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In 2010, out of boredom at a wedding, comedian/writer Jenny Slate created Marcel the Shell alongside her friend and director Dean Fleischer Camp. With an endearing, distinctive voice and Chaplin-esque shoes, the one-inch-tall shell took YouTube by storm, earning millions of fans of all ages around the globe, leading to two online shorts and a New York Times bestselling book.
The adorable little guy, voiced by Slate, now makes his way to the big screen in a live action, stop-motion feature film. Marcel carves out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie (Isabella Rossellini), and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of an eccentric community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. However, when a documentary filmmaker (played by Fleischer Camp) discovers them, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope of finding his long-lost family.
"Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" is about so much more than an internet sensation gone viral. It places a glaring spotlight on the pros and cons of sharing your life online, while representing caregivers who have lost loved ones unexpectedly and find themselves wondering how life will continue to flourish without them. Slate and Camp get even deeper when addressing the manner and lengths a child will go to protect themselves when not feeling safe in their own home.
"Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" will make your spirit soar and remind you to enjoy those you love, inhale a bit of fresh air, and respect the earth every second as though it were your very first time. It's a reminder to embrace all the stages of grief and see our dark chapters as changes that somehow make us better on the other side.
— Carla Renatta, rogerebert.comThu December 8, 2022, 7:30 PM, Muenzinger Auditorium
United States of America, 2022, in English, 90 min, digital • official site
Screenplay: Jenny Slate, Story: Jenny Slate, Elisabeth Holm, Screenplay: Dean Fleischer-Camp, Director: Dean Fleischer-Camp, Story: Dean Fleischer-Camp, Screenplay: Nick Paley, Story: Nick Paley, Cast: Jenny Slate, Dean Fleischer-Camp, Isabella Rossellini