Hi! You’re reading an entry in the Jscars 2022, a series on my favorite movies of the year 2022. Read the previous entries here:
All Quiet on the Western Front
We’re All Going to the World’s Fair
“Guess why I smile a lot? Because it’s worth it.”
I’ll be honest. When a Marcel the Shell With Shoes On movie was announced, I was fairly skeptical. I vaguely remembered watching the original Youtube videos years ago, and I remembered thinking they weren’t anything spectacular even for short Youtube videos at the time. So a whole movie of the same bit seemed like it would be kind of annoying at best, insufferable at worst. But then it actually came out and was receiving rave reviews, so I had to figure out why. As it turns out, the answer is simply that sometimes you just need some sweetness in your life.
First thing to establish right away. The shells are cute. The shells are very cute. This is an area where the higher budget given to the movie compared to the Youtube videos definitely works in their benefit, as when I saw Marcel, Connie, or any of the other shells on screen I couldn’t help but want to see some succeed in part just because of the way they looked. But another main reason for this is that Marcel the character is written in a way that makes it almost impossible not to root for him. This is something I have actually seen some people criticize about the movie, that Marcell comes across as so idealistic and tenacious that it becomes grating. And while I can see where these people are coming from, I completely disagree. I think the writing hits a perfect balance that allows Marcel to feel almost inspirational while also not just becoming a collection of quotes.
Similar to another movie that’s been featured on the Jscars, Belle, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On in part focuses on the downside that can come with online recognition. While this topic isn’t necessarily examined extremely closely, it sure comes up multiple times. Fans gathering around the house making it near impossible to live, hateful comments getting to Marcel’s ego, all the stuff you’d expect is here. But what makes all of this particularly interesting to me is the real world background surrounding the movie. Director Dean Fleischer-Camp and Marcel’s voice actress Jenny Slate were married when the original Marcel videos were released on Youtube, but were divorced two years later. Sure, Jenny Slate was already a fairly known actress, but the movie itself raises some interesting questions in this direction. When Marcel asks Dean if he’s unable to find success in romantic relationships because he’s afraid of connecting people through something other than the lens of a camera, who’s speaking? Is it Marcel? Is it Jenny herself coming out? Or did Dean write those lines himself knowing his ex-wife would be reading them to him? That last scenario, the most likely one, brings with it more questions than I feel equipped to handle right now.
But leaving the philosophical questions aside, it stands that Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is a heartwarming story of someone reconnecting with family that also features incredible animation. If you’re looking for a wonderful affirmation about life and the connections we share with other people while also getting to laugh at a living shell doing stuff like using a shoelace as a zipline, there’s really no better option out there.