It could be said that the clay-animation [Mary and Max] is a film by, for, and about people who don’t “fit in,” or who don’t think they do?whatever that may entail. Based on animator Adam Elliot’s own 20-year pen-pal friendship, the film spans the two pre-email decades that Mary, a lonely girl in a Melbourne suburb (and effectively and avatar for Elliot), and Max, an Asperger’s-suffering Jewish man in New York, used to build a deep and meaningful friendship. Avoiding archetypes and animation cliches, Elliot?and Oscar winner for [Harvey Krumpet] (2003)?takes a hard look at the spectrum of life and delves into decidedly anti-animation issues such as alcoholism, disability, sex, mental health, and fear. As Mary matures from child to young adult, Elliot returns to his favored themes and once again, “Explores our desire for acceptance and love, no matter how different we are.” In doing so he transcends the standards we have come to accept from English-language animation?and made complete, resonant characters out of a kindergarten toy.