Marcel, a curious shell, is barely two and a half centimeters high. He is very close to his grandmother, but he misses the other members of his family, who have suddenly left elsewhere. The possibility of finding them gives him the courage to take risks and open up to the unknown.
Posted at 8:00 a.m.
Marcel first won the hearts of thousands of Internet users in 2010, in a first animated short film on YouTube, viewed so far more than 32 million times. Two more animated shorts and a series of children’s books followed.
The tiny character, who recounts his daily life and reveals himself frankly, is now the star of a feature film. His universe expands, while retaining the same spirit. The inexhaustible Marcel was created by actress and humorist Jenny Slate, who spontaneously gave him her voice, and director Dean Fleischer Camp. They co-scripted the feature film.
The friendly seashell chats candidly with a filmmaker (Dean Fleischer Camp), who decides to make it the subject of a documentary after moving into the house where the tiny character lives with his grandmother (touching voice of Isabella Rossellini). To help the friendly creature find the members of his family, accidentally taken away by a former tenant, the documentary filmmaker puts a video on social networks. This one is all the rage, but not for the right reasons. Internet users use Marcel’s notoriety to show off rather than to help him find his own. All hope seemed lost until well-respected journalist Lesley Stahl of the television news magazine 60 Minutesdo an interview and get things done.
The shooting required extreme precision, since each scene was filmed first in live action, then in stop motion animation (stop-motion), paying attention to a multitude of factors (depth of field, lighting, reflections, object distance, etc.). Dean Fleischer Camp worked there for seven years. The result is amazing and original.
Produced in particular by the independent studio A24, the animated film will not please everyone. The pace is slow and Marcel talks about everything and nothing. But slowly, the creators tackle big subjects with their tiny characters, like belonging to a community, the temptation to stay in one’s comfort zone and bereavement. Above all, they were able to preserve the vulnerability and sincerity of the endearing Marcel, which constitute his main assets.
Presented in English only at Cineplex Forum and Cinéma du Parc.
Animation Film
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Dean FleischerCamp
With Dean Fleischer Camp, voice of Jenny Slate and Isabella Rossellini
1:30 a.m.