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Mary and Max

Original title: Mary and Max.
  • 20092009
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
175K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Mary and Max. (2009)
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.
Play trailer2:32
1 Video
99+ Photos
  • Animation
  • Comedy
  • Drama

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 Y... Read allA 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.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.

IMDb RATING
8.1/10
175K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Adam Elliot
  • Writer
    • Adam Elliot
  • Stars
    • Toni Collette(voice)
    • Philip Seymour Hoffman(voice)
    • Eric Bana(voice)
Top credits
  • Director
    • Adam Elliot
  • Writer
    • Adam Elliot
  • Stars
    • Toni Collette(voice)
    • Philip Seymour Hoffman(voice)
    • Eric Bana(voice)
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 259User reviews
    • 179Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Top rated movie #203
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 9 nominations

    Videos1

    Mary and Max
    Trailer 2:32
    Mary and Max

    Photos137

    Bethany Whitmore in Mary and Max. (2009)
    Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mary and Max. (2009)
    Bethany Whitmore in Mary and Max. (2009)
    Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mary and Max. (2009)
    Mary and Max. (2009)
    Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mary and Max. (2009)
    Philip Seymour Hoffman in Mary and Max. (2009)
    Melanie Coombs and Adam Elliot at an event for Mary and Max. (2009)
    Adam Elliot at an event for Mary and Max. (2009)
    Melanie Coombs and Adam Elliot at an event for Mary and Max. (2009)
    Melanie Coombs and Adam Elliot at an event for Mary and Max. (2009)
    Robert Redford, Melanie Coombs, and Adam Elliot at an event for Mary and Max. (2009)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Toni Collette
    Toni Collette
    • Mary Daisy Dinkleas Mary Daisy Dinkle
    • (voice)
    Philip Seymour Hoffman
    Philip Seymour Hoffman
    • Max Jerry Horovitzas Max Jerry Horovitz
    • (voice)
    Eric Bana
    Eric Bana
    • Damien Popodopolousas Damien Popodopolous
    • (voice)
    Barry Humphries
    Barry Humphries
    • Narratoras Narrator
    • (voice)
    Christopher Massey
    Christopher Massey
    • 911 Operatoras 911 Operator
    • (voice)
    • (as Chris Massey)
    • …
    Oliver Marks
    • Alleyway Bully Oneas Alleyway Bully One
    • (voice)
    Daisy Kocher
    • Alleyway Bully Twoas Alleyway Bully Two
    • (voice)
    • …
    Daniel Marks
    • Alleyway Bully Threeas Alleyway Bully Three
    • (voice)
    Hamish Hughes
    • Animals (Miscellaneous)as Animals (Miscellaneous)
    • (voice)
    • …
    Dan Doherty
    • BMX Banditas BMX Bandit
    • (voice)
    Julie Forsyth
    • Bus Stop Motheras Bus Stop Mother
    • (voice)
    • …
    Mandy Mao
    • Cher the Chihuahuaas Cher the Chihuahua
    • (voice)
    • …
    Patrick McCabe
    Patrick McCabe
    • Datsun Sunny Driveras Datsun Sunny Driver
    • (voice)
    Adam Elliot
    Adam Elliot
    • Dr. Bernard Hazelhofas Dr. Bernard Hazelhof
    • (voice)
    • …
    Mr. Peck
    • Ethel the Roosteras Ethel the Rooster
    • (voice)
    Michael James Allen
    • Ferrari Driveras Ferrari Driver
    • (voice)
    • (as Michael Allen)
    Bill Murphy
    • Frankston Icebreaker Oneas Frankston Icebreaker One
    • (voice)
    Shaun Patten
    • Frankston Icebreaker Twoas Frankston Icebreaker Two
    • (voice)
    • Director
      • Adam Elliot
    • Writer
      • Adam Elliot
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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, an overweight man with Asperger's, living alone in New York. 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? —<jhailey@hotmail.com>
    • stop motion
    • black comedy
    • stop motion animation
    • asperger's syndrome
    • male nudity
    • 144 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Two unlikely people. Two different worlds come together in a story about a most unusual friendship.
    • Genres
      • Animation
      • Comedy
      • Drama
    • Certificate
      • Not Rated
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      It took 2400 teaspoons of lubricant to create the ocean when Max imagines himself on a desert island.
    • Goofs
      Part of the movie is set in Australia and part of the movie is set in New York, however, the cars always drive on the left side of the road, even the scene in New York.
    • Quotes

      Max Jerry Horovitz: The reason I forgive you is because you are not perfect. You are imperfect. And so am I. All humans are imperfect.

    • Crazy credits
      Before the end credits the next quote appears: "God gave us our relatives; thank God we can choose our friends" by Ethel Watts Mumford.
    • Connections
      Featured in De wereld draait door: Episode #5.148 (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Perpetuum Mobile
      Composed by Simon Jeffes

      Published by Editions Penguin Café Ltd

      Performed by the Penguin Cafe Orchestra (as Penguin Café Orchestra)

      Licensed by Fable Music Pty Ltd on behalf of Zopf Ltd

    User reviews259

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Refreshing and engaging given the home-grown talent involved.
    In Australia in 1976, a young girl named Mary (voiced by Bethany Whitmore) is a lonely child looking for a friend. She lives with both her parents but her mother is a chain smoking drunk and a thief and her father, who works in a factory putting the strings on teabags, would rather spend time with his collection of dead birds. Mary remains curious about life and finds the address of an American living in New York. She writes him a letter to become his pen pal. The recipient is Max (Philip Seymour Hoffman), a severely overweight Jewish hypochondriac and full-time no-hoper. Gradually, as they send each other letters, Mary and Max's relationship develops and we begin to learn more about their past and their heartache and insecurities of being alone.

    Following the short animated film, Harvey Krumpet, director Adam Elliot has constructed his first full feature claymation picture, displaying as much skill as many of the major mainstream studios. The film has been immaculately designed, with many tiny details and features placed into the sets, all of which would have taken many countless hours to mould. The lighting and colour scheme too are significant to the unique look of the film, ranging from highly saturated to almost entirely black and white, to reflect the self-depreciative and sometimes gloomy tone of the narrative. It is a film made of great patience and craftsmanship.

    Yet the strongest asset of the film is the humour of the screenplay. Whereas many mainstream animated films such as Shrek and The Incredibles adopt a great deal of hilarity from their pop culture references, Elliot has an eye for the simpler things in life. From the way Mary and Max share their eating habits of chocolate hot dogs, to how Max describes his past jobs, including a street cleaner and a member of the Communist Party, the humour of the film remains truly original, bizarre and often very witty. Elliot excels in his ability write about the most normal things and then turn them on their heads, or degrade his miserable characters in the most hilarious way. Yet there are moments of poignancy too, such as where Mary describes her difficulty at school as she is teased for the birthmark on her forehead, that provide the film's screenplay with a subtext - no matter how simple – about isolation and the need for friends.

    The use of Barry Humphries' voice over to convey much of the story is initially highly annoying and intrusive. In the opening scenes it feels overly used and distracting from the story and the detail of the scenes. Gradually though, as the film moves from its opening exposition, the voice over is used slightly less and its scarcity achieves the storybook quality and poetry that it deserves. Barry Humphries reads his lines beautifully. The rest of the voice actors too are splendid. Philip Seymour Hoffman is again in fine form, adding a slight accent to his voice and the decision to model his voice with a character of a similar physique fits nicely. He is quickly become one of the most diverse actors in the world. Bethany Whitmore as the young Mary is equally impressive too and her voice has a real innocence about it. Toni Collette and Eric Bana also have much smaller roles too. It is a well thought out voice cast and while some of the minor characters verge on grotesque, there is still a real sweetness about this film that carries it.

    Elliot has described his film as being suitable for everyone. This is rather optimistic. I don't know how particularly young children, who have been conditioned by the more mainstream animated titles, would appreciate the film. It is extremely funny for the most part, but there is also a real sense of gloom around these characters that might not be as appealing to children. And towards the end, the film, despite being well under two hours, begins to lose a bit of momentum as the characters wave in and out of their depleted lives. Perhaps the films message of learning to live with your flaws and accepting the path life has given you is something that children, even if they don't entirely understand now though, needs to be seen anyway. Regardless, it remains a mostly sharp and funny film that many will find refreshing and engaging given the home-grown talent involved.
    helpful•91
    20
    • Likes_Ninjas90
    • Apr 10, 2009

    FAQ2

    • Is the film really based on a true story?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 12, 2010 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Australia
    • Official sites
      • Official site (Germany)
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Languages
      • English
      • Yiddish
    • Also known as
      • Mary Và Max
    • Filming locations
      • Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
    • Production company
      • Melodrama Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • A$8,240,000 (estimated)
    • Gross worldwide
      • $1,740,429
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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