imagination this film has, especially from the little contraptions the shells made around the house, slices of bread acting like a bed, and how Marcel and Nanna Connie’s garden is literally inside an old wheelbarrow, Marcel gives Arrietty and the Borrowers a run for their money in terms of tiny resources. 

            What more can I say? Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is the kind of film that can put even the biggest sourpusses in the best of moods without shying away from the more poignant moments. It has stunning animation, lovable characters, an intelligent script, and a lot of heart, all the ingredients that make a great film wrapped up in one teeny tiny shell.