In one sentence: A documentary filmmaker discovers an extraordinary shell whose search for his missing family captures hearts around the world.

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The world of cinema is filled with action, spectacle and stories that constantly demand our attention. Every so often, however, a film comes along that achieves something far quieter. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is gentle, poignant and wonderfully original, proving that the smallest stories can often leave the biggest impression.

The film follows Marcel (Jenny Slate), a one inch tall shell who lives in an Airbnb with his beloved grandmother, Connie (Isabella Rossellini). After an argument between the home’s previous occupants, Marcel’s family is accidentally packed away in a suitcase and disappear. Left with only each other, Marcel and Connie quietly adapt to their unusual life until documentary filmmaker Dean (Dean Fleischer-Camp), the house’s new tenant, discovers Marcel and decides to tell his story.

Judging by the poster alone, I was not convinced this would be a film for me. One evening I decided to give it a chance and it became one of the biggest surprises I have watched in recent years. It completely won me over. Beneath its unusual premise lies an incredibly moving story about love, loneliness and hope.

Visually, the film is fascinating. Combining stop-motion animation with live action backgrounds creates a world that feels both believable and magical. While mixed media filmmaking is certainly not new, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On uses it in a way that feels completely natural. Dean Fleischer-Camp has resisted calling the film a mockumentary, instead leaning towards a fictional documentary and this distinction feels appropriate. The filmmaking style allows the audience to feel as though they are simply observing Marcel’s everyday life rather than watching a traditional animated film. It is inventive without ever drawing attention away from the story itself. In a world where so many films can feel formulaic, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On quietly breaks the mould.

For a film centred around such a tiny character, Marcel, carries remarkable emotional weight. He is resourceful, resilient and quietly wise, showing that strength often comes in unexpected forms. The film explores surprisingly mature themes, including grief, loneliness, caring for elderly relatives, social media and the importance of community. It does so with enormous warmth and without ever becoming overly sentimental.

The relationship between Marcel and Connie is the emotional heart of the film. Their roles subtly reverse as Connie grows older and Marcel increasingly becomes her carer. Their conversations about taking chances, making sacrifices for those we love and accepting change feel deeply human despite involving two shells. There is also a beautiful use of a Philip Larkin poem that perfectly complements the film’s themes and serves as a reminder of how different forms of art can enrich one another.

Jenny Slate and Isabella Rossellini deliver wonderful voice performances. Slate gives Marcel an innocence and curiosity that makes him instantly likeable, while also conveying a quiet resilience born from loss. Rossellini makes Connie endlessly warm, gentle and wise. Together they create a very touching relationship.

The film is filled with delightful visual details. Connie’s walking frame, made from the wire of a champagne cork, Marcel’s tennis ball rover, jam jar lid tables and ingenious rope and food processor contraption for harvesting oranges all demonstrate extraordinary creativity. These tiny inventions are charming in themselves but also reinforce Marcel’s resourcefulness and optimism. Gentle humour runs throughout but the film is never afraid to explore much deeper emotions. Connie’s growing forgetfulness quietly touches upon the realities of dementia, while Dean’s own heartbreak potentially mirrors elements of Fleischer-Camp’s real-life separation from Jenny Slate during the making of the film, adding another subtle layer to its exploration of loss.

Overall, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is a film full of heart, humour and quiet wisdom. Its painstaking stop-motion animation is extraordinary and the warmth of its characters and the humanity of its story that make it memorable. It gently challenged the way I looked at the world and, by the time it ended, I genuinely felt my life was a little richer for having spent time with Marcel.

★★★★½  4.5/5