At first glance, Marcel the Shell is an offbeat choice for a movie protagonist. An inch-tall seashell with pink shoes and one googly eye, Marcel lives with his grandmother in an Airbnb. He was introduced in a series of short films posted online between 2010 and 2014. The documentary-style shorts involve Marcel talking about his life. Though they are cute, it doesn’t necessarily seem like there is sufficient substance for a feature-length movie. Somehow, cocreators Dean Fleischer-Camp (who directed/wrote/produced/edited/co-stars as himself) and Jenny Slate (who wrote/produced/voices Marcel) are able to go a long way on a little bit of story. They smartly decided Marcel didn’t need a bunch of plot to engage audiences. He is captivating the way he is. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is sweet and funny, with more than enough emotional depth to make up for anything it may be lacking.
The story is pretty simple: Marcel is being filmed for a documentary by houseguest Dean. When a few of the videos are uploaded to the internet and go viral, Marcel chooses to use this as an opportunity to find his family, who went missing a couple of years ago.
The movie’s most significant asset is Marcel himself. He is one of the more charming characters to hit the big-screen in some time. Kind, friendly, self-assured and incredibly clever, it is fun seeing how he compensates for his size. Marcel is clearly lonely, only having his beloved Grandmother Connie as a companion. However, part of what makes him so endearing is that he never feels sorry for himself. Marcel is not the type of character who would assume anyone would be interested in what he has to say. He is just over there living his life the best way he knows how. Jenny Slate’s voice work is very good, mixing a childlike excitement with a grown-up acceptance of the way things are.
Marcel and Connie are rendered in stop-motion animation. They don’t exactly fit smoothly with the live-action backgrounds/actors, yet that doesn’t really matter. Their somewhat unreal quality adds a sense of wonder to the mockumentary format. They way these tiny shells interact with their surroundings has a whimsy to it that is a key piece of the charm. A great deal of consideration was obviously given to the logistics of their house and the filmmakers get a lot of amusing visuals merely out of showing how Marcel does everyday things, such as opening the blinds or moving around his oversized (for him) home.
It is essentially a character study, which is not something particularly common among movies aimed at family audiences. There are no bad guys, action scenes or a flurry of pop-culture references. It is about life, as seen through the eyes of a seashell. It has laughs, an abundance of heart and a remarkably lovable title character. All of that other stuff would have gotten in the way.
The humor and likability of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On wasn’t truly a surprise. It seemed adorable from the trailer. What was surprising is how touching it is. Marcel’s gradually developing friendship with Dean, his devotion to his grandmother, his longing to be reunited with his family, his ingenuity in navigating his daily existence and his sunny worldview combine to become something unexpectedly thoughtful. A character study about a shell sounds strange, but it ended up being quite delightful.
—Ben Pivoz