Mary and Max

Impressions before seeing it
Stumbled upon this little Australian animated flick I had never heard of. All I knew about it was the brief little synopsis, but it sounded like it could be heartwarming.

How was it?
So these two people who are kind of losers and have no friends end up randomly becoming pen pals and good friends over a long distance. It could have easily been done in live action but then it probably would have lost some charm. For one, the characters are meant to be ugly and that doesn't translate well to live action because most movies have to have good-looking actors in the lead (or so studios believe) in order to do well, so having them animated makes them cute anyway. But I think the animation is also important in giving it a unique visual style, especially given that much of it is in monotones and again that might bore some viewers if it were live action.

Early on in the film I was reminded of Amélie because of the lonely characters and all of the details about the specific things they like and don't like as well as their quirks. That means it was off to a good start because I love Amélie. It even had a narrator. But it branched off into its own movie, told mostly through letters to each other, about a growing friendship. It's one of those heartwarming friendship movies - and as I am noticing with this type of movie, the new friendship is always tested when there is some sort of fallout between them. Lost in Translation also comes to mind, especially given that we have an older man and younger girl here as well. It's not for kids though, it is kind of dark and at times depressing, and the ending is one of those things that makes you feel happy and sad at exactly the same time. By the way, the main characters are voiced by Toni Collette and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, who are both awesome.

Recommendation
If you watch it, be prepared for the possibility of smiling, crying, or both at the same time. Should be enjoyable for most, because who doesn't like movies about characters becoming friends?