Mary and Max: The Exhibition

Mary and Max: The Film

Spanning 20 years and two continents, Mary and Max tells the story of a pen-pal relationship between two very different people: Mary Dinkle, a chubby, lonely 8-year-old living in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia; and Max Horovitz a severely obese, 44-year-old Jewish man with Asperger’s Syndrome living in the chaos of New York City, USA.

As Mary and Max chronicles Mary’s trip from adolescence to adulthood, and Max’s passage from middle to old age, it explores a bond that survives much more than the average friendship’s ups-and-downs. Mary and Max is both hilarious and poignant as it takes us on a journey through friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism, where babies come from, obesity, kleptomania, sexual difference, trust, copulating dogs, religious differences, agoraphobia and many more of life’s surprises.

Visit the film’s website for more information: www.maryandmax.com

Mary and Max: The Exhibition

Oscar® winning director and writer Adam Elliot, in collaboration with ACMI, has developed this unique exhibition which provides an exclusive behind-the-scenes insight into the making of the film Mary and Max. The objects on display in this exhibition range from character models, hand-drawn storyboards and miniature props to footage of the animators at work. Props include Max’s original typewriter, hand-written (by Adam Elliot) letters between Mary and Max, as well as meticulously crafted miniature glasses, bottles, light bulbs and cars. Discover the production process of a claymation feature film from Adam’s original sketch, to a miniature puppet and up to the final characters in the film. Six original sets from the film will enable you to imagine how the world of Mary and Max has come to life.

The film Mary and Max was shot in a factory in St Kilda, Melbourne. After the film was finished, ACMI took over some of the material from the film on behalf of Melodrama Pictures and drew a selection from this collection for display in this exhibition. Some of the substances used to construct the puppets are by their very nature malleable and not intended to last - the plasticines start to ‘sweat’ and disintegrate. So while hopefully the film will last forever, the opportunity to see these lovely objects may be limited.

Mary and Max: The Cast

A number of famous actors have lent their voices to the characters in the film Mary and Max:

Mary: Toni Collette

Young Mary: Bethany Whitmore

Max: Philip Seymour Hoffman

The Narrator: Barry Humphries

Damian: Eric Bana

Vera: Renée Geyer

Homeless man: Ian ‘Molly’ Meldrum

Len and Ken: John Flaus

Kissing woman and bus stop mother: Julie Forsyth

sexual difference, trust, copulating dogs, religious differences, agoraphobia and many more of life’s surprises.

Mary and Max: The Exhibition

An Australian Centre for the Moving Image touring exhibition managed by NETS Victoria

Presented by: