Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is a mockumentary/stop-motion film focusing on the adventures of Marcel (Jenny Slate), an anthropomorphic shell living with his grandmother (both of whom have been separated from their family) in a home that is being rented out as an Airbnb after the original couple moved out. When recently divorced documentarian Dean (director and writer Dean Fleischer-Camp playing a fictional version of himself) moves in, he begins filming Marcel and, through a series of YouTube videos, attempts to help Marcel find his lost family.

The film is based on an online series of very popular shorts, but unlike other film attempts to cash in on an internet sensation like Slender Man, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On has received critical acclaim, currently sitting at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The brainchild of comedian Jenny Slate and filmmaker Dean-Fleischer Camp, the movie was listed as a highly anticipated summer family film alongside more established franchises like Lightyear and Minions: The Rise of Gru.

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Humble Origins of Marcel the Shell

     A24

The origins of Marcel the Shell date all the way back to 2010. Long before she was on hit television series like Parks and Recreation or lending her voice in animated hits like Zootopia and The Secret Life of Pets, Slate was still attempting to break out with a few appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and Bored to Death as well as a brief stint on Saturday Night Live. SNL is where Slate let the f-word slip during her first episode on the show, and while her firing from SNL may not have been entirely related to that, it left her in a pretty tough position (which is why The Daily Beast titled an article “How Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Saved Jenny Slate).

She had yet to appear in a film at this point. In an attempt to save money, Slate shared a hotel room with five friends where she produced Marcel’s signature voice, as a joke communicating how small she felt in the crowded room. Her boyfriend and future husband filmmaker Dean Fleischer-Camp loved the voice and wanted to use it in some type of short film. He went to a toy store and art supply store and with the various items created the character of Marcel the Shell.

Marcel the Shell on YouTube

The first Marcel the Shell With Shoes On short was released online on August 16, 2010, and became a huge hit. It would later premier theatrically at AFI FEST 2010, where it was awarded Best Animated Short. The short won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at the New York International Children’s Film Festival and was selected for the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

The success of the short inspired two sequel shorts; Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Two was posted on YouTube on November 14, 2011, and the third Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Three was posted on October 20, 2014. Two Marcel the Shell With Shoes On storybooks have been published alongside the short film. The videos attracted myriad viewers online, and with the childlike worldview of the main character, they became a hit with young kids. The concept and the character, despite being rather small, had big-screen potential

Marcel’s Road to the Big Screen

Both Slate and Fleischer-Camp began talking about a feature film for Marcel back in 2014 after the release of the third short. The success of the shorts on YouTube and Jenny Slate’s growing star power eventually led to talks of a feature film from Hollywood Studios but some ideas strayed from the original concept, as director Fleischer-Camp revealed there was a suggestion by some studio executive for the film was to pair Marcel with Ryan Reynolds and the two would fight crime.

Slate and Fleischer-Camp eventually got financing to fund the film for their vision, which meant fleshing out Marcel’s backstory and adding more emotional depth to the character. This included adding a new character, Marcel’s grandma Connie (voiced by acclaimed actress Isabella Rossellini), who would help establish much of the film’s dramatic stakes.

Making the Film With Shoes On

The very nature of Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, as part mockumentary with a lead character realized through stop-motion, meant making it was going to be a long task, and it involved shooting the movie multiple times. Recording the entire audio for the film, shooting the clean plates of the environment, and then actually animating Marcel, Connie, and the other stop-motion characters that inhabit the world. Stop-motion is a long process, so Marcel the Shell With Shoes On had been filming for a long time.

Slate and Fleisher-Camp, who were dating when the first short film was made and married in 2012, divorced in 2016 five years before the film even premiered. The two have remained close working collaborators, and perhaps their fractured relationship helped form the two core dynamics in the film.

Release and Potential Breakout Success

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 3, 2021, just a little over eleven years from the first short film’s debut. The film was a huge hit at the festival and sparked a bidding war between studios where A24 acquired the distribution rights in November 2021.

The great A24 saw the potential of the film and gave it a summer release date, realizing it had wide appeal for both an older audience and young kids who are familiar with the character through the online videos, gave it a summer release date. Originally opening in limited release on June 24, 2022, the film will slowly expand into other markets before going wide on July 15, 2022, where it will face off against Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank and Where The Crawdad Sings.

Marcel the Shell With Shoes On has the opportunity to be the alternative family film of the summer. Given the recent success A24 had with Everything Everywhere All At Once becoming a mainstream hit, Marcel the Shell With Shoes On may be the next unexpected box office surprise of the year. This story with humble beginnings has grown quite a bit over the past twelve years.