Only long after the film, and with considerable effort, do you have to remind yourself that what you went all weak-kneed and misty-eyed over was a blob of plasticine -- a superbly directed blob of plasticine.
Comment
04/17/09
Mary and Max (2009)
92
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:26
Fresh:24
Rotten:2
Average Rating:7.7/10
Consensus: Mary and Max is a lovingly crafted, startlingly inventive piece of animation whose technical craft is equaled by its emotional resonance.
Synopsis: This claymation wonder made a splash at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. The surprising friendship between a young Australian girl named Mary (voiced by Toni Collette) and an aging New Yorker named... [More]
Reviews for Mary and Max
Top CriticThe most interesting, complex characters you will probably meet all year are puppets.
04/10/09
Top CriticIt was five years in the making and it’s worth every minute.
04/10/09
Top CriticMary And Max is original, personal, funny and moving; a film of warmth and compassion from a major artist.
04/10/09
Top CriticTremendously inventive, clever and wise, Mary and Max is a story for grown ups about life's dissonances.
03/31/09
Top CriticWhimsical with dark overtones is the mood of Adam Elliot's first feature, whose curious friendship between unlikely pen-pals is the focus of a humorous and edgy narrative.
03/31/09
Top CriticClick to read the article
02/13/09
Top CriticAs misguided and mystifying as it may sound at first, the Australian claymated Mary and Max turns out to be a hugely pleasurable and moving surprise.
11/20/09
The mixture of artistic sophistication and emotional crudeness cancel each other out.
11/20/09
In a perverse and often immature way, it forthrightly deals with mature issues of love, friendship, forgiveness and mental health. It requires a mature audience, but an audience nonetheless.
11/20/09
When two-dimensional drawings, computer pixels or lifeless lumps of clay can inspire real feeling, something almost magical is involved. Rarely has this been truer than in the Australian claymation film Mary and Max.
10/30/09
one of the more brilliant and emotionally affecting animated films to be released this year.
10/15/09
The most surprisingly moving film of the year, an experience that literally knocked me back as it brought tears to my eyes.
10/14/09
I don't know how anyone wouldn't love this splendid, beautiful, hilarious and heartbreaking film.
10/13/09
click for the full review
10/13/09
I'd be a sucker for most movies where a strategic slick of rooster s*** plays a decisive role in enabling an emotional communion, or where a young girl thinks to ask, "If a taxi goes backwards, does the driver owe you money?"
10/12/09
"Mary and Max" is a highly inventive claymation tragicomedy told from a very personal perspective. It's not intended to be everyone's cup of tea.
10/11/09
From opposite ends of the world the two can say anything to each other, and the clay animation lets us see what their minds' eyes are seeing. The story is wise and funny in ways it could not be in live action.
10/11/09
Mary and Max has the look of a kids picture but is another chapter in the growing evolution of animation for grown-ups.
10/08/09
Remarkable and poignant...
09/25/09
Top CriticLatest News for Mary and Max
June 28, 2009:
Edinburgh 2009: RT's 10 Must-See Movies
The Edinburgh Film Festival has come to a close and Rotten Tomatoes thought we'd make a traditional look back over all of the films playing at this year's fest and present to... More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Dressing Wonderland 
Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.
Wes Anderson on Fox
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Win Glee DVDs
We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.
Win tickets to Cold Souls
Double passes up for grabs to the new comedy starring Paul Giamatti.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds