Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. A film by Dean Fleischer Camp, starring Jenny Slate, Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, Dean Fleischer Camp, Lesley Stahl, and Isabella Rossellini.

It’s pretty much common knowledge that it takes at least 20 shells to have a community. That’s about the minimum that you need to survive.

This mockumentary follows Marcel, an adorable shell with a googly eye and tiny feet, who lives with his family in a human’s house. Their peaceful life was disrupted when the human couple who used to live together in the house separated – Mark (Thomas Mann) packed his bags and left. Larissa (Rosa Salazar), who owns the house, put it up for rent on Airbnb.

A mockumentary is a film or television show that presents fictional events in the style of a documentary. The term is a portmanteau of “mock” and “documentary,” indicating its satirical nature. Mockumentaries often employ techniques typical of traditional documentaries, such as interviews, narration, and hand-held camera work, but they do so to create humor or commentary rather than to inform.

My name is Marcel, and I’m partially a shell as you can see on my body, but I also have shoes, and, um, a face. So, I like that about myself, and I like myself, and I have a lot of other great qualities as well.

Dean (Dean Fleischer Camp), a documentary filmmaker, happens to rent the house and discovers Marcel (voiced by Jenny Slate), a talking shell with an unexpectedly charming personality. Marcel lives with his grandmother Connie (voiced by Isabella Rossellini), who is also a living shell. Fascinated by Marcel’s unique life, Dean asks to film Marcel’s daily routines and uploads them to his YouTube channel.

This is the arboretum, a collection of trees that a community keeps alive, but I do like to talk to them, and plants like to have classical music played for them. Mozart and Brahms, it helps them grow faster.

Back in the day, Marcel’s family loved watching “60 MINUTES,” especially grandmother Connie, who was a huge fan of host Lesley Stahl. However, their peaceful activity was interrupted one night while they were watching the show. The human couple had yet another explosive argument – something that had become increasingly common. Marcel’s family took refuge in what they thought was their usual safest spot in the house: the sock drawer. That fateful night, Mark hastily packed his clothes, yanked open the sock drawer, and dumped everything into his suitcase. He drove away, never to return – unknowingly taking Marcel’s family, who were trapped in the suitcase, with him.

60 Minutes is an American television news magazine that has been a staple of CBS since its debut on 24 September 1968. Created by Don Hewitt, the program is known for its in-depth investigative reporting and features a distinctive format that typically includes three long-form news stories per episode, each presented without superimposed graphics.

There’s all these people. And we’re all looking at the same thing, and we’re all doing the same thing. It’s beautiful. And it feels like I don’t even know how to describe it. It feels like something.

Dean’s YouTube videos of Marcel become an unexpected viral sensation, with social media buzzing about this adorable talking shell and his tiny shoes. While Marcel is touched by all the attention and love from his newfound fans, it’s bittersweet – he doesn’t have his beloved family to share this moment of celebration with.

The other part of it is I think I find my mind wandering a bit just thinking, what would my family think, and really noticing that they’re not here to share it with me. I do wonder what my dad would say, what my mom would say, and, yeah..

Dean helps Marcel create a livestream video asking Marcel’s fans to help find his missing family, sharing details about the car and photos of the man who used to live in the house. But instead of leads about his family, they only get crowds of people and social media influencers showing up at the house to take selfies. Marcel realizes, heartbreakingly, that his viewers aren’t actually interested in helping him find his lost family – they just want to be part of the latest viral trend.

There must be so many others like me. It’s impossible that there wouldn’t be, and not just my family. They’re out there. Somewhere out there.

Directed by American filmmaker Dean Fleischer Camp from a screenplay he cowrote with Jenny Slate and Nick Paley, “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” is an incredibly magical film.

We just had to work so hard just to do this, just to find new ways of doing things and learning how to survive on our own. I don’t wanna end up with less… than what I have.

Despite being just an inch tall, this little shell with shoes conveys complex emotions in ways that make him one of the most memorable characters in recent cinema. The seamless blend of stop-motion animation with live-action performances creates a wonderfully believable world that brings Marcel’s story to life.

What makes the film special is how it captures Marcel’s daily life – seemingly simple on the surface, yet rich with profound meaning. The movie takes viewers on an emotional journey: from heartwarming humor and charming adventures to touching family bonds. Through Marcel’s eyes, we learn to find joy in life’s little moments and accept that change, however difficult, is a natural part of life. This is easily one of the year’s best films.

I found myself coming down here more and more. Such a lovely smell from the dryer sheets. And I like it because there’s a window that is always opened a little crack there. I would stand there, and sometimes I’d tell her things, ask for advice or just let sounds come out of my mouth. And one day, I was just sitting, and the wind blew in, and it blew just over the top of my head in such a way. And the wind blew over, and it made a beautiful whistling sound.

This film is based on and serves as both a direct stand-alone sequel and prequel to Camp’s 2010 short mockumentary film series “Marcel the Shell.” Camp first uploaded the first video in the series to Vimeo on 16 August 2010, followed by YouTube on 16 October. The short film theatrically premiered at AFI FEST on November 10, 2010, where it was awarded Best Animated Short. The short film also won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at the 2011 New York International Children’s Film Festival.

Guess why I smile a lot.
Uh, ’cause it’s worth it.

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on 3 September 2021. The film received a limited theatrically released in the United States on 24 June 2022 before expanding nationwide on 15 July, by A24.

Jenny Slate, Nick Paley, Dean Fleischer Camp, and Isabella Rossellini