Review: TURNING RED is a Fun and Charming New Film From Pixar
Disney and Pixar have made another fun and entertaining animated movie that fans are sure to enjoy! That movie is titled Turning Red and it’s one that I’ve been looking forward to seeing. It’s not one of Pixar’s best films but it sure was incredibly charming and also kind of interesting in ways that I wasn’t expecting.
The story follows Mei Lee, a 13-year-old girl who is under the control of her mother. Mei wants nothing more than to make her mom happy, but she is torn between being obedient to her mother, and everything she loves about being a kid. She enjoys hanging out with her friends and she’s a huge fan of a boy band that is coming to town for a concert.
On top of her chaotic life as a young teenager, things take a turn for the weird when all of a sudden she magically turns into a giant red panda! She has to learn to control it by keeping herself calm, because if she gets too excited, the red panda is unleashed!
As a father of two young teenagers myself, this was a story that I was able to very much relate to. It’s interesting being a parent and watching my kids grow up, especially in this time where they are trying to navigate their lives and figure out who they are and what they want to be in life. It’s weird having them go off on their own and it’s scary starting to see them explore their independence.
The movie plays with this theme of independence as Mei is looking to have some, but her mom is so overprotective that in a way, she is the villain of the story. That’s one of the things I found interesting about the story. While the mother’s intentions are good, they cause some big problems and it leads to a big blow-up in the story between Mei and her mom.
The story in the film was solid and you can tell that aspects of the story were very much inspired by Teen Wolf, but instead of transforming into a werewolf, it’s a big red panda. I enjoyed the story, I enjoyed the characters, and I thought it was a lot of fun that the story was set in the early 2000s. I have a lot of fond memories of that era. It’s crazy to think that the film is set over 20 years ago!
Also, I just want to add that the main character, Mei, is such a lovable and energetic character! She is what makes the film as good as it is. Turning Red is a wonderful family film that Pixar and Disney fans are sure to enjoy! The movie will be released on Disney+ on March 11th.
The film was directed by Domee Shi and it stars Rosalie Chiang; Sandra Oh; Ava Morse; Maitreyi Ramakrishnan; Hyein Park; Orion Lee; Wai Ching Ho; and James Hong.
