Review: Why ‘Marcel the Shell with Shoes On’ is one of the best films of the year

This image posted by A24 shows a scene from “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On”. KSL.com film critic Jacob Klopfenstein called the film one of the best films of the year. (A24 via Associated Press)

Estimated reading time: 5-6 minutes

AN AIRBNB RENTAL – The cutest and most endearing movie of the year will also make you cry.

Based on a youtube viral video seriesit’s the early days,”Marcel the shod shellfeatures his namesake 1-inch-tall shell with a googly eye and a pair of shoes. Jenny Slate provides the shaky voice of Marcel, who lives in a Los Angeles home that’s rented out as an Airbnb.

Director Dean FleischerCamp, playing a fictionalized version of himself in the film, rents the house and meets Marcel, with his tiny and adorable world, and starts rolling his camera. Fleischer-Camp discovers that a mysterious event has separated Marcel from most of the rest of his family, leaving only Marcel and his Nana Connie – voiced by Isabelle Rossellini – living in the house where the rest of his large family once lived.

What follows is a mockumentary about Marcel’s quest to find his family and his discovery of the outside world and its harsh truths. Sounds like a lofty concept already, but Fleischer-Camp and Slate don’t stop there — “Marcel The Shell” also touches on falling in love and falling in love, mourning the loss of a loved one, and making deal with the bizarre loneliness that comes with being constantly connected with other people on the internet, all in just 90 minutes.

Plus, if you’ve never cried while someone sings a rendition of the Eagles’ “Peaceful Easy Feeling” and you’re looking for that experience, “Marcel the Shell” is the movie for you.

Here are a few reasons why this moving and heartwarming little film is one of the best films of the year so far.

The animation is stunning

Marcel comes to life with the amazing stop-motion animation work of Fleischer-Camp and the Animation Director Kirsten Lepore. The original YouTube videos featured many variations of the joke of Marcel reusing tiny objects as he lived his miniature life – wearing a contact lens as a hat, using a man’s fingernails as skis, dragging a piece of stuffed animal instead of a companion dog and , soon.

The film crew expands on this concept to create the fascinating and beautiful world of the Airbnb house that Marcel and Nana Connie inhabit in the film. Marcel lives in a “treehouse” in a houseplant. He uses a dusty glass coffee table as a skating rink. He climbs inside a tennis ball and rolls on the ground to move faster. Nana Connie sleeps on a bed of cotton balls with a handkerchief as a comforter. To climb to the windows, Marcel smears his shoes with sticky honey and scales the walls.

There’s something so endlessly adorable about watching Marcel navigate his miniature world, and the novelty never gets old. The breathtaking attention to detail and intimate camerawork create a rich and overarching setting for the film. It’s some of the best animation work I’ve seen in a long time, and you really feel like you’re a little shell yourself while you watch.

He wears his heart on his sleeve

This film seems specially designed to make you feel all the emotions.

The house where Marcel lives is rented out as an Airbnb because the couple who used to live there broke up and moved out. A heated argument between man and woman led to Marcel’s estrangement from his family, and the film explores the collateral damage created when a romance falls apart.

Fleischer-Camp’s character then rents the Airbnb because he recently separated from his wife. After the YouTube videos, Fleischer-Camp and Slate worked for seven years developing the feature film “Marcel The Shell.” The couple were married and divorced at that time. The film appears to be a meta, semi-autobiographical twist on the filmmakers’ lives, and it’s clear the subject matter is close to their hearts.

Although Nana Connie works daily in her garden and teaches Marcel many things about the world, she is increasingly forgetful as she gets older (she uses the wire from the top of a bottle of champagne as a walker). Marcel must deal with the burden of having to take care of his aging parent.

When Fleischer-Camp takes him out of the Airbnb, to the top of a hill in Los Angeles, Marcel is confronted with the massive vastness of the city, incomprehensible to a tiny shell. It’s a new take on the concept that even in a city full of millions of people, you can still feel very lonely.

Despite packing all of these things into the film’s relatively short runtime, the filmmakers handle the difficult subject matter with grace, dignity, and emotion. Through the eyes of a magical little seashell, Fleischer-Camp and Slate offer a vibrant and nuanced look at human nature.

The plot is complex

There’s a lot going on in “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.” While I found the themes the filmmakers tackled fulfilling and rewarding, the high-concept mockumentary format could lose some children.

It’s not exactly marketed as a kids’ movie, but parents are likely to bring their kids to the PG-rated film. Young children will likely appreciate the cute animation, but might have a hard time keeping up with what’s going on. It was clear that some of the children at my screening were feeling anxious.

That being said, I think most kids will find something to like in “Marcel the Shell”. With little to no profanity or adult content beyond darker subject matter dealing with the death of loved ones and relationship issues, the film is suitable for most kids.

Is it worth watching?

“Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” is a healthy and enjoyable breath of fresh air. I was smiling from ear to ear throughout the movie, although I cried a few times too.

The film has this life-affirming quality that will leave you feeling fulfilled and joyful. It’s surprising that something based on a few decade-old YouTube videos would be so great, but “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” is one of the best films of the year.

Editor’s note: “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” is now in theaters. It is rated PG for certain suggestive materials and thematic elements.

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