Marcel The Shell With Shoes On Review Marcel The Shell With Shoes On Trailer Goes Looking For Family (And Loves You)

To discard it made you feel an affinity with a volleyball; All everywhere at once made you feel existential on some rocks; Now get ready to be delighted with a seashell. Adapted from the short viral videos of the same name, Marcel the shell with his shoes performs a small miracle of cinema. If a tiny talking exoskeleton of an invertebrate can make you cry, is that something in the movies? He can not DO?

This could easily be a proposal to be rejected. Marcel, and the fantasy world he inhabits, is almost aggressively cute, a cuteness the filmmakers delve into, from co-writer/co-creator Jenny Slate’s adorably childlike voice as Marcel, to grand one-eyed innocence. to the flagrant sweetness of the scenery. (“Guess why I’m smiling so much?” offers Marcel at one point. “Because it’s worth it.”)

But there is more to this film than just being extremely adorable. All else aside, it’s an exciting testament to the power of animation. There’s nothing flashy about the traditional stop-motion techniques used here (for example, hand-drawn baselines denote smiles), but the way they blend seamlessly with the live-action footage makes it all the more exciting and authentic, without the need for acclimatisation. Sharp macro photography and natural light give everything an organic texture. Visually, it is truly one of a kind.

All of this injects a lot of pathos into Marcel’s character. As absurd as it sounds, you almost immediately begin to feel protective of this little shell; You meticulous. If animation takes up most of your time, mesmerizing performances by Slate and others complete the charm. The dialogue is conversational and seemingly semi-improvised, especially if director Dean Fleischer Camp’s generous laugh (playing a semi-fictional version of himself, floating around the edges of the shot) is anything to behold.

Yet despite the relaxed approach and smooth pace, the screenplay (by Slate, Fleischer Camp and Nick Paley) feels carefully crafted. Very similar to last year Brian and Carlanother profoundly uncynical mockumentary, marcello embrace the fantasy, but it is far from superficial. There’s a real depth of character here, both through the absurdity of the laughter (“She’s from the garage, that’s why she has the accent,” Marcel says of his grandmother’s legacy, in somewhat odd construction). ) and by the thematic richness of mourning, loneliness, the family. Marcel’s heart is in his grip, but his limited understanding of the world doesn’t equate to stupidity: When he becomes an Internet hit, with TikTokers dancing on his lawn, he immediately realizes the void of fame. “You are an audience,” he says gravely. “It’s not a community.”

This feeling of connectedness seems to be the driving force behind the whole project. Slate and Fleischer Camp took what started out as an inside joke and turned it into a find-your-tribe anthem. The kid-friendly atmosphere might be a bit off-putting, but open yourself up to Marcel and you, too, may find yourself openly crying over a stop-motion clam.