Worth: $18.50
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Cast:
Jenny Slate (voice), Isabella Rossellini (voice), Dean Fleischer-Camp, Rose Salazar, Thomas Mann
Intro:
... one of the most captivating animated films of the year, but beyond that, it is also the most generally enchanting piece of cinema.
Who would have thought that some of the most profound messages about life, love, family, community, and grief would come from a one-inch-tall anamorphic mollusc?
Yet, in Dean Fleischer-Camp’s stop-animation wonder Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, the little shell (voiced by Fleischer-Camp’s former partner and Marcel co-creator, Jenny Slate) is a fount of wit and wisdom with his innocent and wide (singular) eyed view of the world.
Originally appearing in 2012 as a YouTube short, Marcel made two other appearances before he was given the chance to appear in a feature film. The shorts can be found here, here, and here.
Scriptwriters Fleischer-Camp, Slate, and Nick Paley fold the shorts gently into the long form film – taking some of the aspects of the shorts that defined Marcel’s curious and excitable personality and fleshing them out to craft a full-length narrative.
Marcel and his Nana Connie (Isabella Rossellini) live in what is now an Airbnb. Previously, it was the house shared by a now broken-up couple, Larissa (Rose Salazar) and Mark (Thomas Mann). The house was a haven for Marcel’s large and boisterous family, but since Mark left, Marcel’s family have gone missing (hidden in a sock drawer, they were transported to who knows where).
Dean Fleischer-Camp, playing a version of himself (which is sometimes quite raw), ends up at the Airbnb after the breakdown of his relationship, and notices Marcel. He decides to make a documentary about the little chap and his ingenious methods of living, now that the house is empty of the couple.
It’s impossible not to fall in love with Marcel and Nana Connie. Both characters are imbued with a sense of wonder about the world. Marcel is a sharp and endearing presence with the excitability of a child. Nana Connie is a kindly grandmother who has learned to garden, cares about insects, and reads poetry. She might not be as clear minded as she was in her youth, but she has reflective insights about Marcel and what he needs to grow.
The set-up is fairly simple; Dean makes the little films about Marcel and uploads them to his YouTube channel. Soon, the adorable interviews with Marcel go viral and they come up with the idea that the internet just might be able to help Marcel and Connie reunite with their loved ones.
Of course, the internet (being the internet) brings with it a level of fame but also a slew of people using Marcel to promote themselves – “It’s an audience, it’s not a community,” Marcel laments. No one is actually that interested in helping Marcel find his family.
Eventually, the videos lead to 60 Minutes being interested in running Marcel’s story. Lesley Stahl wants to interview Marcel, but the young shell needs a lot of convincing to allow anyone in the home again.
Connie has to persuade Marcel to allow people to help. “Don’t use me as an excuse not to live,” she tells him. The little guy is afraid. “What if everything changes again?” he asks her. Her simple answer is, “Marcelo, it will.”
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On wears its heart on its charming sleeve but never sinks into emotional manipulation to tell the story. Marcel is simply wondrous; from his amazing inventions (a tennis ball as a mode of transport, a kitchen mixer as a way to shake fruit down, his “Breadroom”) to his glorious affirmations of self and others. “Guess why I smile a lot? Because it’s worth it,” and “I like myself.” Ideas that people should pay attention to.
With the mixture of live action and stop-motion, the film could have fallen into an uncanny valley situation, but through the work of cinematographers Eric Adkins and Bianca Cline, there is no disconnect. The audience easily accepts the reality that Dean is talking to a shell, and the shell is talking back.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is one of the most captivating animated films of the year, but beyond that, it is also the most generally enchanting piece of cinema. Allow yourself to see with Marcel and Connie’s eye(s) and you will see that the world can always “Begin afresh, afresh, afresh,” and life is something beautiful that even when tinged with sadness can bring new and unexpected joys.
