Sweet and beautifully animated

Rating: 7/10 (14 August 2012)

Adam Elliot's first full-length animated feature continues in the stylistic footsteps of his short films, on a larger, more ambitious scope, though the focus is still around similar motifs of loneliness and alienation. The quality of animation has improved, though, and the story is sweet and even moving; if you still need proof that animation isn't just for kids, Mary and Max is solid evidence. It could have easily been an independent tragicomedy by a director like Todd Solondz or Gus Van Sant, but the animation compliments the imaginative story and the colorful characters.
The movie doesn't quite do well with the long format, though; when compared to Elliot's Oscar-winning Harvie Krumpet (2003) it's easy to see why. The characters of Mary and Max are both too flawed, and they both do very little growth for this long a movie, and the viewer gets a feeling of treading water. Despite the fact that the movie keeps inventing throughout, it get dull, and I couldn't help but feel that it would have been better with a 40 minute runtime. For that reason it feels very fresh at first, but it can't maintain the feeling of surprise and originality that Harvie Krumpet had, but it's still recommended for animation lovers.