Way back before they became capital-F Famous, Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp made goofy little stop-motion shorts on YouTube, and one of them, about a little creature named Marcel the Shell (who, yes, has shoes on) took off. It racked up an impressive number of views and inspired a picture book of the same name, though there were always rumblings of something bigger and better coming down the pipeline. And now, that bigger thing is finally ready: Meet Marcel the Shell With Shoes On, the feature-length adaptation of the short that’ll hit screens later on this summer thanks to A24 (can you imagine the merch possibilities?). The distributor behind such kid-friendly classics like Climax and Under the Skin dropped the first trailer for the film earlier on Tuesday, and Jesus, it is cute as hell.
Peep it:
Here’s a synopsis:
“Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family. A beloved character gets his big-screen debut in this hilarious and heartwarming story about finding connection in the smallest corners.”
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On premiered back in March at SXSW, but it’ll hit theaters everywhere on June 24. However, if you’re local to Boston, you’ll have a chance to see it on May 4, as it’s been selected as the closing night film for this year’s IFFBoston. Ready to get annihilated by how cute this is?
And, for your viewing pleasure, here’s the original short: