Marcel the Shell with shoes on (2021)

Director: Dean Fleischer Camp

Starring: Dean Fleischer Camp

Feature adaptation of the animated short film interviewing a mollusk named Marcel.

‘Marcel the Shell with shoes on’ is definitely not for everyone, and many viewers will no doubt stop watching after just a few minutes.

‘Marcel the Shell’ is about a little talking, one-eyed shell named Marcel. Recently separated filmmaker Dean – an actual man – is making a documentary about the shell. Yup, that’s the premise! Well now, this is a very weird idea for a movie – I mean weird! Why on earth a shell? A ONE EYED shell? As insane as it sounds, it was actually rather cute. I liked Marcel and rooted for him in his search for his family. The home’s previous owners were a young couple who were constantly fighting, and eventually the man packed his things and left – (unintentionally) taking Marcel’s family with him.

Remembering the car the man left in, Marcel is hoping to track him down by finding his car. With the help of Dean’s documentary – which he uploads to YouTube – Marcel becomes an online sensation and Lesley Stahl of the TV program ’60 Minutes’ wants to interview him, and help him find his family.

The film is incredibly relevant with regards to the way we use the Internet today – YouTube, views, followers, sensationalism… It is a well made film and a good story too. But here’s a downside (with spoilers): I found the movie too long. It was all cute at first but eventually gave me a feeling of deja vu. I so enjoyed Marcel’s quest to find his family, but when he finally did, it lacked the emotional impact I was hoping for. The family was also way too big (!), and with some members looking like pretzels, peanuts, and even a ghost, it started looking like a kid’s cartoon. The cuteness was gone.

‘Marcel the Shell with shoes on’ is based on short stories, and personally I think it works better as a short instead of a feature film. I also found it unfair for the film to receive an Oscar nomination in the Best Animated Feature category, considering this is NOT animation. Only the character is stop-motion animation. The humans, the dog, and all the surroundings are real and live action, so this is by no means an animated film.

‘Marcel the Shell with shoes on’ is a unique experience – one you’re either going to enjoy, or not. I can also only recommend this to a select audience.

At the time of writing this review, the film already received 95 award nominations, winning 25.

Would I watch it again? No.