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In the world of animated movies, the rarest style of animating is stop motion. The process in itself takes a very long time and requires lots of patience. Therefore, few studios build themselves on it and the few who do see difficulty finding an audience. However, with this lack of quantity comes an abundance of quality from the stop motion films that manage to be released. The newest of such releases is ‘Memoir of a Snail’ (2024) directed by longtime Australian animator Adam Elliot, the film is a biographical account of the early life of a shy snail obsessed misfit as she navigates life, forms and breaks relationships, and comes to make sense of a world full of both pain and beauty. In a non typical fashion for animated movies, ‘Memoir of a Snail’ deals with mature themes and struggles relating to loss, heartbreak, addiction, and finding a place in the world free of past traumas.
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An Unsurprisingly Gorgeous Animated World
Right from the opening credits, ‘Memoir of a Snail’ adds itself to the list of incredible looking animated films. So much detail and care is put into every aspect and how they will blend together to create a world that transports the audience to another place while keeping to a realistic tone. With this being stop motion, the camera work and lighting are at times dark and dreary, adding a nice touch in telling the story of a more mature nature. The production design evokes Tim Burton worlds, lived in streets, farms, and rooms hoarded with snail trinkets. Each character is designed in careful accordance with their personality and role in the story. Ken, the quirky French looking boyfriend with a bright smile and funny hair. Pinky with large glasses and an endearing elderly smile. Gracie herself who is short, plump, has droopy yet sympathetic eyes, and her handmade snail hat. Character design is one of the most essential parts of establishing who they are and ‘Memoir of a Snail’ does it to great results. All of this is thanks to the 8 years it took to make ‘Memoir of a Snail’. With that time period, it was essential to put thought into every detail in character and production design and as can be seen in the final product, it paid off to great results.
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A Clayographic Story of a Lonely and Awkward Snail Obsessed Outcast
It appears that most popular stop motion films are about oddballs in society. Characters who go against what their society expects of them. However, most of these films still conform to a fantastical nature while ‘Memoir of a Snail’ is presented in a more realistic sense. The character of Gracie Pudel is an empathetic protagonist to follow as she reminisces her tragic upbringing of losing both parents and being separated from her brother, the only person she has a genuine connection to. She endures struggles including loneliness, social awkwardness, and eventually suicidal thoughts which most of the audience can find relation to. Her obsession with snails acts as a nice visual metaphor as she slowly moves through life, accumulating painful memories and never moving forward into the world. Being distressed and heartbroken constantly throughout the film is enough for anyone to lose hope in the world. But, while life can be painful, it can also be a bouquet of riches, worth living through a thousand sorrows in order to enjoy the sweetest nectar of life with those you love. This film dedicates itself to showing this journey through Gracie and hopefully encouraging young people in a similar situation as Gracie.
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The film is full of many other colorful characters who all add a spice of quirk or emotion. Pinky is the elderly woman who Gracie befriends, having lived a full life and is always there for Gracie despite her old age. Gracie’s alcoholic once juggling father voiced by the quirky Dominique Pinon. Ken, the first love of Gracie pictured in a bright cheerful light. Gracie’s brother Gilbert is a second protagonist in a way as he endures a foster family of hypocritical religious freaks. This side of the story is just as compelling and emotionally resonant as Gilbert suffers abuse from this family over his disinterest in religion and his homosexuality. These two sides in ‘Memoir of a Snail’ compliment each other greatly, resulting in a strong heartfelt core and deeply satisfying conclusion that life can only be understood by moving backwards, but it must be lived forwards.
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Adam Elliot Proves Himself as an Unrecognized yet Talented Stop Motion Animator
Despite having experience animating for nearly 30 years and receiving hundreds of awards for his work, Adam Elliot’s career has been surprisingly sparse. ‘Memoir of a Snail’ marks only his second animated feature film with his first being the similarly acclaimed ‘Mary and Max’ (2009) which goes hand in hand with ‘Memoir’ as it also adopts a more adult tone compared to most animated films. Apart from that, Elliot has focused on making short films with ‘Harvie Krumpet’ (2003) winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Short. ‘Memoir of a Snail’ joins his previous work as it is a blend of dark comedy, tragic biographies, and a somewhat weird presentation that culminates with a bittersweet tone. His skills in animation are unquestionably still fresh as the film not only looks great but the story is told in a compelling way. A biographical approach of Gracie Pudel, reminiscing her painful life to her slow moving longtime snail friend. More importantly, while most animated movies gravitate towards being kid friendly, Elliot does not shy away from the more disturbing and melancholic sides of life. People in Gracie’s life come and go, many of her struggles are tied with what young girls in real life have to go through, and the dynamic between her and Gilbert has a bleak portrayal of a separated family.
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The juxtaposition of emotionally draining segments and feel good comfort works wonders and is what many animated films struggle with. Elliot joins the ranks of filmmakers who can balance the two sides, not submitting completely to happy go lucky or depressingly dark stories. His characters endure pain but have precious hearts of gold. With its adult content, ‘Memoir of a Snail’ is not one that parents would likely take their kids to, but it is worth a watch for anyone in the mood for great animation and especially for young people enduring life’s difficulties. It is another in a long line of animated films to prove that animation is not a genre or exclusively made for kids. It is an opportunity to tell stories of all kinds in inventive ways.
Cast: Sarah Snook, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Eric Bana, Dominique Pinon
Director of Photography: Gerald Thompson | Editor: Bill Murphy | Writer: Adam Elliot | Producers: Adam Elliot, Liz Kearney, Robert Connolly, Robert Patterson | Director: Adam Elliot
By Elijah van der Fluit
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Elijah van der Fluit is a writer for The Hollywood Insider based in California with aspirations to write and direct films for a professional career. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys watching and discussing movies of all genres as well as reading, hiking, spending time with family, and being one with the world. Elijah believes that art, whatever form it may take, has the ability to inspire and broaden people’s perspectives in a positive way and he hopes to use his work in film and writing to do so.
Elijah van der Fluit is a writer for The Hollywood Insider based in California with aspirations to write and direct films for a professional career. In his spare time, Elijah enjoys watching and discussing movies of all genres as well as reading, hiking, spending time with family, and being one with the world. Elijah believes that art, whatever form it may take, has the ability to inspire and broaden people’s perspectives in a positive way and he hopes to use his work in film and writing to do so.
