Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.

  • Released: 2022-05-04
  • Runtime: 90 minutes
  • Genre: Adventure, Animation, Comedy
  • Stars: Jenny Slate, Dean Fleischer-Camp, Isabella Rossellini, Thomas Mann, Rosa Salazar, Lesley Stahl, Nathan Fielder, Andy Richter, Sarah Thyre, Jessi Klein, Peter Bonerz
  • Director: Dean Fleischer-Camp
 Comments
  • alatlantic - 11 May 2024
    Profound
    I put this on for the kid, seeing its basic story and PG rating. Soon after it started, I felt kinda creeped out by it, but hey kids are kids and got busy with chores.

    Within 15 minutes of listening in, I was hooked and sat on the couch watching it all play out. This movie is absolutely beautiful, and filled with so many prescient nuggets of wisdom from a weird little snail like creature. Yes, I'd go as far as to say he was rather profound.

    In the end it's a cute movie for everyone. Adults will resonate with the constant introspection and dealing with loss. Kids will laugh and laugh at all the silly props and concepts. It's a really well executed movie.
  • Jodro2 - 8 January 2024
    Unintelligible audio, non-descript characters and overlong, boring story.
    We had high hopes for this movie, as we're not into action movies, and most Hollywood fare leaves us cold. The movie starts out OK, but we soon realised that none of us could make out more than 50% of what was being said. The youngest in the room was 18, so it was nothing to do with hearing issues. So we started again, with the subtitles switched on.

    An hour later the teenager had left the room, my wife, who normally likes this kind of movies, was asleep, and as the minutes slowly crept by, I was trying to work out how long this movie was. I switched off at 75 minutes, thinking it had been 2 hours.

    The problems? There are far too many to mention. A shell is rather difficult to empathize with, and while it may work for a 45-minute short, after 75 minutes the main character, with his silly, unintelligible voice, became really grating and boring. Dean also is non-descript and not engaging. Most scenes are too long, but most of all, there are far too many scenes to tell the story. It becomes incredibly repetitive.

    We had read that the movie would have messages about friendship and family, but we saw none of that. Saying, in the movie, that it is about these things, does not make it so.

    All in all, one of the most boring movies I've ever watched. The reason it gets a few stars is that the concept is cute, and the visuals and animation were well-done. Too bad about a script in which hardly anything happens for 90% of the time, and what did happen left us bored.
  • bitschmaksim - 18 July 2023
    an adorably sweet story about loss, community and fear
    Marcel the Shell with Shoes on tells a story about a sentient shell, who gets recorded and interviewed throughout his life by a filmmaker named Dean.

    It manages to tell a story about loss, importance of community and fear of change while still being full of humor and small moments of quirkiness inbetween the seriousnes.

    This is managed through the dynamic of our protagonists (Marcel and Dean) and their natural conversations in which no line feels out of place.

    Visually the perspective of Marcel is intelligently captured through interesting shots from worm's-eye views or from distances.

    All in all Marcel the Shell with Shoes on is a heartwarming film with light-footed humor to brighten up some serious moments and themes. It encourages us to see the world from a different perspective, the perspective of a young shell which might resembles the perspective of an innocent child.
  • SnoopyStyle - 19 December 2022
    so adorably cute
    Filmmaker Dean's marriage has dissolved and he moves into an Airbnb. He starts filming Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (Jenny Slate). Nana Connie (Isabella Rossellini) is Marcel's beloved grandmother. They enjoy watching 60 Minutes together and worshipping Lesley Stahl.

    It's cute. It's so adorably cute. Jenny Slate is doing a baby voice character. Then it goes for the heart. It's poignant, heartwarming, and heartbreaking. The shell is small, but this heart is gigantic. It's all charms, all humor, and all heart. I've never seen the webisodes before. I imagine them to be this, but more concentrated.
  • sydstokes - 3 November 2022
    Stupidly adorable and stunning
    When I tell you everyone in the theatre was in tears by the end of this movie I am not fibbing in the slightest. I practically begged my friends to go see this movie with me for the reason that even the trailer made me tear up, little did they know that they would end up in tears as well. All good tears though, this movie is stunning, funny, quirky, and so many traits that just make it so worthwhile. It also has some really beautiful moments in it that I really appreciated, and this was a movie about a shell. Marcel is the most lovable main character ever with the silly cameraman as a great snap into reality that makes you feel like you are there with them. The movie is in sort of a documentary type style but where the camera man also has a role in the impact of the movie. I say watch it, it may seem like a little silly movie for kids but it actually covers some sad topics as well in a lovely and warming way. Heart warming film, I absolutely reccomend.
  • visser-57043 - 18 September 2022
    Delightful!!!
    I came blind into Marcel the Shell with Shoes on, having only heard some festival buzz. What a truely delightful and inspiring little mollusk. Continuously pulling at the heartstrings too...Give this director heaps of money to keep on making uplifting cinema like this. We've all been through some horribly hard times these last two years and its affected all of us in someway or another...cinema is an important tool to help us forget our troubles, even if it's just for an hour and a half...and this movie is a shining example of the magic of cinema. Do yourself a favour and track this down and watch it with friends...Highly recommended.