Mary & Max oder: Schrumpfen Schafe, wenn es regnet?

Masterfully directed, edited and animated to pique your interest from the off, it has you falling into the worlds of Mary and Max and sharing their challenging journeys through life, as well as their genuine, realistic and engaging correspondence and gifts to each other. Stuffed full of sad and sorrowful events, the solitude and isolation felt by both characters is palpable all the way through. Not really a film to make you smile but one that will make you think and that, after all, is what the best of storytelling is really all about.

I hate it when people assume that animation can only be for little kids. Why should an entire medium be relegated to a demographic unlikely to fully appreciate all the work that went into the detail and animation of this stop-motion world? That's not to say that children can't watch this movie - anything "inappropriate" will likely go over their heads - but it is a bit depressing.

I don't have a lot to say about this movie that hasn't already been said. Everything from the animation to the voice acting to the story is absolutely fantastic and I would highly recommend watching.

It's hard to describe just how excellent this film is. The story is great, both very funny and touching. The art-design and animation are a delight, thoughtful, very rich in details, and very consistent in style. The music is great. The storyline and direction... I can't find a bad word to say, except that the story drags a little half- way through, but then picks itself up again toward the end. Truly, a must-see. If you like adult animation, this is definitely for you. I agree with those comparing it to Aardman films, Waltz with Bashir and Persepolis, but this movie's animation is so professional, that only Aardman truly compares.

In 1976, in Australia, the misfit and outcast eight-year old girl Mary Daisy Dinkle lives in Mount Waverley with her alcoholic shoplifter mother Vera Lorraine Dinkle that is addicted in Sherry and her absent father Noel Norman Dinkle that works in the Earl Grey Factory attaching strings in the teabag and spends his leisure time in his hobby - taxidermy. Mary has absolutely no friends and is teased by her schoolmate Benny Clifford. She has a complex because of her brown birthmark in the forehead and she adores her favorite cartoon The Noblets that she watches with her rooster Ethel and condensed milk. Meanwhile, in New York, the lonely forty-four year-old Max Jerry Horowitz has Asperge Syndrome and trouble to sleep and is obese since he eats chocolate hot-dogs to compensate his anxiety. He frequently goes to the Overeaters Anonymous Meeting. Max does not have any friend, only the invisible Mr. Ravioli, and also loves The Noblets. His life goals are to have a friend, Noblets and chocolate. One day, Mary picks Max address out of an American phone-book and she decides to write to him to ask from where babies come in America. Along their lives, they become pen pals and their unusual friendship oscillates due to the anxiety attacks of the unstable Max.

"Mary and Max" is an unforgettable and heartbreaking bleak tale of friendship and loneliness. The story is bittersweet and witty, with an ironic black humor and provokes the most conflictive emotions in the viewers, funny in a moment, and depressive in the other. The excellent animation follows the dark style of Tim Burton and the screenplay is a profound insight in human behavior. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Mary and Max – Uma Amizade Diferente" ("Mary and Max – A Different Friendship")

When I was young, I wanted to be anyone except myself. Dr. Bernard said: I must accept myself, my shortcomings and all. We cannot choose our shortcomings, they are also part of us, and we must adapt to them. However, we can choose our friends and I am very happy to choose you.