How Interesting Can a Shell, a Googly Eye, and a Pair of Shoes Be?

Read Time:2 Minute, 29 Second

MOVIE REVIEW
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
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Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
Year Released: 2022
Runtime: 1h 30m
Director(s): Dean Fleischer-Camp
Writer(s): Dean Fleischer-Camp (screenplay by,) Elisabeth Holm (story by,) Nick Paley (screenplay by)
Cast: Jenny Slate, Dean Fleischer-Camp, Isabella RosselliniWhere To Watch: In select theaters now, find the showing nearest you tickets.marceltheshell.movie/

You usually get the best results when you don’t know what to expect. So while I knew a little about Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, I had only seen a short teaser trailer. I knew there would be some stop-motion-style animation with a shell with shoes, but that was about it. I saw it was rated PG and decided to take the risk and take my family out to see it for a fun adventure. I knew this was a risk; A24 is known for some unique films. I’ve loved many of them and hated just as many.

To my surprise, the film lived up to be so much more than I would’ve thought. My daughter, one of the harshest critics I know, enjoyed it. She said, “it was cute but a little boring.” To me, that’s as much praise as I could’ve possibly hoped for. I didn’t tell her what we would see because I assumed she might judge it before watching it. To be fair, that would probably be my biggest knock on the film as well; there may have been some pacing issues that made it a little less than incredible.

As odd as it sounds, I wouldn't be opposed to seeing the continued adventures with Marcel. I won’t spoil anything, but there is a cast addition towards the end that I wasn’t a massive fan of; while it got a couple of laughs, Marcel's focus is what sold the film to me. Something so sweet and innocent about her story stole the show. As a whole, though, this made me smile from start to finish, had plenty of laughs, and even a moment where I was nearly brought to tears.

I couldn’t complete this review without pointing out the brilliant talent that voiced Marcel! Jenny Slate (OBVIOUS CHILD, GIFTED, and a ton of voice work.) She created Marcel; without her voice, it would just be a shell on the screen with a googly eye. The warmth and depth she added to the character made the entire film feel like much more.

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