Rent Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022)

Clever Animation but a bit quirky - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On review by CD

Unfortunately I quickly decided after 15 mins that this was not a film for me. The animation is very clever, but the storyline is a bit limited and I found the voices rather irritating. However it may well appeal for PG Family viewing and it has had good ratings elsewhere.

Nonsensical student movie - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On review by PB

This is a truly odd movie. Shot with a mixture of shaky cam live action and very crude low frame rate stop motion animation this is the story of a talking shell who wears shoes. The shell, named Marcel is voiced with a irritating squeaky, nasal voice and quotes cod psychology and general observance on life in his house. There's a sub plot about him finding a moment of fame on YouTube and attempting to find his family of other talking shells, but mostly this is a plot free, interest free, very, very odd movie which was a struggle to sit through. 

If you like experimental animation and aren't too concerned about plot then maybe give this a go. Everyone else can safely skip it. 

Strange yet Intriguing - Marcel the Shell with Shoes On review by GI

This is an odd little film, a stop motion animation that has all the hallmarks of being an irritating film but which is strangely very heart warming and a little beguiling. A documentary film maker (played by Dean Fleischer Camp, the film's director and co-writer) rents an AirBnB house and discovers living there a tiny mollusc shell that walks (he has shoes!) and talks named Marcel. He looks after his grandmother (voiced by Isabella Rossellini) and the navigate their way around the house and garden in quite clever and funny ways. The filmmaker decides to make a small film and Marcel becomes an internet sensation and eventually agrees to a TV interview in the hope of finding his extended family who were caught up in the previous owners luggage when they left a couple of years ago. After awhile to begin the accept the setup here as completely rational which says a lot about how this concept has been honed into a clever little family film where the tiny shell gives his perceptions on life and happiness. Intriguing even though its a film that has to grow on you.