Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022)

An anthropomorphic mollusc shell takes centre-stage in Dean Fleischer Camp’s charming animated feature. “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” is a quirky 90-minute affair that brings a character beloved by millions on YouTube to the big screen. Through a mix of stop-motion animation and live action, one inquisitive mollusk shell takes us on a miraculous adventure through one vacant Airbnb.

Marcel, a one-inch tall shell, leads an exciting life with his nana Connie and pet lint Alan in a vacant Airbnb. But when a man called Dean comes to stay in the house, Marcel becomes the subject of his documentary, introducing Dean to his quirky way of life. Being the subject of Dean’s documentary, Marcel opens up about his life and how he came to be in his position, revealing to Dean that he became separated from his family after the owners of the house, Larissa and Mark (Rosa Salazar & Thomas Mann), split and his family of shells ended up in Mark’s luggage. Over the course of the film we see Marcel open up to Dean about his life, and we get to see him through highs and lows as he tries to find, and reunite, with his family.

Jenny Slate voices the adventurous shell, the Golden Globe nominee delivers a remarkable voice performance that injects energy and eccentricity into the tiny mollusc shell. Slate leads an impressive cast, with director Dean Fleischer Camp and Isabella Rossellini each giving stellar supporting performances in their respective roles, with Camp playing himself and Rossellini playing Marcel’s grandmother Nana Connie. Camp shares electric chemistry with Slate, the pair’s bond lights up the film and makes Marcel a much more interesting and enjoyable character to watch on screen. “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” is a film that relies on its performances to keep the audience engaged with the film, and these three stellar outings by its talented, yet small cast manage to keep you invested in such a uniquely heartwarming film.

Perhaps what makes “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” such a unique film is that it does so much with so little, who would’ve thought a tiny shell from a crafts store and one man would be able to bring grown adults to tears? The animation not only seamlessly mixes with the live action aspects of the film, but also does an impressive job showing how Marcel and Nana Connie, and the other shells and creatures, all interact with the world around them, for example, trailing tiny footprints of honey across the walls or ‘ice-skating’ through dust. The film smoothly blends the animation genre with documentary, creating a neatly drawn together film that brings together the fiction of animation with the realness of a documentary. Not only does “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” blend genres, but the film manages to perfectly balance the rib-tickling comedy with the tearful emotion.

Dean Fleischer Camp directs an endearing 90-minute film that introduces Marcel the Shell with Shoes to a whole new range of people who may not be familiar with this quirky little shell. Stellar animation, combined with an impressive shift put in by Fleischer Camp as director, writer and actor, results in “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” being one of 2022’s most delightful films.