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.

Director:

Adam Elliot

Writer:

Adam Elliot

Stars:

Toni Collette, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Eric Bana

Top Rated Movies #187 | 4 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christopher Massey	...	911 Operator / Ambulance Voice / Derisive Observer (voice) (as Chris Massey)
Oliver Marks	...	Alleyway Bully One (voice)
Daisy Kocher	...	Alleyway Bully Two / Bird Injury Girl / Bus Stop Girl / Katherine Ramsay (voice)
Daniel Marks	...	Alleyway Bully Three (voice)
Hamish Hughes	...	Animals (Miscellaneous) / Mad Jury Member / Opera Singer Two (voice)
Dan Doherty	...	BMX Bandit (voice)
Julie Forsyth	...	Bus Stop Mother / Kissing Woman (voice)
Mandy Mao	...	Cher the Chihuahua / Sonny the Chihuahua (voice)
Eric Bana	...	Damien Popodopolous (voice)
Patrick McCabe	...	Datsun Sunny Driver (voice)
Adam Elliot	...	Dr. Bernard Hazelhof / Garbo Two / Grandpappy Ralph / Ivan Ruby Bevan / Mr. Ravioli / Postmaster / Runover Kitten / Worm (voice)
Mr. Peck	...	Ethel the Rooster (voice)
Michael James Allen	...	Ferrari Driver (voice) (as Michael Allen)
Bill Murphy	...	Frankston Icebreaker One (voice)
Shaun Patten	...	Frankston Icebreaker Two (voice)

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, 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?

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Plot Keywords:

stop motion | black comedy | stop motion animation | clay animation | asperger's syndrome | 

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Taglines:

Two unlikely people. Two different worlds come together in a story about a most unusual friendship.

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Drama | Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The postage stamps in the film used by Mary feature an image of Dame Edna Everage, a character played by comedian Barry Humphries, who also narrates the film.

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Goofs

In the U.S., a can with the label "tinned spaghetti" is shown. While this wording would be used in Australia, it is rather unlikely in the U.S., where "canned spaghetti" would be the preferred term.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: Mary Dinkle's eyes were the color of muddy puddles. Her birthmark, the color of poo.

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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.

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Connections

References Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

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Soundtracks

Dance of the Knights (Montagues and Capulets)
from "Romeo & Juliet" by Sergei Prokofiev is used by permission of Hal Leonard Australia Pty Ltd. exclusive agent for Boosey & Hawkes Music Publisher Ltd of London
Performed by Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Christopher Nicholls
Licensed courtesy of Australian Broadcasting Corporation

User Reviews

G r e a t.

Just finished watching this, And Loved it. Previously Wall-e was the only animation that I rated 10/10. And this is the second one.

If You have not seen this You have no idea about how good it is.Its very well written (A True Story) , well Directed, narrated and equally good Animation in all respects. You don't Find Much stuff like this.

Its would get a rating of Pg-13 because of sex related material but I think every Children of 10+ should see this because the sex related material is kept very implicit.

I hope It will get Nominated for best Animation for year 2011, Best screenplay and best picture as well.

I have much more to say but since I have to review lot more movies I will just tell ya: I just Love It.

9.5/10. (Better than all animations of 2009) Can't wait to see it in top 250.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Australia

Language:

English Yiddish

Release Date:

9 April 2009 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Mary and Max

Filming Locations:

Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

AUD8,240,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,739,445

Company Credits

Production Co:

Melodrama Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1