Sundance: must-see movies 2009

(Director and screenwriter: Adam Elliot) The tale of two unlikely pen pals: Mary, a lonely, 8-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max, a 44-year old, severely obese man living in New York. Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman (voice), Toni Collette (voice), Barry Humphries (voice).

Why? Stop-motion animation is used rarely enough that anytime it’s used it's worth a look. The fact that this one isn’t run-of-the-mill, big-studio kids’ fare only sweetens the deal.