by Samuel Nichols, Contributing Writer
Watching movies can feel like a chore sometimes. Do not get me wrong — I understand that I am blessed to have the financial freedom to go an air conditioned theater on a Saturday and relax while a story plays out on a screen in front of me. There are certainly more difficult things. But what I hate is how I can feel an obligation to go see something. I love superhero movies, but it feels as if I miss a single episode or movie from the MCU that I will be totally lost. And it can be tiring to feel that way about something I am supposed to love. But going to a movie like Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is nothing but a pleasure, and it makes me happy to go to the theaters.
This year’s most adorable movie follows the titular Marcel (Jenny Slate), a young shell living in an Airbnb with his grandma Connie (Isabella Rossellini). The two have lived in the rental home alone for a few years, as the rest of their shell colony mysteriously disappeared some time ago. A young filmmaker named Dean (Dean Fleischer-Camp) begins documenting the adventures and life of Marcel. Eventually Marcel starts gaining some notoriety on the internet, and he tries to use this to find information about his family.
Being in this world with Marcel and Dean and grandma Connie is just a delight. Seeing how the shells are able to accomplish difficult tasks through their inventiveness brings me nothing but happiness. Marcel’s perspective on the world around him is a fresh one, too. His little comments about anything and everything are hilariously honest. His description of a dog’s breath when he first meets Dean’s dog is one fun example. Credit to Slate for nailing her vocal performance. Her infectious tone is an easy one to remember from her days on Parks & Recreation, and I am very glad she is playing a much less annoying character here. I cannot imagine a different voice for Marcel.
Some of the other great parts of the movie are the physical comedy of just watching Marcel figure out how to operate in a world where everything is massive compared to him. One example is, to get to higher places in the house, Marcel will dip his feet in honey and walk up the wall like Spider-Man. Seeing Marcel’s honey-laden footprints up a wall is a cute visual gag. He also uses two pieces of white bread as his bed, which to you or me would be like having a 15 by 15-foot bed.
With that cute sense of humor and fun visuals, Marcel the Shell is an incredibly pleasant watch. Its sense of joy has made me feel happy to go to the movie theater. My hope is that studios will notice the kind feeling that movies like Marcel the Shell gives us and make more like it.
Score: 8/10
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