Animation is one of the most intriguing types of film, and a lot of its intrigue comes from the fact that you rarely see an animated film explore how special the medium can be. 95% of animated films that are released today are either tender films made for children or raunchy movies made for adults where they can laugh at how irreverent a style of movie traditionally made for children can become. This is not to say that there are no good movies that fall under either of these categories; of course there are. But because of this two-genre monopoly on animation, these movies have become rather formulaic and repetitive. Every once in a while though, there comes along a film that makes you look at animation in a completely new light. One that sweeps you off your feet because of how unique it feels, how it introduces you to a whole new idea of what animated films can be. And that is what a little film called Mary and Max just did to me.

Mary and Max is a 2009 claymation created by independent Australian animator Adam Elliot, whose claymated short film Harvie Krumpet won him the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2003 (a film very similar to Mary and Max that can be found for free on YouTube). Mary and Max tells the tale of Mary Dinkle, a lonely eight-year-old girl from suburban Australia voiced (later in life) by Toni Collette, and Max Horovitz, a 44-year-old Jewish man with Asperger's syndrome from New York City voiced by the late Philip Seymour Hoffman. On a whim one day, Mary sends a letter to a random address she finds in a phone book, which ends up being Max’s home in New York. Max appreciates her letter and writes back, and the two become pen-pals. What blossoms between the two people on opposite sides of the globe is an unlikely but extremely potent friendship, and the film follows this rollercoaster friendship for 20 years.

Mary and Max is semi-autobiographical, as Elliot had a multi-decade long pen-pal relationship with a Jewish man with Asperger’s from New York. And the fact that it is semi-autobiographical is very apparent when watching the movie, because this is one of the most authentic and personal films I’ve ever seen. Elliot created these characters with an incredibly deep understanding of who they are and why they need each other. Their idiosyncrasies, speech patterns, motivations, and reactions to both each other and the world around them make the audience feel like these can only be cinematic representations of people who really walk the earth. Most of the dialogue in the film is spoken either by a narrator or by a voice over from each character as they write their letters to one another, essentially inserting the audience as a part of this pen-pal relationship. This is a feat not easily pulled off, and even harder to do with an emotional pay off. But Elliot finds the perfect balance between omniscience and a deeply psychological understanding of these characters to make a movie that celebrates the power of human connection.

The style of claymation fits this film perfectly. The visuals that tell the story are just as unique and refreshing as the characters that inhabit it. There isn’t all that much complexity in the visual style of film. The characters movie in a slow, blocky fashion. Characters are designed in a caricature-esque manner, and at times hardly resemble humans at all. The most distinct visual difference is the dichotomy between the dark, gothic New York that Max lives in and the more open but still muted color scheme of Mary’s home town. But all of this complements the characters and story beautifully. By breaking down the exteriors of this world to a simplistic renderation, the focus is thrown onto the unique, frequently funny, and intimate lives of our two titular characters. And I would kick myself if I didn’t mention the score of this movie as well, one that was so great that as soon as the credits rolled, I opened up my computer and found it online so I could listen to it again.

And then we get to the very difficult question that is the intended audience of this film. This isn’t a kids' film at all, as it deals with very adult subject matters in a dark and depressing manner. But at the same time, this is very much a film for kids because I can’t think of another film that better tackles what a child goes through when they are growing up. It tackles mental illness, isolation, and self esteem in such an authentic and compassionate way. Sure the highs are high for the characters in this movie. But when those lows come around, it's hard to remember that there were even highs to begin with. And when you break this movie down to its core, it's about how no matter who you are and what you go through, there will always be someone out there who can relate and help you through the lows and get back to the highs. So, in a word, it's about friendship. So my recommendation for what age range this is appropriate for would be on a person to person basis. I think if your child is in those middle school years and ready for an introduction to more mature subject matter, this film would no doubt help them both reflect on their life up to today and get ready to face the turbulent years ahead.

I read in an interview that Adam Elliot was offered a job at Disney after Harvie Krumpet won its Oscar, but he turned it down. He feared, which is a fear I share, that his films would have become less personal, less unique, less authentic if he had joined. And those three adjectives are exactly how I would describe Mary and Max. There are very few movies, let alone animated movies, out there like Mary and Max, and there’s a reason for that. It is difficult to break through in animation outside of the Disney/Pixar sphere, which is why I’m guessing many of you haven’t watched or heard of this movie before. But, in my eyes, it's worth the effort. Because after watching Mary and Max, it’s hard not to get a little sad thinking about how there aren’t more movies like it.

Mary and Max is available to stream on The Criterion Channel and AMC+. You can also rent it from wherever you rent your movies.