And the Oscar goes to

...Mary & Max! Forget Up, Mary & Max is undoubtedly the best movie (across categories) of 2009.

Up was not without its fine moment, but the 10-minute montage of the bittersweet circle of married life cannot sustain me through talking, psychotic dogs with robotic voices.

Now, take Up's much talked about 10-minute montage, and stretch it to some 80 minutes of claymation and you get the beautiful and compelling story of an odd friendship that blossomed across continents through a series of exchanged correspondences, between a misanthropic grandpa and an unassuming little girl.

Must watch.