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AN AIRBNB RENTAL — The year's cutest and most endearing movie will also make you cry.
Based on a series of viral videos from YouTube's early days, "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" features its namesake 1-inch-tall shell with a googly eye and a pair of shoes. Jenny Slate provides the warbly voice of Marcel, who lives in a Los Angeles house that is being rented out as an Airbnb.
Director Dean Fleischer-Camp, playing a fictionalized version of himself in the movie, rents out the home and encounters Marcel, along with his tiny, adorable world, and starts rolling his camera. Fleischer-Camp discovers that a mysterious event has separated Marcel from most of the rest of his family, leaving only Marcel and his Nana Connie — voiced by Isabella Rossellini — living in the house where the rest of his large family once lived.
What follows is a mockumentary about Marcel's quest to reunite with his family and his discovery of the outside world and its harsh truths. That already sounds like a high concept, but Fleischer-Camp and Slate don't stop there — "Marcel The Shell" also tackles falling in and out of love, grieving the loss of a loved one and dealing with the bizarre loneliness that pairs with being constantly connected with other people on the internet, all in just 90 minutes.
Plus, if you've never cried your eyes out while someone sings a rendition of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles and you're looking to have that experience, "Marcel the Shell" is the movie for you.
Here are some reasons why this emotional, heartwarming little film is one of the best movies of the year so far.
The animation is stunning
Marcel comes to life via incredible stop-motion animation work from Fleischer-Camp and animation director Kirsten Lepore. The original YouTube videos featured numerous variations on the joke of Marcel repurposing tiny objects as he lives out his miniature life — wearing a lentil as a hat, using fingernails from a man as skis, dragging around a piece of lint instead of a pet dog and, so on.
The filmmaking team expands on that concept to create the fascinatingly detailed and beautiful world of the Airbnb home that Marcel and Nana Connie inhabit in the film. Marcel lives in a "treehouse" in a houseplant. He uses a dusty glass coffee table as an ice rink. He climbs inside a tennis ball and rolls around the floor to get around more quickly. Nana Connie sleeps on a bed of cotton balls with a tissue as her comforter. To get up to the windows, Marcel coats his shoes in sticky honey and walks up walls.
There is something so endlessly adorable about watching Marcel traipse around his miniature world, and the novelty never gets old. The mindblowing attention to detail and intimate camerawork create a rich, all-encompassing setting for the movie. It's some of the best animation work I've seen in a long time, and you really feel as if you're a little shell yourself as you're watching.
It wears its heart on its sleeve
This movie seems specially designed to make you feel all the emotions.
The house where Marcel lives is being rented as an Airbnb because the couple that previously lived there split up and moved out. A fiery argument between the man and woman led to Marcel's separation from his family, and the movie explores the collateral damage created when a romance falls apart.
Fleischer-Camp's character then rents out the Airbnb because he has recently separated from his wife. After the YouTube videos, Fleischer-Camp and Slate worked on developing the "Marcel The Shell" feature film for seven years. The pair were married and divorced in that time. The movie seems to be a meta, semi-autobiographical twist on the filmmakers' own lives, and it's clear that the subject matter is close to their hearts.
Though Nana Connie works daily in her garden and teaches Marcel a great deal about the world, she's increasingly forgetful as she ages (she uses the wire from the top of a champagne bottle as a walker). Marcel has to deal with the burden of having to take care of his aging relative.
When Fleischer-Camp takes him outside of the Airbnb, to the top of a hill in Los Angeles, Marcel is confronted with the massive vastness of the city, incomprehensible for a tiny shell. It's a new way of envisioning the concept that even in a city full of millions of people, you can still feel very lonely.
Despite fitting all these things into the movie's relatively short runtime, the filmmakers handle the challenging subject matter with grace, dignity and poignancy. Through the eyes of a magical little shell, Fleischer-Camp and Slate provide a vibrant and nuanced look at human nature.
The plot is complex
There's a lot going on in "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On." While I found the themes the filmmakers tackle to be fulfilling and enriching, the high-concept, mockumentary format might lose some kids.
It's not exactly being marketed as a kids' movie, but it's likely that parents may bring their children to the PG-rated film. Younger kids will likely appreciate the cute animation but might have trouble following what's going on. It was clear that some of the kids at my screening were feeling antsy.
That being said, I think most kids will find something to love about "Marcel the Shell." With little to no profanity or adult content beyond some darker subject matter dealing with deaths of loved ones and relationship problems, the movie is suitable for most kids.
Is it worth watching?
"Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" is a wholesome, enjoyable breath of fresh air. I was grinning from ear to ear throughout the movie, even though I cried a few times, too.
The movie has that life-affirming quality that will leave you fulfilled and joyful. It's surprising that something based on a few decade-old YouTube videos would be so great, but "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" is one of the best movies of the year.
Editor's note: "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" is now playing in theaters. It is rated PG for some suggestive material and thematic elements.
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