Max (voiced by Philip Seymour Hoffman) was animated with a singular personality -- no straight lines; keep it off and at odds. Animators used the phrase "Chunky-Wonky" to describe his look.

TS: What part of production took the longest?

AE: It took a year-and-a-half to write the script while my producer [Melanie Coombs] was out securing the money. We got some Australian Film grant money, and that takes a lot of time and red tape. Then three or four months of prep time, two years of animation, then a few months for post. We had a crew of around 50. We took the gang one day to see Pixar's Ratatouille. Looking at the credits I noticed they had more production babies listed than we had in our entire art department!

TS: Does the film feature any kickass CG stereoscopic effects or full frontal nudity?

AE: [Laughs] Yes, there is some full frontal nudity, an old male, maybe here and there. As for digital, if we did any it was to zap out a sculpting tool accidentally left in the shot. We did it the old-fashioned way, because I believe the audience can tell that what is on the screen is tangible, a bit rough, and they'll like it that way.

TS: Hayao Miyazaki and Sylvain Chomet have both said in the past that they were not trying to make their films with the international audience in mind. Do you feel the same?

AE: The content of the film lends itself to an international family. Part of it is set in New York, with an earthy kind of urban flavor. I make films for me and my family. I've never been to therapy, but maybe I make films that would please my father. I work backwards [when writing a script] from the end and try to flesh out the character and plot idiosyncrasies. I've never read any books on screenwriting. I just break it down intuitively. I liken some of this film to that [Jack] Nicholson film About Schmidt.

Like Oscar-winning short Harvie Krumpet, Adam Elliot's feature debut Mary and Max is innocent but not naive, as it takes us on a journey that explores friendship, autism, taxidermy, psychiatry, alcoholism and more.

TS: While enjoying live-action foreign films, the American audience has been fickle with animated ones. How do you think Mary and Max will overcome that?

AE: I've seen the other films, and while they are great, that audience may be put off by the subtitling. The great thing about Australia is we are not Europe, not Asia, nor America. Language is not a problem, and there are elements that are iconic to both Australian and American sensibilities, but the American audience is a tough nut to crack. Opening Sundance is a great step forward. And it will be fun to see the audiences' reactions to the film there. We were still completing it when we learned we made Sundance, so it will be the first time I see it with a fresh audience. At the end of the day, it's all about the story. We'll see.

TS: Thank you, and if you're going to the Rocky Mountains in January, don't forget to bring a coat!

Tom Sito is an animation director, teacher and author, whose book Drawing the Line, The Untold Story of the Animation Unions From Bosko to Bart Simpson (Univ Press of Kentucky, 2006) is now available in stores.