Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a 2021 American independent live-action/stop-motion animated mockumentary comedy-drama film directed by Dean Fleischer Camp (in his feature directorial debut), with a screenplay by Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate and Nick Paley from a story by Fleischer Camp, Slate, Paley and Elisabeth Holm. It is based on and serves both as a direct stand-alone sequel and prequel to the series of shorts of the same name written by Slate and Fleischer Camp. Slate reprises her voice role as Marcel, an anthropomorphic seashell living with his grandmother Connie. Fleischer Camp, Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, Lesley Stahl, and Isabella Rossellini also star. The film follows Marcel, a shell who lives with his grandmother, Connie, after posting a short film online bringing Marcel millions of passionate fans and a new hope of reuniting with his long-lost family.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On premiered at the Telluride Film Festival on September 3, 2021, and began a limited release in the United States by A24 on June 24, 2022, before its wide release on July 15, 2022, to critical acclaim and was eventually nominated in the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature category.
Plot
Following the end of his marriage, documentary filmmaker Dean moves into an Airbnb and discovers Marcel, a one-inch-tall talking shell living in the home with his grandmother, Nana Connie, and Alan, his pet ball of lint.
Inspired by Marcel's whimsicality, resourcefulness, and fascination with the world, Dean begins filming Marcel's daily activities, most of which consist of gathering resources from the backyard in order to support himself and Nana Connie. Connie is wise but she has some dementia. She tends to her garden assisted by insects she has befriended. Marcel and Connie share their mutual love of 60 Minutes and Lesley Stahl.
After Dean uploads his first video about Marcel to YouTube, it quickly becomes a cultural phenomenon. Marcel is both flattered and overwhelmed with his newfound popularity, lamenting that his family is not around to celebrate it with him. Marcel explains to Dean that there used to be an entire community of shells on the property, including Marcel's mother, father, brother, and aunt. The shells would take shelter in a sock drawer when the house's previous owners, Mark and Larissa, started knocking objects over while fighting. Following one fight, Mark accidentally packed the shells into his suitcase while moving out, leaving Marcel and Connie as the only ones left on the property.
Dean helps Marcel produce a livestream on the Internet asking for help in locating his family. The livestream gains a substantial number of viewers, but after Marcel shares his location with viewers, the house becomes a popular area for influencers. Marcel becomes dismayed after realizing most of the people who saw his videos are fans desperate to be associated with him but largely uninterested in helping him.
The constant attention to the house quickly begins to bother Marcel, who is worried about Connie's deteriorating health. Marcel convinces Dean to drive him around the city in search of Mark's car, but is overwhelmed to discover how large and vast the world outside his house really is. Realizing that the world is too big to likely discover the car on his own, a discouraged Marcel returns home to find Connie has fallen off the top of a washing machine and cracked her shell. Marcel tends to her wounds and grows more protective of Connie.
60 Minutes reaches out to Marcel in the hopes of doing a cover story. Despite Dean's encouragement, Marcel is reluctant to accept the offer, concerned with what the large production crew and more attention to the house would do to Connie's health. Marcel tells Dean he will not accept the interview until Connie is fully recovered. Dean confides this information to a fast-deteriorating Connie. Wanting Marcel to live a meaningful life of his own, Connie pretends to show signs of improvement around Marcel while encouraging him to accept the interview. Despite his strong reservations, Marcel eventually agrees to the interview, believing it may help him find his family.
Connie's health continues to worsen as the day of the interview approaches. Connie and Marcel watch as the 60 Minutes crew sets up in the living room and are starstruck upon seeing Lesley Stahl in person. Marcel and Dean both participate in the interview. Upon its completion, Marcel and Dean struggle to find Connie before realizing she died while their segment was being filmed. Marcel buries Connie in her garden and grieves her. Dean signs a lease for a new apartment.