A24 has acquired North American rights to festival hit “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On,” the company announced Thursday.
The film is directed by Dean Fleischer Camp, who also wrote the screenplay alongside Jenny Slate and Nick Paley, from a story by Camp, Slate, Paley and Elisabeth Holm.
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” is based on Fleischer Camp and Slate’s stop-motion animated short films of the same name, which have garnered over 50 million views on YouTube since debuting in 2010. The shorts also launched two New York Times best-selling children’s books featuring the beloved character.
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” stars Jenny Slate and Isabella Rossellini, with Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann and Lesley Stahl.
The official logline is as follows: 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.
The film was a surprise hit when it premiered at the 2021 Telluride Film Festival.
“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” was produced by Elisabeth Holm, p.g.a, Andrew Goldman, p.g.a, Caroline Kaplan, p.g.a and Paul Mezey, p.g.a. Producers are Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate and Terry Leonard. Executive producers are Philipp Engelhorn, William Byerley, Nion McEvoy, George Rush and Michael Raisler.
The film is a Cinereach production in association with Chiodo Bros. Productions. The animation director is Kirsten Lepore, the supervising animation director is Stephen Chiodo and the animation producer is Edward Chiodo.
The deal was negotiated by WME Independent and CAA Media Finance.
Fleischer Camp is represented by Mosaic, CAA and Granderson Des Rochers. Paley is represented by Range Media Partners and Victoria Cook at Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz. Slate is represented by WME, Linden Entertainment and Morris Yorn and The Lede Company. Holm is represented by UTA and Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz.