REVIEW: "Marcel the Shell With Shoes On" (2022)

The best film of 2022, by far, has nothing to do with the multiverse or Tom Cruising around in jet planes (as incredible as Everything Everywhere All At Once and Top Gun: Maverick were, respectively). It stars a tiny, google-eyed mollusk--in miniature footwear, no less--on a quest to find his family. 

What began as a trilogy of YouTube shorts, followed by two children's books, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is now a 90-minute stop-motion adventure in a live-action setting, shot in the style of a documentary. Director/co-writer Dean Fleisher-Camp (who helmed the original shorts) plays the man behind the camera, while actress/co-writer Jenny Slate reprises her role as the adorable voice of Marcel, who lives with his grandmother Nana Connie (voiced by actress Isabella Rosselini). 

The premise sounds absurd, not to mention simple considering its view of the world from the smallest perspective. But Marcel (both the character and the film) is actually deeper and more emotionally-resonant. It contains various existential and philosophical themes of life, death, loneliness, angst, separation (including divorce), mental illness (i.e., Nana Connie's condition, possibly memory loss), our need for connection and community, and the difference between the latter and an "audience." The beauty of nature is in the smallest of details, which should be enough to indicate the artists' dedication behind the scenes. 

The look of the film is a cheerful delight. I couldn't help but wonder how some of the visual effects were done. The effective and believable combination of stop-motion animation, live-action environments, and creative writing, directing, and worldbuilding makes Marcel work on multiple levels. Talk about genre-bending, even incorporating "60 Minutes" into its plot. (Those who didn't know reporter Lesley Stahl will certainly know her now.) 

This is a rare film that works for everybody. It also happens to be distributor A24's first "family" film and their 4th PG-rated feature (following 2017's Menashe, 2019's The Farewell, and this year's After Yang); its primary reasons for the rating include subtle-but-humorous references to shower hairs and some unnecessary misuses of God's name. 

Those elements notwithstanding, Marcel couldn't be more timely, especially after being in isolation for several months. It stands in a category of its own, although it does recall similar tones and aesthetics seen in previous animation like Aardman's 1989 claymation short Creature Comforts, Sony's 2007 CG penguin-surfing comedy Surf's Up, and Studio Ghibli's 2010 hand-drawn adaptation of Mary Norton's The Borrowers, The Secret World of Arrietty. (Slate has sited Ghibli co-founder Hayao Miyazaki as a major influence.) Marcel is thoroughly irresistible, funny, and heartwarming. You can't help but cry and smile.