REVIEW: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On [2022]

December 14, 2022

2–3 minutes

A24, Dean Fleischer Camp, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Rating: PG | Runtime: 90 minutes
Release Date: June 24th, 2022 (USA)
Studio: A24
Director(s): Dean Fleischer Camp
Writer(s): Dean Fleischer Camp and Jenny Slate and Nick Paley / Dean Fleischer Camp and Jenny Slate and Nick Paley and Elisabeth Holm (story) / Dean Fleischer Camp & Jenny Slate (characters)

Some people say that my head’s too big for my body and I say to them, ‘compared to what?’

A viral sensation like Marcel the Shell (Jenny Slate) works because of the cute gag of it all. I don’t think there’s any denying that fact. Short, sweet, and funny. To therefore expand that gag to feature-length status lies more in the story that can be created to allow for said expansion than the joke itself. Because watching this tiny shell use other tiny things to have fun and live his life is one thing, but making us care for his plight as a three-dimensional character is another. Dean Fleischer Camp, Slate, and their co-writer Nick Paley had the hook, now they needed to create a purpose.

Well, just like the found objects that get lost through the cracks of the human world for Marcel to repurpose in his day-to-day existence, he and his family are of an easily misplaced size too. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is thus the story of his quest to find his loved ones again. Camp arrives as the latest Airbnb renter of the house owned by Larissa (Rosa Salazar) and Mark (Thomas Mann) that serves as Marcel’s entire world. Their bad break-up led to a hasty exit that presumably caught all the other living shells and trinkets in its wake. What had been a thriving community was now just Marcel and his grandmother Connie (Isabella Rossellini)—an endearing duo Camp can’t help but film and post online.

The whole is an interesting commentary on internet culture (“fans” come to take selfies in front of the house, ignoring Marcel’s eventual plea to find those he lost), but also a wonderful parable about conquering fears and allowing oneself to not accept being alone. There’s always a balance since nobody wants to lose all sense of privacy, but the ability to be vulnerable and pursue happiness is something we should all embrace. Who knows? Maybe Lesley Stahl and “60 Minutes” will be there to guide your first steps towards change too.

It’s an utterly charming, (mostly) stop-motion adventure of the soul with genuine laugh-out-loud moments (Slate’s comedic timing is off-the-charts) and heartwarming drama (Rossellini steals scenes with an abundance of love) to keep us invested in moments big and small. Because watching Marcel and Camp riff on the ingenious (tennis ball “rovers”), disgusting (the hardiest material for durable string comes from the bathtub drain), and absurd (Marcel always over-prepares for that which he cannot know awaits outside his home’s walls) is enough to earn a smile. To get that and a resonant, introspective look at life, longing, and love almost feels like a feat of magic.