Staff Picks:
Favourite films selected by Hot Docs staff!
"A stop-motion mockumentary instant classic that will make you laugh and possibly bring a tear to your eye - if you haven't yet, get ready to fall in love with Marcel the Shell." - Dara Poizner, Development Coordinator, Hot Docs
It's easy to be cynical about the creation of a feature-length film based on a viral YouTube video, but cynical is the last word that comes to mind when watching Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. It manages to be, as one critic put it, “the cinematic equivalent of a warm hug,” without being corny.
When Dean (a semi-fictionalized version of director Dean Fleischer-Camp) moves into an Airbnb post-breakup, he discovers and befriends Marcel, a charming, resourceful anthropomorphic seashell (voiced by Jenny Slate) living in the home with his Nana Connie (voiced by, of all people, Oscar-nominee Isabella Rossellini). He begins to document their lives online in the hopes of reuniting them with the rest of their long-lost shell family, sparking a whimsical and poignant journey about the fickle nature of internet fame, the experience of caregiving for a loved one, and most crucially, how to use a tennis ball to get around a house built for humans when you are only an inch tall.
This unassuming yet groundbreaking mockumentary seamlessly blends stop-motion animation and live action to tell a story about the importance of community and of keeping an open heart. As it turns out, you can learn a lot about what it is to be human from a tiny shell with sneakers and googly eyes. Who would have thought?
This is Dara's Staff Pick: Dara works on Hot Docs' development team and likes matcha oat lattes.
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