Review of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022) by Markhreviews — 20 Jul 2022

As his name suggests, Marcel is a shell. He’s one inch tall. He has a large eye on the right side of his head and he wears sneakers on his barely visible feet. Marcel has a unique perspective on the world due to his height and his ability to view the world with wide-eyed, child-like wonder. Marcel has a rich, evocative vocabulary and he’s got a lot to say.

Fortunately, “Marcel...“came to the attention of Cinereach, a nonprofit trust that provides awards and grants for film production, early in the creative process. One can only imagine what this film might have become if left to Hollywood’s tender mercies. For example, one studio was very enthusiastic about producing a buddy movie that paired Marcel with John Cena. @#$%^&*.

Dean (Dean Fleischer-Camp) discovers Marcel (voiced by Jenny Slate – “Bob’s Burgers,” “The Great North,” “Big Mouth” animated series) when he moves into an Airbnb for temporary lodging. Dean discovers that Marcel lives only with his grandmother Connie (voiced by Isabella Rossellini) and his pet, Alan, a piece of lint. Life has its challenges since, as Marcel explains, “It’s pretty much common knowledge that it takes at least 20 shells to have a community.” The balance of the film offers Marcel’s unique perspective on the world around him (“Some people say my head is too big for my body. And then I say, ‘Compared to what?’”). The story is driven by his search for his family following a mysterious disaster. Dean makes a YouTube video to facilitate Marcel’s search. Marcel gains millions of followers. He is interviewed by Lesley Stahl on “60 Minutes.” This feature film, which clocks in at 89 minutes, is based on a series of short films created by Camp and Slate that became a YouTube phenomenon. Here, Director/Writer Camp uses a mockumentary style that involves both stop-motion and live action sequences. Many scenes in the film involve Camp, off-camera, posing questions to Marcel. The overall effect of this effort is sweet, touching and heartfelt.

This is also a film with lofty ambitions; it’s totally unwilling to simply coast along on Marcel’s irresistibility. It’s a movie that has a lot to say about self-belief, about the importance of community and about the value of risk-taking and adventure. Most pointedly, it underlines the value of hope in the face of the realistically scary obstacles that abound in the real world. Rossellini’s Connie plays an essential role here. While Marcel’s diminutive size evokes our protective instincts and his intelligence and perceptiveness charm us, Connie shows that Marcel isn’t perfect. Through Connie, we see the fragility that lies just beneath Marcel’s bravado. She deftly helps him undo a few tidy, but premature, conclusions about the world around him. And, like my own grandmother, Connie is a role model who soldiers on in life and counsels Marcel that he shouldn’t give up on his dreams just because they’re scary.

Slate and Camp spent seven years on this passion project before it was finally brought to the big screen. “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” is worth every moment of their efforts. It’s one of the best films of the year.