Marcel the Shell with Shoes On - Review

 

If you’d placed bets years ago on what A24’s first animated film would be, chances are you likely would’ve either bet on something crude and adult or something wistful and abstract. Well, neither is here because instead director/writer Dean Fleischer Camp, in his directorial debut, and writers Nick Paley (“Broad City”), Elisabeth Holm (“Obvious Child,” “Landline”), and writer/voice of the titular shell Jenny Slate (“Gifted,” “Parks and Recreation”) have brought this little stop-motion shell boy to the big screen in the sweetest and most sincere of ways.

The film follows Marcel, the titular shell, as he lives with his grandmother Nanna Connie, voiced by Isabella Rossellini (“Blue Velvet,” “Death Becomes Her”). Filmed in a documentary fashion, Dean plays himself staying at the Airbnb where Marcel and his grandmother live and films them going about their lives and experiencing the world around them and the newfound fame from Dean’s YouTube shorts of the pair.

It's hard to truly communicate how incredible the film looks at times. It’s as if every single set is just a diorama rather than an actual house, with minuscule cinematography that boggles the mind. It’s not that the film attempts any sort of realism, but that what it does attempt is a cohesive look. The experience of watching this film is like being a kid again, simply looking around with wonder and a smile and saying “Yes, of course this is how a tiny talking shell would move around.”

Slate is an absolute delight. What must have started as just a funny voice she can do has evolved into a truly emotional, heartbreaking portrayal of this lovable young shell boy. She’s the heart and soul of the movie, imparting childlike whimsy and profound moments of observation in equal measures. Likewise, Rossellini is also a wonderful voice for Nanna Connie. She’s like the warm, spunky grandmother everyone wishes they had, helping to not only encourage Dean and Marcel, but also providing a sense of comfort in the film’s low stakes plot.

The low stakes, slower pace of the plot is absolutely not a hinderance however. It all comes back to Marcel and his grandmother and the banter back and forth. It feels so natural to watch, with the sort of cadence that makes it feel like the film was shot casually and then animated around the collected dialogue, like the old “Creature Comforts” shorts.

This casual nature extends to the humor as well. It’s not a film with jokes so much as with amusing scenarios and dialogue. It’s hard to truly communicate the sheer childlike delight that can spread across one’s face when listening to Marcel explain his “breadroom” where he sleeps on a piece of bread. It succeeds in both building the miniature whimsy of the world and also providing some truly amusing, delightful bit of humor.

But its not just a quirky movie about a talking stop-motion shell. There are some shockingly profound statements on family and fear, on how to toss fear to the side and simply live life. It’s surprisingly melancholy in its conclusion, successfully mixing it all together into a package that feels truly fresh and wholly original. It will gently rock you to sleep with Slate's soft voice and delightful music as its also causing you to silently cry through its emotional revelations.

“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” is a quaint title for a film where calling it simply pleasant would be an understatement. It’s often time remarkable to behold as you wonder how exactly it was made, and that desire to learn quickly fades away as you get wrapped up in the adorable, tiny, philosophical world of Marcel and the rest of his kind. Slate is perfect and the film is often times exceptionally gorgeous. It’s hard to describe the kind of feeling one gets while watching a movie like this. It’s like a big hug, a warm delight. Or, more plainly, just a really really nice movie. 4.5/5