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Mary and Max (2009)

8.1
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Ratings: 8.1/10 from 59,708 users  
Reviews: 111 user | 141 critic

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.

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Top 250 #182 | 5 wins & 5 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
...
...
...
Narrator (voice)
...
Damien (voice)
...
Young Mary (voice)
Renée Geyer ...
Vera (voice)
Ian 'Molly' Meldrum ...
Homeless Man (voice)
John Flaus ...
(voice)
Julie Forsyth ...
(voice)
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
...
Additional Voice
Shaun Patten ...
Additional Voice
Carolyn Shakespeare-Allen ...
Additional Voice
...
Additional Voice
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Storyline

In the mid-1970's, a homely, friendless Australian girl of 8 picks a name out of a Manhattan phone book and writes to him; she includes a chocolate bar. She's Mary Dinkle, the only child of an alcoholic mother and a distracted father. He's Max Horowitz, living alone in New York, overweight, subject to anxiety attacks. He writes back, with chocolate. Thus begins a 20-year correspondence, interrupted by a stay in an asylum and a few misunderstandings. Mary falls in love with a neighbor, saves money to have a birthmark removed and deals with loss. Max has a friendship with a neighbor, tries to control his weight, and finally gets the dream job. Will the two ever meet face to face? Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

Based on a true story. See more »


Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

 »
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Details

Official Sites:

| |  »

Country:

Language:

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Release Date:

9 April 2009 (Australia)  »

Also Known As:

Mary & Max  »

Filming Locations:


Box Office

Budget:

AUD 8,240,000 (estimated)
 »

Company Credits

Production Co:

 »
Show detailed on  »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
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Did You Know?

Trivia

It took 2400 teaspoons of lubricant to create the ocean when Max imagines himself on a desert island. See more »

Goofs

When Mary has the printing run of her study of Asperger's Syndrome destroyed because of Max's disapproval, the local paper headlines "Local Academic Pulps Novel and Career." Her book, however, was a non-fiction, academic study rather than a novel, which is by definition fictional. See more »

Quotes

Max Jerry Horovitz: Not much has happened since I last wrote except for my manslaughter charges, lotto win, and Ivy's death.
See more »

Crazy Credits

The end credits show animated portraits of the characters, with the actors names beneath them. See more »

Connections

References The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) See more »

Soundtracks

"That Happy Feeling"
Written by Kofi Ghanaba (as Guy Warren)
Performed by Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra
See more »

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User Reviews

 
It's a genuine celebration of the value of difference.
23 May 2009 | by (Brisbane, Australia) – See all my reviews

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.


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