Seashell Marcel doubles the cuteness

When Marcel was first conceived, Slate and Fleischer Camp were a couple. They’ve since married and then divorced — which is nobody’s business, except that it’s hard to resist the impression that the film is serving as an odd, indirect autopsy of their relationship.

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The Fleischer Camp character, we learn, rented Marcel’s house through Airbnb after he declined to discuss a breakup. The previous tenants were another couple who have since split – while Marcel, who has no visible family aside from his ailing grandma (voiced by Isabella Rossellini), struggles with his own loneliness and sense of loss.

There’s no getting around it: Marcel would be well suited to run for Prime Minister of Twee, a small nation-state near the border between adorable and disgusting. Fleischer Camp is aware of how easily the whole project can go wrong, but in such circumstances, self-confidence doesn’t necessarily help.

Still, the element of sadness that mixes with all the moodiness feels real enough. And as a distraction for patient and soft-hearted children and for adults willing to put off their cynicism for 90 minutes, Marcel has a certain playful charm even at face value.