Films You Need to See: MEMOIR OF A SNAIL

An animated masterpiece (but leave the kids at home!)

I had a wondrous opportunity in early November to participate at the Spark Animation Festival again — an annual Vancouver event for which I was part of the founding group back in 2008 — and connect with some of my animation heroes.

First of all, I got to see Nick Park again, as he was there for the Canadian premiere of his brand new Wallace & Gromit feature, Vengeance Most Fowl. At another Spark festival in 2018, I was asked to present the Oscar-winning director with a Lifetime Achievement Award. This was a big deal for me, as catching his film The Wrong Trousers on television during college was a determining factor for me getting into animation many decades ago. The inspiration of his work set me on a trajectory that would last several decades.

I was delighted that Nick remembered me, and gave me a bear hug! His new film is amazing and I was so excited to see it — it will officially be released on NetFlix (and possibly in theaters) in January 2025, so I recommend you take the whole family and enjoy it. (See it on a big screen, if you can.)

Then after seeing the new Wallace & Gromit, I got to meet another Oscar-winning animation director who I hadn’t met before: Adam Elliot from Australia, and see his new stop-motion animation feature Memoir of a Snail. The following day, Spark had invited me to lead a Q&A with Adam in front of a small audience. We had a great conversation and it was awesome to connect with another artist whose work I’ve admired for years. We hit it off and I found a new kindred spirit in the animated realms.

The film itself is wonderful, and is Adam Elliot’s first feature in 15 years after 2009’s Mary and Max. Everything in this movie is made by hand. No CGI, made by humans, and an absolute work of art and humanity all told by clay animation puppets.

Leave the kids at home though — it may be animated but this is dark, raunchy R-rated stuff. The film is loosely inspired by Elliot's own life, and follows the trials and tribulations in the life of lonely misfit Grace Pudel, from childhood to adulthood, told in flashback-form to her beloved pet snail. It’s one of the best films I’ve seen all year, life-affirming, inspiring, absolutely hilarious and my vote for Best Animated Feature. It’s a signpost to the truth that no matter how we are made, who we love or how we love, we have infinite value in the eyes of the universe.

It’s now in limited release so see it on a big screen if you can, and enjoy all the hand-crafted textures of its sets and characters.