It’s often said that the best entertainment for children is the stuff that deals with the harsh realities of life, but on a level that kids can handle. Bambi’s mother getting killed by a hunter; Artax succumbing to the Swamp of Sadness in The Neverending Story; The loss and change that comes with getting older as explored in the Toy Story saga.
You can add a tiny, one-eyed talking seashell to the list. Based on three popular short films – the first won Best Animated Short at the 2010 AFI Fest, was an official selection of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, and won the Grand Jury and Audience Awards at the New York International Children's Film Festival – Marcel is the brain child of filmmaker Dean Fleischer-Camp and actor Jenny Slate.