Mary and Max
The voice cast includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni Collette, Eric Bana and Bethany Whitmore, with narration provided by Barry Humphries.The film follows the lives and friendship of two unlikely pen-pals; Mary, a lonely Australian girl, and Max, a middle-aged American man with Asperger syndrome.Her only comforts are her pet rooster, Ethel; her favourite food, sweetened condensed milk; and a Smurfs-like cartoon show called The Noblets.Mary's letter initially gives him an anxiety attack, but he writes back, and the two become friends (partly due to their shared love of chocolate and The Noblets).In an interview given in April 2009, writer-director Elliot clarified that the character of Max was inspired by "a pen-friend in New York who I've been writing to for over twenty years."[5] The film deals with themes including childhood neglect, friendship, addiction, alcoholism, recovery, the obscurity of life, teasing, loneliness, mental illness, autism (Asperger syndrome in particular), obesity, suicide, depression, isolation, and anxiety.[6] The music in the film features Simon Jeffes and the Penguin Cafe Orchestra's "Perpetuum Mobile" (the opening theme) and "Prelude and Yodel", as well as "Russian Rag" by Elena Kats-Chernin."[12] Matt Ravier, writing for In Film Australia,[5] said the "story is paper-thin and some stretches of it are simply too long, yet whenever the narrative thread threatens to tear, the sheer authenticity and bold honesty of the characters save the day".[13] After the film was released on DVD in the United States, Slant said "Adam Elliot's dry wit is pervasive throughout Mary and Max and it's nice to see that this unique sense of humor extends to the extras.This Geoffrey Rush-narrated tale of the titular Tourette syndrome sufferer is a wonderful introduction both to Elliot's sensibilities and to Mary and Max's specific tone.