Pop culture references in film used initially for laughs and commentary can quickly and negatively date a film. Tying the film too strongly to an ever changing moment in time, or making a joke that in just a few short years, or even weeks, won’t be funny any more, it can be difficult to make these references in a world so tied to pop culture. Take the 2022 film Not Okay, that follows millennial Zoey Deutch as she tries to stay relevant while trying to become a social media star. Pop culture references drive the narrative of the film, and the characterization of Deutch’s character. Her hair style, dark straight hair with bleached “money pieces” at the front, and “chronically online” phrases she uses, both popular at the time of production but already outdated by the time the film was released. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021), directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp, could have easily faced a similar aging through its modern 2020s jokes, and its ties, through its original source material, to the early 2010s. Instead, through its sporadic use of these references to add humour rather than as a driving force of the narrative, the film overall uses its pop culture references to its benefit.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On began as a series of three shorts, by Dean Fleischer-Camp and Jenny Slate, in 2010. As of today, the first video of the series has reached over 30 million views, with the second short at 11 million and the third almost reaching 5 million. Marcel was a staple for so many kids growing up in the early 2010s. For those, like myself, growing up in this time, with the boom of social media and the beginnings of internet views and viral videos, these types of videos often shaped our recess and lunch time discussions. Imitating the Fred voice, or finding friends to sing different roles of the mysterious ticking noise song, Marcel was no exception to this playground chatter. For a video so tied to its roots in viral videos and the boom of the YouTube video, it would have been wrong to make a feature length film without at least some reference to its original medium, and pop culture in general. But for something so tied to the 2010’s, it was a gamble if this film, released 11 years later in 2021, would be able to keep up with the ever changing social media and video landscape.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On is set in the present-day 2020s. Marcel lives in a house that has become an Airbnb, watches videos on a MacBook, makes calls on a new iPhone, and the filmmaker staying at his house posts videos and goes live on YouTube. Once his video goes viral, young people react by doxing Marcel and showing up outside of the Airbnb to make TikToks. Just normal kid behaviour. But rather than inundating the viewer with these references, like Airbnb, TikTok, viral videos, we are only allowed glimpses. A shaky, blurry camera shot in hidden camera style of kids outside making TikToks, just clear enough for those of us who know the dances and gestures to make out. Jokes about Airbnb are few and far between, with a short involving the woman who is hired to clean the place and Marcel’s reaction, before moving on. As he tries to find his family, Marcel becomes an internet celebrity in the process, viewers forget about his original mission, poking fun in a heart-wrenching way at the inability some groups online have with turning everyone into an influencer, saying at one point he has “gained an audience, not a community”. These references are frequent enough to remind us of the importance of new media to not only the inception of Marcel himself, but also to the young generation who grew up with Marcel.

Despite these modern references, the film stays true to its origins. Through meta-references, Marcel in the film is discovered by the public through viral YouTube videos, just as we discovered him in 2010 by the same means. But rather than staying too closely tied to the early 2010s, the film embraces new technology. With its inception, the original Marcel videos did something similar. Although around for many years before the Marcel videos, YouTube boomed in the late 2000s and early 2010s. For many of the older generation, this new website was a cesspool for all things dangerous about the internet. While somewhat true, YouTube became a staple to Gen Z kids growing up during this time. Watching some of the first “influencers” reach their first 1 million subscribers, and learning everything from nail art to new songs to science lessons on the platform, YouTube, while still booming today, truly was tied to a childhood in this time in the late 2000s and early 2010s. The team behind Marcel, the film, clearly recognized this. Staying true to its origins on YouTube, the film never casts aside new social media, instead embracing it not only to poke fun at it, but to show its ever changing nature, alongside this character we grew up with as social media itself was evolving. While YouTube is crucial to both the new and original narrative, the film never relies too much on these pop-culture references and new media forms for its overall story. Instead, we focus more on the hilarious character of Marcel, with a sprinkling of these new media references to update, rather than change, the story of this adorable and feisty shell we have all come to love.

Technology is ever-changing. It seems like new phones are released every month, and new features on our favourite apps are rolled out almost weekly. Every few months, there is a new trend on our favourite social media platforms or a brand new social media app, with flocks of new users rushing to the app store to be one of the first to try it out. It would have been wrong for Fleischer-Camp’s 2021 Marcel the Shell with Shoes On to not embrace this ever changing technology. In the same way, it would have also been wrong to dive head first into early 2010 or 2020s references so much that would have resulted in an overstimulation of pop culture, dating the film. The 2021 film stays true to the heart found in the original trilogy of YouTube videos, while adding just enough additional depth to the beloved characters we all grew up with to be a film for all ages, of all generations. Its sporadic pop culture references never fail to put a smile on the face of its viewers, and its overall jokes land every time, making for a wickedly good time and a breath of fresh air in turning something so familiar into something so new and exciting to watch. I, personally, cannot wait for Marcel the Shell with Shoes On sequel, where Marcel takes his first BeReal, and utterly destroys the app in one single roast.

Marcel the Shell wit Shoes On (2021) is available to stream in Canada on Prime Video.