Jenny Slate is no stranger to an unforgettable comedic role. She played the spoiled and petulant Mona-Lisa Saperstein in Parks and recreationnot; a rancid headboard in the Kroll Show sketch “PubLIZity;” and Bob’s Burgers Valley’s daughter, Tammy. But the one closest to him comes straight from his voice and his heart: a tiny, curious shell named Marcel, the title character of the 2010 YouTube stop-motion sensation “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.”
Marcel, with his stumbling, nasal voice and sweet observations, has come a long way since his YouTube debut. Slate, along with her former husband, director Dean Fleischer-Camp, resurrected the seashell for their latest feature film, A24’s Marcel the shod shell. The largely improvised film, which also stars Isabella Rossellini as Marcel’s grandmother, Nana Connie, gives the anthropomorphized shell a touching story. Marcel and Nana Connie live alone in a human-sized house in Los Angeles, but that hasn’t always been the case. Previous tenants, a feuding couple, ended things on bad terms – and in the breakup, Marcel’s entire extended family, who had been living in sock drawers, were packed up and hastily moved out. The house becomes an AirBnB and the temporary residence of a budding filmmaker named Dean (played by Fleischer-Camp himself), who meets and befriends Marcel, making him the subject of a documentary.
The film is tender, moving and curious – everything Slate is looking for in the world.
“With Marcel, it was the first time that as an actress, I really understood what I was trying to achieve, which is to say a kind of kindness that I really need from the others,” she said on Zoom. “Like Marcel’s tenderness, the way he shows himself at the same time without showing himself, the way he presents himself in a complex way and the way he is really funny while being touching, this performance is also a request or a wish of how I would like to be treated and what I would like to see in my world.
Ahead, Slate talks about adapting Marcel’s story for the big screen, motherhood, and working with a legend like Rossellini.
I remember the internet age when Marcel the Shell hit YouTube, and it was really nice to see that on the big screen. How was the adaptation process for you?
There are so many different parts. It took seven years to make this film. And the first of these years was to lock the audio playback, everything said in the movie was created first. I think when you’re trying to make a movie, when you’re trying to tell people you have this beautiful idea that at least you think you’re beautiful, at least to me at that time, I was so excited to have the idea. I was so excited to have this thing, but I felt so far from actually being able to do it.
And then the process was so bit by bit, bit by bit. In a way, it’s wonderful because you can look back and realize that you’ve amassed a lot or traveled a great distance. But for now, you keep re-engaging and re-engaging and re-engaging. I like it a lot because there is not a lot of pressure. It’s not like a stand-up show where it’s like, you have to go, you have to say everything and then you have to leave. And this is the only chance to do this stand-up show.
With the making of this movie, he came back with an open mind every time. Try to remember everything said before, keep the character consistent. I just found the process to be so worth my time. I want to do thorough work. I want to do work that somehow surprisingly shows what is going on in my own emotional existence and unexpectedly shows what I find beautiful. There are so many things about what is beautiful that Dean and I agree on. It’s also really good that this deal really helped. And that what you see in the film is apart from everything else is two artists, the two creators who actually share something that they think is beautiful and they want to release and we had to lead it together all this way.
What’s the difference between the creative muscles you work when playing Marcel versus another type of comedy?
I think when I would be doing a TV show, especially if I wasn’t writing the character, you kind of get into a costume in a way that other people have created and they trust you to present it in a proper way , and not let it fall flat on his face. And I really like that. I think it’s so, so, so much fun. And a big part of that for me is that while I want to show off my talent, it puts me on the sidelines a lot. It’s the only part of myself that I show is that I’m capable of being that other thing. While with Marcel, it was the first time that I really understood, as a comedian, where I was coming from, that is to say a kind of kindness that I really need from the from others.
Like Marcel’s tenderness, the way he shows himself at the same time without showing himself, the way he presents himself in a complex way and the way he is really funny while being touching, this performance is also a request or a wish to know how I would like to be treated and what I would like to see in my world. And I think Marcel is an example of what I want to be and of myself, and he’s a character that aspires to me. And so it’s really, really different because whether you can see this on screen or not, I’m so involving my own personal desire for experience and identity and connection in what’s there. It’s deeply important to me, but I hope it’s not so serious.
It seems that you are looking for a lot of tenderness in the world.
Yeah. I am. I am. I always was.
You said it’s like he’s an example of the kinds of relationships you want. What are you looking for?
I think I seek consideration, nurturing, courtesy, security and consistency in others. These are the things that are so important to me in my relationships. Just, not just to know what to expect, but in an unspoilt way, expect to be treated with curiosity and attention.
I know that now that I have my daughter, I think a lot about the difference between care and control and that there really is a very big difference, but they can be mistaken for each other. You can tell Dean, the film’s documentarian, that he really cares about Marcel. But for his movie to be good, he can’t control it at all. But sometimes he doesn’t know how far he has to go to take care of himself. Do you really care about someone so from afar you’re, “Man, I really care about this little guy”, but when they need you to help them light their candle, you kinda, you don’t know if you will be This makes Marcel doubt whether we are taking care of him or not. And I just like, I like the way Marcel puts it.
Has being a mom changed the kind of projects that interest you?
Usually it’s just that I don’t want to be away from my daughter at all. I also don’t want to disrupt his quality of life. She really comes first. So it’s a big decision to go back on set if it means I have to be away. I made a movie 10 weeks after having Ida. I did romantic comedy, I want you to come back. My husband really encouraged me to do the job because he knows me well and knows that I have to show that part of myself. Just like, I mean, in Marcel’s movie, says Nana Connie, it’s good for him. He needs to perform. I’m the same, I need to perform.
I think maybe anyone who’s had a baby could understand the question of what part of me from before will come back or come back and be different? Will I be able to do my job properly? How will this be? And what are the logistics? And it was really important for me to go back to work and show myself that I could do it. I’m really one of those people who if I live it, I believe it. And that’s just it.
It’s nice. I’ve seen that movie too, and it’s been so long since I’ve seen a romantic comedy that I really enjoyed.
My God. I loved making this movie so much. And I think Charlie is so funny and cute in it and it’s really romantic. The acting is so beautiful. Gina’s acting is so beautiful. It’s just, I like it all. It was a very good experience for me.
And Manny Jacinto is also adorable.
And what a beautiful person too. We were lucky.
Isabella Rossellini as Nana Connie is so important. What was it like working with her in this capacity, in this very unique film? I watched the song on Late Night with Seth Meyers how surreal it was to order Postmates for her.
There was one day when she choked on a chili flake. Just the things that crossed my mind. It was so, so intense. But she was fine! Isabella is a truly unassuming person while being very regal. Inside and out, an example of a smart, stylish and curious person. And I like it. You know how they say you’ll be better at tennis if you play with someone who’s better than you?
Sure.
That’s how I felt. I was, “Well, I just have to do my best because I do with her.” And I think she brought out the best in me.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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