By Adam Hetrick
02 Oct 2008

Academy Award winner Philip Seymour Hoffman will lend his voice to Adam Elliot's claymation film "Mary and Max."

Barry Humphries, best known for his alter-ego Dame Edna, narrates the feature that tells of two unlikely pen-pals: one, a chubby eight-year-old girl in Australia, and the other, a 44-year-old obese Jewish man named Max with Asperger's Syndrome living in New York City.

Variety reports that Hoffman will voice the lead role of Max, opposite Toni Collette as the young girl, Mary. Actor Eric Bana is also slated to lend his vocal talents to the film.

Director Adam Elliot, who earned an Academy Award for his animated short "Harvie Krumpet," directs his screenplay for "Mary and Max."