Overall Thoughts: Unique family film is quirky but sweet.
Based on a popular series of YouTube videos, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On flew under the radar, until it legitimately picked up some surprising critical acclaim. Could we be seeing a rare family film be a major Oscar contender next year? Maybe. Just maybe.
I would definitely be happy if a movie like this received major Oscar consideration. Because the concept of Marcel the Shell here is original, unique and really stands out in Hollywood these days (which are mostly driven by remakes and retreads). Director Dean Fleischer-Camp takes the mockumentary approach here, while putting together a sweet story about dealing with change, loss, and finding community.
As Marcel, Jenny Slate has definitely found the character that will define her career. She channels innocence, a little bit of winking adult wit, and a kind, considerate soul. It's a wonderful voice performance. Meanwhile, Fleischer-Camp acts as the filmmaker of Marcel's adventures, and is given a little bit of development himself. He complements the film well without stealing the show away from the our lead mollusk.
The animation work here (along with some strong cinematography choices) on Marcel and the other characters is wonderful. Part Rankin-Bass nostalgia in its' approach, and part Smurfs and Alvin and the Chipmunks in terms of character perspective; it's a style that feels like something that hasn't been accomplished before. Now, of course, the original videos showed this a little bit. But, at the same time, Fleischer-Camp didn't have a movie budget to ratchet everything up to an 11.
The film's central story does take a little bit to get going, and it does take a little too long to introduce its' world and characters. The opening 30 minutes also get a little sidetracked by some out-of-left field jokes. This throws the pace off in the first half hour. However, by the time we get to the characters' interview with 60 Minutes' Leslie Stahl, it really gets cooking. I also thought the film's ending really did a nice job in its' narrative choice to show the plot's overall resolution.
Ultimately, Marcel might have its quirky, wonky moments, but it's still an overall kind-hearted and fairly moving film families can definitely watch together.
Grade: B+
Is this film family-friendly? Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is rated PG for "some suggestive material and thematic elements". There are a few off-color jokes. For example, a bee flying into a window is said to have had "too much nectar" in an allusion to drunkenness. Curly hairs in the shower are considered "hardy hairs". A brief drug joke mentions "when the kush hits hard" when searching a meme on the internet (Marcel asks what it is but doesn't understand). Other than that, Marcel throws up in the car a few times. We hear Dean was in a recent divorce. We don't see it, but we hear one character fell off the dryer (we see a crack in the character's shell). One character dies. We hear about 10 uses of "oh my g**", and a possible s-word by Dean (it may have been censored by a loud computer type). In the end, I think this is appropriate for ages 7 and up, depending on how each family views the content.
Is this film family-friendly? Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is rated PG for "some suggestive material and thematic elements". There are a few off-color jokes. For example, a bee flying into a window is said to have had "too much nectar" in an allusion to drunkenness. Curly hairs in the shower are considered "hardy hairs". A brief drug joke mentions "when the kush hits hard" when searching a meme on the internet (Marcel asks what it is but doesn't understand). Other than that, Marcel throws up in the car a few times. We hear Dean was in a recent divorce. We don't see it, but we hear one character fell off the dryer (we see a crack in the character's shell). One character dies. We hear about 10 uses of "oh my g**", and a possible s-word by Dean (it may have been censored by a loud computer type). In the end, I think this is appropriate for ages 7 and up, depending on how each family views the content.
