Animation comes of age
Thursday, July 10, 2014
"Mary and Max," the quirky and surprisingly dark animated comedy explored at CineVerse yesterday, was a revelation for adults tired of typical animated fare geared toward kids and families. Here's a summary of what we observed:
IN WHAT WAYS IS “MARY AND
MAX” DIFFERENT AND DISTINCTIVE FROM OTHER ANIMATED MOVIES YOU’VE SEEN?
· It’s decidedly more adult and mature in its
characters, themes, subject matter, language, content and style. This is a film
that delves into autism, suicide, psychiatry, homosexuality, alcoholism,
humping dogs, agoraphobia and other matters.
· The look (and, correspondingly, the world view) is
dark, primarily monochromatic in light shades of black and white, and sporting
a grungy, used looking palette.
o Movie reviewer Clark Douglas wrote: “Whereas most
animated films are charming and cheerful, this one is dark and gloomy. While
most animated films have a vibrant color palette, this one is so overcast that
it's a shock when any color at all comes through. These choices are fine, as
they suit the film and its tone.”
o Adam Elliot commented in an interview that “there were
no straight lines, every prop had to look like it had been dropped once, every
prop had to look like it had bought at an op shop and then everything had to be
grunged up and aged.”
o This film thwarts our expectations of what a
claymation movie should look and feel like; previous claymation features like
Wallace and Gromit are cute, benign and charming; this one is the opposite,
although it does tug on the heartstrings when it needs to.
· There are no stock characters, stereotypical personalities,
or “life-affirming” agendas here. Consider that Max is a lonely, Jewish New
Yorker with Asberger’s syndrome, while Mary is an isolated child from Australia
who’s looking for a random pen pal—she’s a character who later practices
psychiatry and attempts suicide. These are oddball, quirky, idiosyncratic
characters whose actions and thoughts are not easy to predict, which offers a
refreshing change of pace for viewers.
· The story and situations continue to defy
expectations. Think about the fact that Mary and Max never actually meet in
person, although we totally expect them to by the end of the picture.
· Additionally, the comedy is often crude and rude, with
plenty of jokes related to farting, peeing, bowel movements, and copulating. You
get a level of this in many animated movies today, but not to this degree.
WHAT
IMPORTANT THEMES ARE PROPOSED IN THIS MOVIE?
· The importance of communication and connection—connecting
with another human being, even one who is completely different from you.
· Disillusionment—ways in which our fantasies and visions
about others doesn’t correlate with the real truth.
· Identify—ways in which we’re alike and different,
capable and disabled, alone and isolated.
· The rite of passage from childhood to adulthood and
the loss of innocence involved.
· The resiliency of friendship: can Mary and Max’s
friendship survive despite distance, dispute and disappointment?
· Fatalism—consider the reference to “que sera sera,
whatever will be, will be”.
· Human faults and flaws—from anxiety, depression and obesity
to disease, disability and death.
· Finding humor, happiness and meaning in a bleak,
challenging world.
FILMS THAT ONE IS REMINDED
OF AFTER WATCHING “MARY AND MAX”:
· Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride in its stylized look and
dark design
· The Triplets of Belleville
· Modern animated films geared more toward adolescents,
such as Coraline and ParaNorman, which deal with more complex psychological and
sociological issues
· About Schmidt, which also featured an older male character
who had a child pen pal from another country
OTHER STANDOUT ANIMATED
FEATURES FROM 2009:
· Up
· The Fantastic Mr. Fox
· Coraline
· Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
· The Princess and the Frog
· Ponyo