For a lot of families, what makes the world of childrens entertainment so daunting is the simple fact that despite how great Pixar or Dreamworks might be, all of it does feel very corporate. Finding a truly indie kids movie, with the same spirit as an indie film, distributed by an indie film studio is often impossible. Until now.
With the release of Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, studio A24, and Marcel creator Jenny Slate have made a twee arthouse movie for kids. Heres what to know about the film and why Slate told us that she hopes Marcel inspires her own daughter, Ida Lupine.
I think it's really funny that Marcel will be on a shelf surrounded by really scary movies, Slate tells Fatherly, referencing the various indie horror titles A24 is known for, including Hereditary, Midsommar, and this years overwhelmingly acclaimed Everything Everywhere All At Once. I think he deserves to be with other individuals who in their own way have a heightened power.
A scene from Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
To walk a mile in Marcel the Shells shoes would take forever, given how small the cute, little guy is. Its why, as seen at the beginning of the new film, he tends to get around the house he lives in by careening across the floor inside of a tennis ball. Its an effective, if sometimes chaotic means of transportation. Marcels journey from viral comedy video in 2010, to big-screen indie family feature in 2022, isn't quite as chaotic, but it is, unexpected.
Jenny Slate the actress, writer, and comedian, who voices Marcel and co-created the character back in 2010 when the first Marcel short became a critically acclaimed viral sensation has had a much smoother journey in the decade between those early shorts and Marcels big-screen debut. A long road, to be sure, a natural and cathartic one, too.
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On who is, for the uninitiated, exactly what he sounds like made his debut in a short film created by Dean Fleischer Camp in 2010. In a distinctive squeaky voice that could sound scary if it wasnt so cute, Marcel tells Fleischer Camp about his daily life living in a big ol house, documentary-style. The cute short film spawned two sequels and two picture books in fairly rapid succession. After that, it was an unhurried wait for the right fit for what could come next.
We had completed those, the discussion that followed was sort of natural. Like, is there more we wanna do here? Slate tells Fatherly. They took meetings about a Marcel TV show that didnt feel right. (Now, though, Slate says shed love to circle back to that idea because a show, at this point, could be really fun.) When they started talking to studios about a possible feature film, the pitches they were getting were taking Marcel out of his element too much. After all, Marcels whole deal is being a small little guy in his big mostly empty house not the kind of story that naturally lends itself to an epic adventure or a wise-cracking A-list co-star in a big studio production.
We felt very sure that there was enough just in his own home environment and enough just in him as himself to carry a film and it didn't need these like giant set pieces or other famous comedy actors to be paired with him, Slate explains. Marcel really was kind of lit from within and didn't need this sort of synthetic giant light, like a spotlight, to be put on him.
Eventually, though, Slate and Dean Fleischer Camp found the right partners the nonprofit film funding organization Cinereach and were able to make a movie where Marcel could just be Marcel. That was about seven years ago, as actually making Marcel the Shell With Shoes On took a long, only occasionally leisurely time. (Current events did not exactly speed things up.)
A24 eventually picked up the distribution rights for Marcel the Shell. Its the studios first foray into family-friendly films, but Slate, who stared in one of their first movies, Obvious Child, says its a great fit because of how much A24 champions artists with unique, distinctive voices.
Of course, the stakes for a feature-length movie even an indie flick do need to be a little higher and the action a bit more elaborate than in a viral short. The new movie, which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival last September ahead of its wide release this summer, follows Marcel and his elderly grandmother Connie (Isabella Rossellini) as they go about life in the Los Angeles house where they live. They used to have a whole bunch of other shell friends and family, but theyre all missing, along with the previous human inhabitants of the house. Its not until a documentarian who is staying in the house as an Airbnb (a mostly unseen Fleischer Camp, as in the original shorts) begins making a documentary about his tiny roommate that Marcel thinks he might be able to track down the rest of his missing family.
Jenny Slate at the NYC premiere of Marcel The Shell With Shoes On.
Slate says the process of giving Marcel a bigger story for his big-screen debut meant digging into family dynamics.
Why is he by himself? What does he think his house is? Were there others? And if so, where are they? Does he want them to come back? And then the story, like just sort of naturally unfolds, she explains. Marcel used to have a family. They were taken away. Why were they taken away? Marcel's family got swept away on a tide of grief and bad feelings.
Sound heavy? Dont get the wrong impression Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is absolutely as charming and quirky and sweet as those much-beloved shorts were. Theres just a beautiful, softly mature melancholy that goes along with it.
These days, as a fairly new mom, Slate says she definitely cares more about community than having a big audience. And while being a parent didnt directly influence the film itself, she says shes glad it exists as something that can clearly show her daughter who she is as an artist, in addition to the mom who is steaming the broccoli.
I made this and that it exists as a very clear example for my daughter of what kind of artist I am and what my hopes are as a person in this world and what my beliefs are, Slate says. That will be a specific message for her daughter; the beauty of Marcel the Shells twee complexity is that there are unique takeaways for anybody who watches. Marcel isnt turning to the camera to tell viewers about the Golden Rule. There are more subtle, more powerful messages inside.
The Marcel movie has a lot of usable models for how to try to enjoy your life on a day-to-day basis, even if your circumstances have sorrow in them, Slate says. That's a daily thing. You gotta just keep doing it. There's a good example in there of how that can be invigorating rather than exhausting.
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On is out now and playing in theaters in most states.
Not subscribed to Fatherlys newsletter yet? Were not mad, just disappointed.
See original here:
'Marcel the Shell' Is The First Indie Kids' Movie That Matters - Fatherly
- The 30 best classic horror movies of all time - Entertainment Weekly News - March 16th, 2024
- The 23rd Spring, Is Jeepers Creepers Coming Back To Michigan? - 102.5/104.9 The Block - March 16th, 2024
- Winnie The Pooh Horror Movie Dominates The Razzie Awards - 106.3 The Groove - March 16th, 2024
- This Underrated Blumhouse Horror Movie Is Unlike Any Other Creature Feature - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- 13 Horror Movies Where Everyone Dies by the End - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience Villain The Unknown Gets Its Own Horror Movie - TMZ - March 8th, 2024
- The 13 Scariest Horror Movies Streaming on Peacock: Alien, Leprechaun, The Exorcist: Believer and More - Syfy - March 8th, 2024
- Every Horror Movie Releasing in March 2024 - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- 10 Scariest Movies That Have Won Oscars - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- The 10 Best New Horror Movies To Watch in March 2024 - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on Viral Willy Wonka Experience Coming Soon - Bloody Disgusting - March 8th, 2024
- Where To Watch Imaginary: Showtimes & Streaming Status - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Immaculate: Eveything You Need to Know About Sydney Sweeney's Upcoming Horror Movie That Will Give You ... - FandomWire - March 8th, 2024
- The 20 best horror movies on Peacock - Entertainment Weekly News - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based on the Willy Wonka Experience Villain, The Unknown, Now in the Works - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- Melissa Barrera's Scream 7 Replacement Actually Sounds Better Than Fighting Ghostface Again - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- 'Shaitaan' Movie 2024 Filming Locations: Shooting Spots Of The Horror Flick - TRAVEL + LEISURE INDIA - March 8th, 2024
- The Horror Movie Franchise With the Most Sequels Ever Is One You've Never Heard of - Collider - March 8th, 2024
- Jimmy Fallon asked people to ruin a horror movie by adding a single word to its title - Upworthy - March 8th, 2024
- The Absolute Best Horror Movies on Hulu - CNET - March 8th, 2024
- Willy Wonka Experience creepy character 'The Unknown' handed role in new horror movie - The Mirror - March 8th, 2024
- The Best Sea Monster Movies, Ranked - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- The Borderlands Movie's Scary Behind The Scenes Drama That Has Us Worried - Screen Rant - February 28th, 2024
- Netflix Just Quietly Added the Best Holiday Thriller of the Decade - Inverse - February 28th, 2024
- The 20 best scary movies streaming right now - Entertainment Weekly News - February 19th, 2024
- Best Horror Movies of 2024 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - Rotten Tomatoes - February 19th, 2024
- 'Only Murders in the Building' Adds Molly Shannon to Season 4 Cast - Yahoo Eurosport UK - February 19th, 2024
- Why Lindsay Lohan Refused to Kiss Charlie Sheen in "Scary Movie 5" - Best Life - February 19th, 2024
- 15 Best Scary Movies To Stream - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2024
- Eight Skin-Crawling Scary Films That Don't Have Any Jump Scares In Them - Digg - February 11th, 2024
- David Cronenberg names some of the scariest movies ever - Far Out Magazine - February 11th, 2024
- 12 Horror Movies That Will Give You the Biggest Jump Scares - Collider - February 3rd, 2024
- TAROT's Trailer Brings the Iconic Cards to Life and Things Get Weird - Nerdist - February 3rd, 2024
- Review: Baghead - Is the Movie as Scary as it Looks? - Blazing Minds - February 3rd, 2024
- Natasha Lyonne Says James Woods Hit On Her As A Teenager While Filming Scary Movie 2 - 106.3 The Groove - February 3rd, 2024
- The Witcher's Freya Allan explains the challenges of filming her first horror movie Baghead: "You have to surrender ... - Gamesradar - January 26th, 2024
- The 5 Best Uses of Popcorn in Scary Movies - Dread Central - January 26th, 2024
- 5 Horror Films That Transformed The Genre - Study Finds - January 26th, 2024
- Kristen Stewart Wants to Star in Another Horror Movie in the Future - ComingSoon.net - January 26th, 2024
- Best Home Invasion Movies of All Time, Ranked - MovieWeb - January 26th, 2024
- Presence Review: Steven Soderbergh Tells a Ghost Story from the Ghosts POV. It Is Scary? Not Quite. But the Family Demons Lure You In - Variety - January 26th, 2024
- 55 best horror movies that are actually good and terrifying - Digital Spy - January 18th, 2024
- She is a Real Housewife, was in a scary movie franchise, is pals with Bethenny Frankel, has a Hilton connectio - Daily Mail - January 18th, 2024
- The Scream cast talk about the legacy of Scary Movie - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- The 20 Best Horror Movies on Netflix: January 2024 - Vulture - January 9th, 2024
- Scream cast reveals their favorite scary movies - Popverse - January 9th, 2024
- Horror fanatics are 'desperate' to watch the first scary movie of the year Night Swim after trailer leaves the - Daily Mail - January 9th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies That Are Too Disturbing to Re-Watch - Collider - January 1st, 2024
- Raging Grace review politicised critique of imperialism in horror movie form - The Guardian - January 1st, 2024
- 15 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time, According to Rotten Tomatoes - MovieWeb - January 1st, 2024
- The 19 Best Horror Films of 2023 Best Life - Best Life - January 1st, 2024
- The Best Horror Movies of 2021, Ranked by Tomatometer - Rotten Tomatoes - December 23rd, 2023
- This Is What Takes 'The Descent' From Scary to Terrifying - Collider - December 23rd, 2023
- 15 Best Horror Movies Of 2023 - Screen Rant - December 23rd, 2023
- 25 Best Horror Movies Created in the Last 5 Years - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 12th, 2023
- 25 horror movies that were based on true stories - Yardbarker - December 12th, 2023
- The 30 best horror movies of all time - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movies In Theaters Now (2023/12/06)- Tickets to Movies in Theaters, Broadway Shows, London Theatre & More - Hollywood.com - December 12th, 2023
- What Is the Highest Grossing Horror Movie of All Time? - Collider - December 12th, 2023
- The 27 Best Horror Films of 2023 - MarieClaire.com - December 12th, 2023
- Upcoming horror movies: new scary films coming in 2023 and beyond - Gamesradar - December 12th, 2023
- 20 Best Horror Movies on Max (Formerly HBO Max): Dec. 2023 - Vulture - December 12th, 2023
- Scary Movie (2000) - Plot - IMDb - December 3rd, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Netflix - Rotten Tomatoes - October 16th, 2023
- The Best Horror Movies on Prime Video to Watch Right Now - October 16th, 2023
- From Psycho to a new crop of horror movies, the genre has some mommy issues - The Seattle Times - May 13th, 2023
- Months After Hulu Controversy, Mike Tyson Makes Major Move in the World of Cinema - EssentiallySports - April 8th, 2023
- Best Horror Movies of 2023 Ranked - New Scary Movies to Watch - March 31st, 2023
- Three cheers for the Moose: Everybody knows the name of beloved '80s sitcom star and 'Masked Singer' eliminee - Yahoo Entertainment - March 31st, 2023
- The 10 Scariest Horror Movies Ever - Rotten Tomatoes - February 26th, 2023
- Films Turning 10 in 2013: Oz the Great and Poweful The Croods Oblivion Labor ... - Latest Tweet by Pop - LatestLY - January 1st, 2023
- Family of slain Idaho student from Skagit County relieved to hear of suspect's arrest - KPIC News - January 1st, 2023
- The 50 Scariest Movies of All Time - Reader's Digest - December 24th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy ... - December 24th, 2022
- "I was a side piece and you're a str*pper": Nia Long spills tea about Regina Halls role in The Best Man: The Final Chapters - Sportskeeda - December 24th, 2022
- Mother says scary movie guy wanted to kidnap her child in Spains Castellon area - The Olive Press - December 16th, 2022
- The Daily Show To Replace Trevor Noah with Chelsea Handler, Kal Penn, Al Franken, Sarah Silverman & Leslie Jones - Television - December 8th, 2022
- 'Airplane!' and 'Scary Movie' director rips cancel culture in comedy: 'We don't want to try to educate' - Fox News - November 11th, 2022
- 20 Scary Horror Movies to Watch on HBO Max - Harper's BAZAAR - October 2nd, 2022
- Best scary movies of 2022 to watch for Halloween - Dexerto - October 2nd, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero