Mary and Max (2009)

Director:

Adam Elliot

Writer:

Adam Elliot (writer)

Release Date:

9 April 2009 (Australia)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy | Drama

Plot:

A tale of friendship between two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, eight-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a forty-four-year old, severely obese man living in New York.

Plot Keywords:

Friendship | Pen Pal | Australia | Fingernail | Adult Child Friendship

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Toni Collette	...	Mary Daisy Dinkle (voice)
Philip Seymour Hoffman	...	Max Jerry Horovitz (voice)
Eric Bana	...	Damien (voice)
Barry Humphries	...	Narrator (voice)
Bethany Whitmore	...	Young Mary (voice)
Renée Geyer	...	Vera (voice)
Ian 'Molly' Meldrum	...	Homeless Man (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Flaus	...	(voice)
Julie Forsyth	...	(voice)
Michael Ienna	...	Lincoln
Chris Massey	...	Additional Voice
Shaun Patten	...	Additional Voice
Carolyn Shakespeare-Allen	...	Additional Voice
Leanne Smith	...	Additional Voice

Runtime:

Australia:80 min | Germany:92 min (Berlin International Film Festival)

Country:

Australia

Language:

English | Yiddish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Australia:M | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Ontario/Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Company:

Melodrama Pictures

Trivia:

All of the water scenes were created with lubricant.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: While Max is typing on the typewriter, many times the carriage moves in opposite directions. But while typing the carriage should move only from right to left.

Quotes:

Max Jerry Horovitz: When I was young, I invented an invisible friend called Mr Ravioli. My psychiatrist says I don't need him anymore so he just sits in the corner and reads.

It's a genuine celebration of the value of difference.

Oscar winning (and proudly gay) animation artist Adam Elliot's acclaimed clay-mation feature film "Mary & Max" is astoundingly rewarding wonderful entertainment on the big screen.

It's an intriguing tale, starting in the mid seventies, of the ongoing true friendship of two long distance pen-pals, younger Mary in rural Australia and older Max in the rat-race of New York City. A significant element of the story involves Max's experience of living with Asperger Syndrome, knowing painfully full well that he senses the world in a radically different way to most. I've never seen any other project deal so honestly and powerfully with that condition. It's a genuine celebration of the value of difference.

There's lots to laugh and think about - and the attention to detail is staggering. Australia's living legend Barry Humphries excels as the narrator.

I loved the soundtrack which strongly featured two of my favourite Penguin Cafe Orchestra compositions. I've ordered the soundtrack CD already.