Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Review
I’ve been making my way through the movies nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2023 Oscars. So today we are talking about Marcel the Shell With Shoes On. Let’s get started!
The Review: For this movie I’m going to be talking about it in a different way, then my normal reviews. Because with this movie, I don’t know if it fits the normal structure of my reviews
The Background/Premise: If you don’t know what this movie is about, it’s about a shell…with shoes…named Marcel who is being filmed by a director for a documentary. The documentary takes off, and Marcel starts using his online friends as a way to find his family. And the director in the movie, is the director of the movie itself. So that’s kind of fun, it was also produced, written by, and stars Jenny Slate who has Bellwether in Zootopia. And the director, Dean Fleischer-Camp, for several years they divorced in 2016. But in 2010-2014, they released these YouTube clips of Marcel on the internet. So a couple years back they cut the episodes into a feature length film and we got the film.
The Review:
When it comes to this movie it’s just a feel good movie, that’s really the best thing about it. As you go through-out it, it makes you feel good. It has this feel good tone about it, it does have plenty of other emotions through-out it. You get moments of fun, humor, sadness, excitement, and so many others. That it both feels good but also has plenty of other emotions as well.
You also have to talk about Marcel as a character, and he’s just so much fun and charming in the movie. He’s so likable, and doesn't have any character flaws about him. And you root for him, you want him to succeed as you go through-out the movie. He has moments of humor that put a smile on your face. He’s just so naive that it’s hard not to root for him in the movie. You know what he wants, and you want him to get it. His relationship with the director and his grandma. He’s probably one of the best lead characters of 2022, he’s a lot of fun and so charming all at the same time. And Jenny Slate brings all of the right emotions to the characters really really well
It’s also a movie that I can appreciate that it’s a different kind of animated movie. It very much plays like a documentary with the way it’s cut and put together. But it’s an animated movie, but it’s also not labeled as a documentary. It’s this weird but cool experiment for a movie. And I think the story being told here fits really well into this template of this kind of movie. It’s also a movie produced by A24. I'm not super familiar with that film studio. But from what I’ve heard, it’s a studio that makes unusual movies.
As far as some negatives go, this movie does feel very episodic. The movie does fade to black several times through-out the movie, after watching the movie and doing my research it makes more sense. Whenever it fades to black, is when the episode ends and the new story begins. It very much feels like a string of 15-20 minute long episodes strung together to make a 90 minute feature film. It’s not bad, but it’s certainly a distraction as you watch the movie. Also, this is a movie that I can respect a lot of things about. But it’s not a movie that is fully designed for me, it’s not a top tier animated movie for me. It’s very well made, but that doesn’t necessarily means it’s my kind of thing. I don’t know if I would have watched this movie if it wasn’t nominated for Best Animated Feature. So it’s hard to get top tier enjoyment out of it, when it’s not my kind of movie.
Final Thoughts: Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is a solid animated movie that is something unlike any other. It’s a feel good movie that makes you feel good inside when you watch it. But it also has a lot of other emotions sprinkled through-out the movie. Marcel is a great lead character for this type of movie. It’s not one that’s really my kind of thing. But it’s a solid animated movie that I think is worth your time.
The Score: 8.4/10 (B)
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