Review: Marcel The Shell with Shoes On

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Marcel (Jenny Slate) is a shell that talks. He has one googly eye and of course, his shoes on. He once lived in a home with a huge family of shells, but after the humans who owned the house got in a fight, all the other shells minus Marcel and his Nana Connie (Isabella Rossellini) where taken away. Now a documentary film maker Dean (director Dean Fleischer-Camp) begins to film Marcel, and he turns into a sensation.

I knew this film was based off a previous work, but I haven't seen the short films that both Fleischer-Camp and Slate wrote together. I went to this based on the adorable trailer and it was exactly what I hoped it would be. Heartfelt and pure.

Slate has a beautiful voice and I loved listening to her as Marcel. She brought so much character to him and I thought shooting this like a documentary was clever. It touches briefly on trending culture. Marcel initially wants help finding his family, but people are more concerned with posting their photos in front of his house instead. It's frustrating, why doesn't anyone want to jump at the chance to help him?

It does meander about at times, but Marcel The Shell with Shoes On is a perfectly watchable family film and you should catch it in theaters if you can. 

Grade: B

Comments

  1. SJHoneywellAugust 17, 2022 at 2:32 PM

    I loved this so much. It was so sweet, and Marcel is an absolute charmer. In fact, my biggest issue with it was the fact that my ticket was nearly $15, which seems insane for a movie.

    I think it's a shame that this is almost guaranteed to be ignored come award season because it's so difficult to classify.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 17, 2022 at 2:44 PM

      Oh I know, I hope it can get an adapted screenplay push.

      Delete
  2. thevoid99August 17, 2022 at 2:55 PM

    This was at my multiplex but there were other films that I wanted to see and it's gone now. Boo!!!! I hope it arrives at a streaming service soon that I have. I want to see this and I like Jenny Slate. She's hilarious.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamAugust 19, 2022 at 10:33 AM

      I hope so too, My theater is already getting rid of it this week, they had it for 2 weeks total.

      Delete

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