I recall there being a thread about this movie, but I can’t find it. Anywho, it’s a new stop-motion animated film from Adam Elliot, who also made the Academy Award winning short Harvie Krumpet. I watched Mary & Max today via certain means, and I really liked it. The story was interesting, charming, and often dark. It was very fascinating to watch, but the last 20 minutes or so were just nuts, and I felt like Mary and Max sometimes went out of character a little bit later on. Still, you should definitely see it if you can.
No disrespect to Pixar or Laika, both studios produced fantastic films this year, but Mary and Max is, IMHO, the best animated film of 2009. It’s too bad that I don’t think it’s going to see a US wide release now that it’s had its Oscar-qualifying run, but if you can manage to see it (there are ways, trust me) then you should run-not-walk to that viewing, it’s totally worth it. If The Oscars go less-mainstream (sadly, unlikely) and do manage to have a 5-nominees list of animated films this year as has been rumored, then I could easily see it pulling off a come-from-behind victory that no one expects. But, as I said, no one expects it, not even me. But oh how i wish. This film deserves to be known and respected as one of the best, not just in animation but in film, period.