With its sad-sack protagonist and far-from-child-friendly content, Memoir Of A Snail might have little in common with cutesy Pixar fare but it manages to be no less charming in its own tragicomic, adorably imperfect way. This Australian stop-motion animation is the second feature from the unmistakable Adam Elliot (director of 2009’s Mary And Max and 2003 Academy Award-winning short Harvie Krumpet) and was the worthy winner of Best Film at last year’s London Film Festival.

Rendered characterfully in clay and narrated with gentle poignancy by Succession’s Sarah Snook, Memoir Of A Snail tells the story of luckless gastropod obsessive Grace Pudel (voiced first by Charlotte Belsey, later by Snook). Grace grows up in 1970s Melbourne with her twin brother Gilbert (Mason Litsos then Kodi Smit-McPhee) and their paraplegic, former juggler father (Dominique Pinon), before tragedy strikes and Grace finds herself bouncing from one disastrous life event to another. Jacki Weaver provides the voice of Grace’s inspiring elderly pal Pinky, while Eric Bana is a magistrate with an unfortunate penchant for public masturbation.

Developed over eight years and containing biographical detail from Elliot’s own life, the film is enriched by its relationship with reality. It has clearly been made with an abundance of love, featuring saggy-eyed, affectionately grotesque creations whose distinctive look ties them to Elliot’s previous work. 

On paper, many of the events are quite grim but Memoir Of A Snail is just as often hilariously funny, with an irresistibly inappropriate shtick. Brightened by a warmth and affection for lonely and stigmatised souls, the film retains a subdued streak of optimism. Despite its commitment to showing just how shit life can be, it never loses hope that no matter what’s thrown at you, things can, and hopefully will, get better. 

Memoir Of A Snail is in cinemas from Friday 14 February.