I am committed to watching everything that Philip Seymour Hoffman ever did so when a friend suggested that I watch Mary and Max and explained that Hoffman was Max’s voice, I knew that I would watch it eventually, but because it is an Australian stop motion animated film, it wasn’t high on my priority list.
Mary and Max is about two pen pals, both lonely and awkward for different reasons, who become friends, but Mary and Max wasn’t made by Disney or Dreamworks so it isn’t the usual heart warming pablum that you would expect. Mary and Max is heartbreaking. The stop motion animation captures the imperfections and inherent ungainliness of life, but also ascribes a sweetness and innocence to the characters necessary for the story to unfold without the viewer raising an eyebrow at the story. Mary and Max’s soundtrack is phenomenal.
Mary and Max may be animated, but I would suggest watching it yourself before plunking your kid in front of the tv to watch it. Mary and Max has valuable lessons to teach its viewers about forgiveness, love and acceptance, but it is incredibly depressing because it is unflinchingly true to the daily tragedies of life. I would recommend watching Mary and Max, but perhaps plan to do something cheerful afterwards.