When it comes to a Disney/Pixar collaboration, the question is never if the film will be good, but how good is it. With the studio’s release of Turning Red this week, Disney/Pixar lives up to that reputation with yet another hit. Turning Red is Pixar at its most chaotic, and man, did that chaos work. It is a coming-of-age love letter blending timely themes about growth, friendship, family, and embracing one’s true self, with of course, 2000’s boy bands.
Turning Red tells the story of Meilin “Mei” Lee (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian with energy and charm that can light up a room. Living in Toronto in the early 2000s, Mei attempts to balance who she is in real life with who she is with her family including living up to the standards and expectations set up by her devoted, stern mother Ming (Sandra Oh). After a tumultuous day, Mei wakes up to realize she’s turned into a red panda. Mei soon learns that her ancestors have a history with the species and she must find a way to balance her red panda while dealing with being a teenage girl.
What excited me about the film’s prospects was director Domee Shi. After her directorial debut in 2018 with the Academy Award-winning Bao, I was looking forward to seeing what she did next. Much like in Bao, Shi tackles a new side of parenthood in Turning Red – one that may be most difficult of all – parenting a teenager.
There comes a moment in adolescence where we experience self-discovery, which guides us into molding ourselves into who we ultimately become as individuals. With Mei’s transformation into a panda, she recognizes a shift in her personality. Bypassing the embarrassment that would have come with such a dramatic shift in appearance, Mei embraces it, leading to the ultimate realization for her mother that Mei is growing up whether she likes it or not.
Turning Red is also aided by its focus on friendship. Mei’s friends Abby, Priya, and Miriam offer a supportive voice in Mei’s life. It’s refreshing to see a group of friends, male or female, that lift each other up and make their circle better for it. It’s been a constant thread in not just animation but in live-action movies where friends are against each other, ultimately leading to some form of betrayal. This film strips that away to give a flattering look at friendship.
The animation choices in Turning Red continue Pixar’s trend of creating a unique visual style for each of its films. Outside of their constant multi-themed narratives, Pixar’s animation choices for their films lend a hand in each film’s ultimate success. Turning Red is no different as each character is given their unique style while also embracing Mei’s Chinese culture. The film is a visual palette of beauty.
Kudos to Shi for also diving into the nostalgia of the early 2000’s boyband craze. Just typing this makes me feel old. Starting in 1998 and riding into the new century, it’s hard to describe to a younger generation how big the boyband craze was. As a 15-year-old in 2002, I was surrounded by tiers of boy bands including *Nsync, Backstreet Boys, 98º, and O-Town. The craze reached satirical levels of popularity, with groups like 2gether there to remind us that U + Me = Us. It’s one of the aspects of the film that brought a lot of memories about an often forgotten era in music.
Sandra Oh and Rosalie Chiang are delightful in their roles. The always reliable Oh embraces Ming’s loving and firm nature while Chiang is not just charming but downright hilarious throughout the film. The chemistry can’t be ignored and it aids in the ultimate emotional gut-punch Pixar is known for giving to cinephiles at the end of a film.
Turning Red is a beautiful story about discovering oneself, staying true to who you are, and the unwavering support you receive from your family and friends. Consider it another notch on the belt of Disney/Pixar as it continues its dominance over the animation scene.
