Dean Fleischer-Camp Interview: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On

screenrant.com:

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On, set the internet ablaze when it first released as a 4-minute YouTube short over a decade ago. The tiny half-shell made millions immediately fall in love, and audiences all over the world hoped for more glimpses of the shoe-loving creature and the shell puns he directed as his unseen cameraman.

Dreams come true this weekend, as Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is officially in theaters. Aside from having written the script together alongside their newly added co-writer Nick Paley, Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate each wear multiple hats for the film. Fleiscer-Camp directs and films himself on camera when his character gets dragged into the story by Marcel, who of course is voiced — and often improvised — by Slate. Another important addition is the focus on Marcel's family, including his grandmother Connie, voiced by the incomparable Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet).

Related: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On Trailer Teases Adorable A24 Mockumentary

Screen Rant spoke to Fleischer-Camp about the major changes to Marcel The Shell With Shoes On's story over the years it took to get the film made, such as upgrading his vehicle from a bug to a tennis ball and integrating Dean's documentary filmmaker character directly into the narrative.

Screen Rant: Of the changes in the last several years, Marcel upgrading from bug car to tennis ball is most fascinating to me. What sparked that evolution?

Dean Fleischer-Camp: He certainly has upgraded his vehicle. The tennis ball came about because we made this movie in a very unique way, and we did all the audio writing and audio recording first. And then we started storyboarding.

Kirsten Laporte, the animation director, and I storyboarded the entire movie