Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.
- Released: 2022-05-04
- Runtime: 90 minutes
- Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy
- Stars: Jenny Slate, Dean Fleischer-Camp, Isabella Rossellini, Thomas Mann, Rosa Salazar, Lesley Stahl, Nathan Fielder, Andy Richter, Sarah Thyre, Jessi Klein, Peter Bonerz
- Director: Dean Fleischer-Camp
Comments
- BadRoosevelt - 22 April 2024
Whimsical film is only briefly fascinating; novelty wears off very quickly
A premise can be sweet, cute, endearing and sincere. But sometimes that is not enough. It also has to be interesting and insightful. An allegory is meant to stand for something. But is an allegory really good at standing for something when it's too peculiar, muddled or off-kilter in itself? That's a good question when to ask as you're watching this twee film about a tiny shell that copes with a diminished existence when its community is upended by a change in the living situation of the young couple that lived in the house the shell calls home and the world.
It tries to be philosophical but gets stuck in some weirdness. It's at its best when it touches on the phenomenon of rapid social media fame. The idea of a shell as the subject and protagonist of a homemade documentary by an airBrB visitor only goes so far. The film tries and tries to strike a chord and only connects some of the time. This shell's story soon becomes an odd thing to get invested in and before long, you'll be wondering where it's even going, if you still care in the end. Given the critical hype, I'm going to ring this up as a misfire. - mikelpcl - 3 January 2024
Full of heart. Americans making a ghibli movie, and succeeding
Marcel catches you from the very first second and doesn't let you go.
It's a heartfelt movie, with characters you will immediately come to care about. It's a shell, and you still care about it.
It's constantly creative, sweet and fun. But still gives you that little bit of satire. But more than anything else, it's sincere and made with so much love.
Technically, you won't find any fault. The animation is exquite, the whole movie has such great sense of rhythm, ...
I'm trying to think about how to describe it, and I think I must say it's just as if a bunch of Americans made a good Ghibli movie.
It's THAT good.
