Marcel The Shell is the tiny queer icon we need right now
Marcel The Shell With Shoes On‘s story about carving out a place for oneself in a daunting world feels like a small miracle.
And in its adorable star, the film gives us an emblem of hope, of ingenuity, and perseverance—a tiny icon with an outsized appeal for the LGBTQ community.“Generally, I think Marcel focuses us on our similarities more than our differences,” writer-director Dean Fleischer-Camp shares with Queerty. “But he resonates because he is a small thing living in a world that was not made for him.
I think people in the queer community can identify with feeling [that,] like you live in a world or a mainstream that isn’t considering you.”By making the most of his circumstances and flourishing in spite of them, Marcel’s cheerful tenacity has been delighting audiences for over a decade, inspiring those who have ever felt like they didn’t belong.
It was in 2010 that Fleischer-Camp and actor-comedian Jenny Slate first introduced the character to the world via a scrappy short film that became a festival favorite.
