Turning Red

Pixar's latest toon is a heartfelt delight with something to say about growing up and embracing what makes you unique

Earlier in the week, a review for “Turning Red” received a plethora of backlash after the critic wrote that the film wasn’t “relatable” enough to him and that the audience it’s speaking to is fringe. An odd take, especially when you look at the films that made Pixar famous, from toys coming alive, talking fish, monsters, lonely robots in love, a rat that can cook, and an entire world populated by sentient cars. Pixar has always been one of the most inventive studios out there when it comes to telling truly human stories with characters that are either a) not human or b) more than human. While the animation studio has had a couple of stumbles (namely “Cars 2”) when they have something good on their hands, they have truly stricken gold. “Turning Red” may be Pixar’s 25th animated film, but it holds the distinction of being their first feature length film to be directed by a woman: Domee Shi, who previously won the studio an Academy Award for Best Animated Short with “Bao.” It just makes it that much more unfortunate that Disney pulled “Turning Red” from it’s theatrical release and put it on Disney+, just as they did with the last two Pixar movies, but never with the Disney Animation films.

“Turning Red” is set in Toronto, Canada in 2002, where 13-year-old eighth grader Mei Lee (Rosalie Chiang) lives with her overprotective mother Ming (Sandra Oh) and her father Jin (Orion Lee). Ming expects only perfection out of her daughter and makes her help out with tending to the family’s Chinese Temple. Mei, on the other hand, is a teenaged girl, while the stress of her Mother’s expectations loom over her, she also wants to be with her best friends, meet cute boys, and of course see the popular boy band 4-Town in concert.

After Mei’s hormones start acting up and a series of misunderstandings leads Ming to publicly humiliate her, Mei wakes up one morning to discover that she has transformed into a giant red panda that will come out whenever she experiences any extreme emotions. While attempt to stay hidden initially, Mei soon learns from her mother that the women in the family have all experienced the same transformation and eventually under the Red Moon, are able to separate themselves from the spirit of the Red Panda. Though when Mei starts to experience a burst in popularity among her classmates, she starts to become attached to her new furry persona.

“Turning Red” can be taken as a metaphor for a lot of different areas, but namely the film is “giant” metaphor for that awkward time in our lives known as puberty and the angsty road of self-discovery and self-acceptance that every tween and teen experiences at some point. Mei may be a 13 year old Chinese girl, but that shouldn’t limit who the film is speaking to, in fact the messages and themes of this film are universal. There’s something in the film that every audience member regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, or nationality can take away from and will find themselves resonating with.

This feels truly like a story that is truly personal to Shi, one that is told straight from the heart with such authenticity that leads to quite the emotional impact in those trademark tear-jerker scenes Pixar has become notorious for. The basic concept of the film may feel strange, but the film feels like a mesh between the comedic and fantastical elements of the Michael J. Fox comedy “Teen Wolf” with the mature and insightful family drama of Greta Gerwig’s “Lady Bird.” Pixar has always excelled at digging into weightier topics but presenting them in a way that is still accessible to children, and “Turning Red” is no different.

In a way the themes presented in “Turning Red” may it feel like a spiritual successor to one of Pixar’s greatest achievements: “Inside Out.” While the 2015 Oscar-winner dealt with a girl on the verge of experiencing change, “Turning Red” is all about change and self-discovery.

Pixar has never disappointed in the animation department and their work here is excellent, mixing together aspects of modern western animation with hints of Japanese Anime, “Turning Red” isn’t focused on creating environments and characters that look life like but instead is more inclined to having its own unique style. While in the past there has been some backlash against Pixar’s dedication to sticking to a particular way of designing its characters, their most recent films like “Soul,” “Luca,” and now “Turning Red” have broken the mold, which makes it even more confusing why some are still frustrated at the art direction of the film.

Another area where Pixar proves to be exceptionally gifted at, is finding stellar voice-casts. While A-list stars such as Tom Hanks, Jamie Foxx, Amy Poehler, Owen Wilson, and Tom Holland among others have lent their voices to various films in Pixar’s filmography, the studio is never bent on casting only recognizable names. Newcomer Rosalie Chiang brings so much warmth and energy to role of Mei, her voice makes the character feel even more real and easy to connect with. Sandra Oh, who is without question the biggest name on the cast-list, also shines as Ming balancing both comedy and sentimentality.

“Turning Red” is once again proof that Pixar is, without question, of the greatest animation studios out there. One that truly dares to break the mold and speak on topics that most animated films try to steer clear of. While it’s a shame this won’t be playing in theaters, the fact that it being on Disney+ will bring it more eyes, is always a plus.