A Fantastically Heartwarming Story

Rating: 9/10 (2 December 2015)

I went into Mary and Max with some expectations, but I never really thought about the movie until I watched it. I'm happy to say that I was unable to stop thinking about it the day after watching.
The plot is pretty simple, and a little cliché. That's not a bad thing, but oftentimes a cliché plot is poorly carried out. Mary and Max is not one of those movies. It's very interesting, and I felt myself wanting to hear what each letter exchanged by the characters said. Which brings me to the next point...
The characters are fantastic. In a movie as clearly character driven as this one, they're expected to be. Each letter shed light on the characters, from the obvious traits to the smaller, subtler hints towards who they were. And when the movie stopped reading the letters to the audience I wasn't super disappointed because I already knew the characters so well. It's not hard to believe that this was based off a true story, considering how real everything felt (despite everything being made of clay).
Mary and Max is one of the few movies that has almost made me cry. By the end you really feel for the characters and understand why they feel certain ways or do certain things, and you feel along with them.
The tone, lighting, and coloring are perfect. There's a reason why certain things stand out and why others don't, and it adds a really nice touch to the whole experience.
Overall Mary and Max is absolutely fantastic. With fantastic characters and an interesting plot, it's definitely one of the best movies I've ever seen. Almost flawless. I think that if this movie had been live-action that it wouldn't have had nearly as much charm as it did in clay-mation. The stop motion is all fantastically smooth as well. In the end I would not hesitate to recommend Mary and Max.