Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is an extraordinary, original work by Dean Fleischer-Camp and Nick Paley that has Best Animated Feature written all over it. It’s a delightful tale, beautifully told.
Marcel (the voice of Jenny Slate) is a one-inch-high shell from a large community of shells. Now only he and his grandmother Connie (Isabella Rossellini) remain. An amateur documentary filmmaker, Dean (Dean Fleischer-Camp) steps into their Airbnb residence. After talking to Marcel, Dean decides to make a doco about him, which he posts on YouTube – which of course goes viral. It attracts the interest of 60 Minutes and Marcel’s favourite reporter on the program Lesley Stahl (the real Lesley Stahl), who sets about interviewing Marcel and Dean. Marcel reveals his desire to find his family, a search that ends up going global.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On became an unexpected internet sensation when the one-eyed mollusc made his YouTube debut in 2010. He earned millions of fans globally, spawning two more online shorts and New York Times bestselling books. The screenplay is from Fleischer-Camp, Slate and Paley.
The film is something special. The stop motion animation is state-of-the-art. Melding it so seamlessly with live action and such natural dialogue is a work of genius. I was left aghast at the sheer creativity and masterful execution. Marcel is such a charming, unassuming, easily relatable character. He doesn’t hold back on his emotions and is forthright, honest and honourable. The delivery by Slate and Fleischer-Camp appears so effortless, as Marcel and Dean interact without pretence.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a trailblazer, a movie unlike any other I have seen. It’s wonderful, warm and wondrous.
Alex First
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Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.