Directing: B+
Acting: B+
Writing: B+
Cinematography: A-
Editing: B+
Animation: B+
Special Effects: A-

I just wanted to see a movie today. I checked the listings at my local AMC Theater, noticed a title I had never heard of called Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, checked to make sure the score on MetaCritic worked for me, and thought: that’ll do.

And I’m so glad I went, even though it became clear pretty quickly that what i was watching was the culmination of an internet phenomenon I had not been aware of—but, take it from me, that knowledge is not in any way necessary to being thoroughly charmed by the little, one-inch toy shell with a single eyeball, an animated mouth, and, as the title indicates, standing on a pair of tiny little shoes. Marcel is lent a slightly intensified, even more childlike voice by the truly distinctive Jenny Slate, although one of the most deeply impressive things about this production is the naturalistic dialogue between Marcel and director and co-writer Dean Fleischer-Camp, who plays himself, mostly from behind the camera.

The conceit of the film is that Fleischer-Camp is doing a documentary, focused on Marcel while he stays in the AirBnB space where Marcel lives. After some introductory sequences that establish a tone of mild but unique enchantment, we learn that with the exception of Marcel’s shell grandmother, his entire family and community has disappeared from a sock drawer they had all designated as a safe space. Over the course of the film, the search for Marcel’s loved ones results in a prime time news program interview. There are certain delights I do not want to spoil here, such as the delightfully left-field cameo in the part of the TV journalist, or even who voices the grandmother shell, Nana Connie.

Honestly, if at all possible, I would recommend going into Marcel the Shell as blind as possible. For a bit I just found it moderately amusing, wondering vaguely it this really needed to be stretched into a feature-length film—and then it blindsided me with several truly hilarious gags, unique in execution and thus transcending its “quirkiness.” Listening to Marcel talk is like listening to the most hilariously original ideas coming from a four-year-old.

Of course, as this film makes clear, there will be many people for whom going in totally blind will be impossible. I didn’t even know who Marcel the Shell was, and there are tens of millions of people who do. It should be noted, though, that there is a vast difference of sophistication between that first YouTube video from 2010 and this film, although it should also be stressed that all of it is in the best way. On a technical level, I was consistently impressed by this film. There’s a sequence in which Marcel rides on the dashboard of Fleischer-Camp’s car, while standing on a map. The combination of stop-motion animation with seamless shifting light and shadow patterns on the map, the kind of thing most viewers probably aren’t even paying attention to, left me in awe. For all I know, it was an effect achieved through some simple means. Or maybe it was some massive technical achievement. Either way it looked incredible.

This brings me back to the dialogue between Fleischer-Camp and Marcel, usually with Fleischer-Camp speaking from behind the camera. It all comes across as totally natural and real, but there clearly had to be a lot of meticulous planning involved, in order to create animation that synced with it convincingly, That this film could be made with such considerations and still be so charming—and, surprisingly, poignant—is something I find legitimately astounding. This is one of those lucky instances where something so clearly a labor of love resulted in something its audiences can easily love just as much.

And whether you know Marcel the Shell already or you don’t, I am loathe to reveal any more about it. It’s such a delightful surprise on its own terms, every audience deserves to experience that surprise as thoroughly as possible.

*Marcel has an eye opening experience on the internet.*

Overall: B+