That’s the premise that kicks off the movie. Dean (Fleischer-Camp, essentially playing himself) turns his lens on Marcel (co-writer Jenny Slate), a plucky little creature that feels as if they were born from a dreamy collaboration between Pixar and Rankin-Bass. He films Marcel going about his day, where he makes use of found objects to explore the wide expanse of the human house he calls home, and helps his aging but passionate grandmother Connie (Isabella Rossellini) tend to a strange little farm. When Dean uploads their earliest chats to YouTube, Marcel becomes internet famous, a meme, a subject for Twitter and TikiTok and Facebook. And seeing an opportunity in his 15 minutes of fame, Marcel shoots his shot. He will use this new platform to find his family, a small army of fellow shell creatures who vanished when the couple who previously owned the house broke up and scattered his relatives to the wind.

If that sounds low-stakes, that’s because it is. “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” operates at a charming whisper, unafraid to let its story be told in quiet, charming conversations and observational comedy that feels akin to the gentlest work of Hayao Miyazaki and the clockwork timing of Jaques Tati. Ostensibly a family movie, the tone is far from Hollywood, and those expecting loud set pieces or inane needle-drops need not concern themselves. This is the kind of movie built to engage kids, not occupy them.

The movie doesn’t work if Marcel doesn’t work, but the little shell (with shoes on) leaps off the screen, feeling as real as any human character you will encounter. Shot in a confident, handheld recreation of cinema verite, Marcel’s minor adventures and routines are bemusing and frequently hilarious. He uses honey to scale walls like Spider-Man, a tennis ball as a mode of transportation, and a slice of bread as a sofa. He’s engaged but casual — this is his life, and he’s glad to talk about it, glad that someone noticed, glad to share the little ways he has survived in the absence of his family, and how he has kept Connie alive.