It’s one of the most agonizing experiences a teenage girl could ever imagine going through: being embarrassed in front of her crush. Pixar and Disney’s new feature Turning Red, directed by Domee Shi, really gets going when Toronto girl Mei Lee (voiced with sweetness and enthusiasm by Rosalie Chiang) is angrily dragged to the conveinence store by her mother Ming (Sandra Oh).
She’s seen Mei’s notebook sketches of the store clerk Devin- a minor interest to Mei and her friends, next to the dreamboats of the popular boy band 4-Town- and she’s not having some random boy corrupt her young daugher’s mind, no sir! Not while she’s got studies and helping with the red panda-themed family temple to attend to!
The next morning, thanks to an inherited transformation from her ancestors, our heroine Mei wakes up as a giant red panda, causing her to understandably freak out and rampage through the Canadian city circa 2002, which makes this movie one of the few period pieces set within a “millennial era”.
Her besties Miriam (Ava Morse), Abby (Hyien Park) and Priya (Maitreyi Ramakhrisnan), despite her mother not being too fond of them, act as her support system. Neither their closest buddy turning into a giant red fuzzy creature nor school bullies are going to stop them from seeing 4-Town coming to town for a massive concert- but maybe Mei’s family scheduling a riutal to reverse the panda quirk might complicate that somewhat.
Looking back to Disney’s old “One Saturday Morning” block, they feautred a variety of shows aimed directly at their young audience to identify with like Fillmore, The Weekenders, Recess, etc. Turning Red comes off like a blend of those types of shows with the company penchant for cute fluffy animal characters ,and the more toony edge Pixar’s taken to their designs certainly add to this vibe. The main quartet aren’t overlly dainty or tomboyish or super wise beyond their years, rather they all come off quirly and energetic, but still refreshingly ordinary, so kudos to the animators and voice actors here.
Turning Red’s key trait to its appeal is how much it genuinely respects the interests and concerns of adolescent girls. Ming at first believes Mei’s transformation is just her daughter going through her period- though the P-word is never uttered, the supplies she puts on the dresser and her advice make it pretty obvious, and as the panda transformation is triggered by Mei’s emotions, it’s a quite clear metaphor running through the story. This seems to have caught a number of moviegoers off guard and is generating a bit of controversy in fact.
But I think back to an episode of King Of The Hill where Hank has to deal with her young neighbor Connie’s time-of-the-month, and Pixar’s take feels far more sympathetic. 4-Town’s dreaminess is blatantly over-the-top, but it’s not meant to insult young girls’ taste or belittle them– the audience is also sincerely invited to our main quartet’s fandom and realizes this is an important coming-of-age stage for them. “You Know What’s Up” is a legit jam of a boy band single.
If you’re a teenager of any gender whose body and just general personality is going through changes, there’s still probably quite a bit for a wide range of young folks to identify with in Turning Red, and I suspect a number of parents will also be tickled by its clever puberty satire. While it’s a fairly emotional film, it still feels irreverent and wacky, with a lot of fast-paced energy alongside the heart on display. Even with its touching climax, I can’t categorize it as a “sad Pixar film” by any stretch, it’s too bouncy and fun for that. If you’d checked this out, les us know your feelings as always at FAN’s Twitter or Facebook!