IMDb RATING
8.1/10
187K
YOUR RATING
In 1976 Melbourne, a lonely 8-year-old girl strikes up a correspondence with an unlikely pen pal: a severely obese 44-year-old New Yorker with Asperger's syndrome.In 1976 Melbourne, a lonely 8-year-old girl strikes up a correspondence with an unlikely pen pal: a severely obese 44-year-old New Yorker with Asperger's syndrome.In 1976 Melbourne, a lonely 8-year-old girl strikes up a correspondence with an unlikely pen pal: a severely obese 44-year-old New Yorker with Asperger's syndrome.
- Awards
- 6 wins & 9 nominations
Eric Bana
- Damien Popodopolous
- (voice)
Barry Humphries
- Narrator
- (voice)
Christopher Massey
- 911 Operator
- (voice)
- (as Chris Massey)
- …
Daisy Kocher
- Alleyway Bully Two
- (voice)
- …
Dan Doherty
- BMX Bandit
- (voice)
Julie Forsyth
- Bus Stop Mother
- (voice)
- …
Mandy Mao
- Cher the Chihuahua
- (voice)
- …
Adam Elliot
- Dr. Bernard Hazelhof
- (voice)
- …
Mr. Peck
- Ethel the Rooster
- (voice)
Michael James Allen
- Ferrari Driver
- (voice)
- (as Michael Allen)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIt took 2400 teaspoons of lubricant to create the ocean when Max imagines himself on a desert island.
- GoofsPart 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 creditsBefore the end credits the next quote appears: "God gave us our relatives; thank God we can choose our friends" by Ethel Watts Mumford.
- ConnectionsFeatured in De wereld draait door: Episode #5.148 (2010)
- SoundtracksPerpetuum 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
Featured review
Mary & Max - wonderfully unique and personal animation
There's a constant stream of animated films these days, but mostly they're either glossy Hollywood product (Pixar/Dreamworks), or Japanese anime. For adults wanting something different we have to wait for the likes of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Waltz With Bashir, Persepolis, or Aardman's films to turn up. Mary & Max is one of these films that comes as a complete departure from all the others, both in visual and storytelling style, and sticks in the mind because of it. I won't repeat the plot here, so I'll just mention a few pros and cons. The cons are obvious. Some people will be put off by the almost constant narration (which took me a while to get used to), the rather numerous calamities (a lot more than you'd expect if you thought this was just a kids film), and the sadness within some of these people's stories. It's actually a little surprising that the film got made without the people financing it demanding a script that was more tailored to appeal to a wider audience. What we get is something that feels a whole lot more personal than the higher profile animated films. It feels personal, and therefore real, and the explanation is that it was written from life by a director who has a real feeling and sympathy for people who don't quite fit into the world, and feel alienated or are misunderstood by others. Mary was partly inspired by the director's own childhood (and there's a little bit of Toni Collette's Muriel Heslop thrown in I suspect), and Max is also based on a real person he's been pen friends with (but so far has never met in person). The way the film handles his Asperger's Syndrome just feels different to how you'd normally see such an issue handled on screen. There's a constant stream of humour (ironic, black, childish), and I really enjoyed the small perfect touches on growing up in an Australian suburb in the 70's and 80's, and the depiction of grey New York, as it appears to the easily frightened Max. The animation is constantly a joy to watch, and I highly recommend seeing it on the big screen where it can be properly appreciated in all it's hand-made glory.
helpful•18223
- MatthewInSydney
- Apr 14, 2009
Details
Box office
- Budget
- A$8,240,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $1,740,625
- Runtime1 hour 32 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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