Marcel the Shell With Shoes On Nominated for Best Animated Feature Oscar is no easy feat: The 500 The sharp characterization adaptation of the viral video barely qualifies for this category because of its mix of stop-motion animation and live-action filmmaking, but according to co-writer and lead voice talent
Jenny Slate, awards categories are far from what the creatives had in mind. “The actual making of a film is, and should be, very different from the goal of award eligibility or nomination,” she said. “For Dean [Fleischer Camp, co-writer and director], Nick [Paley, co-writer], Kirsten [Lepore, animation director], Liz [Holm, co-writer] and me, and everyone we work with, we really There’s this connection to a story that feels very small, but has this loud heartbeat in it.”
Also nominated for four Annie Awards (including two for Slate Awards: Best Voiceover and Best Writing), Marcel tells a heartbreaking story of celebrity, loss, aging and family, featuring Slate as charming and curious, often Deep, breathy vocal performances are the foundation. “It’s actually a two-person act—[Lepore’s directing] has a lot of responsibility for my performance, and it feels good to be connected in that way.”
Even if Slate didn’t make the film for award recognition, that doesn’t mean the Oscar morning news isn’t particularly significant. “Sometimes you watch the
Oscars , or you see something that’s been nominated, and it feels like a pack of lions,” Slate said. “Have you ever heard of how butterflies migrate? They’re all over the globe? I kind of feel like something that goes through a lot of transitions, it’s pretty fragile, but there’s a migration path they can follow throughout their lifetime. She added: “I’m really happy. I’m in tears. I feel like I felt when I was younger, it was my birthday. It’s a bit of a snowy day. I’m really emotional — it’s too Bittersweet. I just thought I’d enjoy calling my grandma and telling her it happened. She passed away a few months ago, [and] I know she’d be proud of me.”
Marcel isn’t Slate’s only project this season to be recognized in cinema’s highest form: she’s in A15’s Everything Everywhere All at Once and was nominated for a SAG Award as part of its choir. “My family is in Everything Everywhere All On Once – it feels really good for them to be nominated,” she said of her co-star, who will also be supporting on Oscar night them. “I’m so happy for Michelle [Yeoh] and Jamie [Lee Curtis] and Ke [Huy Quan], especially Stephanie [Hsu], she’s a great friend of mine. She’s a real beautiful person, seeing so many people I literally burst into tears at being swung by this massive light. It’s just a nod to the kindness.
She also had a tribute to the filmmaking duo Daniels — — “Not only because of their directing, but also because of their writing,” Slate said. “It’s a complex script. What they did really changed cinema forever.
This story first appeared in the Feb. 8 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.
