Turning Red features a Chinese-Canadian girl who undergoes funny, magical girl transformations as she grows up with her circle of friends and family! This is the first feature for Pixar directed by Domee Shi. She was also known for directing the charming and heartfelt Pixar short, Bao. Shi also shares co-screenplay and story credit with Julia Cho who was executive story editor for the dramatic series, Big Love. The other story writer is Sarah Streitcher who created and wrote the Amazon Prime series, The Wilds. The setting is in 2002, which is when Domee Shi was 13, so the movie is semi-autobiographical. The animated film is currently streaming on Disney+ and in limited theatrical release. We are introduced to 13 year old Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang) whom we see in a series of photos in a family album including one with Toronto’s CN Tower that dominates the skyline. Rosalie Chiang starred in two 2017 episodes of the comedy series, Clique Wars.
She narrates that the most important thing is to “honor your parents.” Mei becomes animated and notes that it could happen that she might “forget to honor yourself.” The music by Ludwig Göransson shifts from traditional Chinese music to contemporary hip hop as Mei introduces herself on the streets of Toronto. She is confidant and funny, but still a little awkward and the music features the flute which is Mei’s school instrument. A very funny credit scene has Mei posing around the credits. She bursts into her school, Lester P. Pearson Middle School, with her flute case in her mouth, she gives out the call to assemble her Besties. First up in the trio of friends is Miriam (Ava Morse), who has braces and wears a cap. Morse voiced Ava in the animated film, Ron's Gone Wrong (2021). Mei calls her “Mir.” Then, there is the low key, glasses wearing Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan). The actress starred as the lead in the comedy drama series, Never Have I Ever.
Very funny she is reading the vampire novel, Nightfall. Lastly, is Abby, a short girl with headband and purple overalls, (Hyein Park). She is a burst of energy and a funny character. This is Park's first acting role, but she worked as a storyboard artist in Soul (2020). They have their group gesture, wiggling their fingers in four directions. Mei speaks to the camera about her top grades in grade eight. We got reactions from a school counselor and some students. Mei snatches away a basketball thrown by Tyler (Tristan Allerick Chen) and then tries to shoot, but the ball bounces into the street to be flattened! Chen provided voices in the puppet action series, The Barbarian and the Troll. The Besties start to walk home and pass the Daisy Mart convenience store. Mei walks ahead, when she is dragged by Miriam to sneak to the Daisy Mart window. The other girls look in wonder at the kid clerk, Devon, they take the stack pile on top of each other, funny!
He turns with his bucket hat looking bored. Abby says her mother cuts his hair at the salon and she tells the others, his hair is soft. Mei is uninterested and instead shows them the “real men” in Tween Beat magazine, the references are funny! This cover features the boy band, 4*Town. She opens the magazine and blinds them with the 4*Town glare! Jesse (Finneas O'Connell) who went to art school. O'Connell wrote songs for his sister, Billie Eilish, including the 4*Town songs. There is Tae Young (Grayson Villanueva) who rescues injured doves! Villanueva is a music producer and directed the video, "Into the Unknown" from Frozen 2 (2020), Robaire (Jordan Fisher) who speaks French. Fisher sung a rendition of "You're Welcome" for Moana (2016). The other members, Aaron T. (Topher Ngo) and Aaron Z. (Josh Levi) just wave from a table. We hear their song, “True Love” as we see the dream sequences.
Mei reminds them that they are 4*Townies and goes into an epic pose sending out her power from on top of a mountain with 4*Town around her. Priya remarks that their concert tickets are too expensive. Mei sees the Chinatown tram and the Besties plead with her to go karaoking. They have the anime starry eyes! She tells her friends that it is cleaning day again. Miriam has her pass the Gauntlet first, a dance test with the Besties singing to 4*Town’s hit, “Nobody Like U.” Mei has passed the test and Miriam gives her a burned CD of 4*Town’s Australian tour. They smile and wave as Mei smiles to them from the tram, but then have tired expressions as Priya says she is brainwashed! She hustles over to a Lee Family Temple and says hi to two red panda statues she calls Bart and Lisa! Mei passes Mr. Gao (James Hong) playing chess. Hong voices Mr. Ping in the animated show, Kung Fu Panda: Legends of Awesome. Mr. Gao becomes important later in the movie.
She sees her mother Ming (Sandra Oh) praying in front of the picture of a female ancestor. Sandra Oh voiced another role as Virana in Raya and the Last Dragon (2021). She calls her daughter, Mei Mei, and worried that she was ten minutes late, tiger mom. They pray together for Sun Yee, the first guardian of the red pandas. Mother and daughter have the same gestures and work together to clean the temple with brooms. They chase away teens spray painting the temple wall. Then, Ming leads a tour of the oldest temple in Toronto, and explains about Sun Yee who defended “creatures of the forest.” Mei slides out in a Red Panda costume, foreshadowing. They finish the tour as evening starts to fall and back at the house, Mei’s father, Jin (Orion Lee) prepares a dinner in closeup and slow motion. Orion Lee, he was in the drama First Cow (2019). Ming and Mei catch a Cantonese soap opera on the couch together. Mei brings Jin a tray of bao which I can’t help think references the short film.
On television, there is a commercial of 4*Town’s North American tour. Ming is unimpressed and notes that 4*Town has five members, funny! Mei says other kids like them and Ming says that Miriam is odd. We see some of Mei’s trophies as she listens to “Nobody Like U” on her headphones. She is working on her homework and sketches in the margin, Devon. Mei starts to find him attractive drawing Devon. Mei takes off her headphones and the sketch Devon winks at her! Silently, Mei takes the notebook and then rolls under her bed. She finds that she has sketched Devon holding her. Mei starts to sweat and then hears her mother call for her. Ming has brought her daughter a tray of sliced fruit as she nervously sweats. She notices the notebook under the bed and then sees pages of Devon and Mei that shocks her. Ming recognizes the Daisy Mart clerk and heads off. She races in her car with Mei to the Daisy Mart.
Walking in with an angry expression, Mei notices Tyler there, and wants to know what Tyler has done to her daughter. Devon doesn’t recognize her so Tyler points her out. Ming wants to report him to the police and he says he’s seventeen. Ming in slow motion drops the notebook pages! One has Devon as a merboy! The other kids sees the pages and mock her. Social death! Ming thinks she did Mei a favor, but doesn't actually talk with her daughter. Mei screams into a pillow in her room and blames herself. We get several reactions of Mei dealing with the situation that is very funny. There is the family temple at night and a wind blows out the candles in front of Sun Yee’s picture. The storm rages as Mei has a red filtered dream! Devon Merboy flaps around and flowers have the faces of 4*Town, surreal, nightmarish, and also funny!
She wakes up in the morning as her mother prepares breakfast. Mei wearily walks to the bathroom now with an eight foot tall red panda body! This red panda has the roundish body of the statues. Magical girl transformations is an anime device. Mei yawns, sees her face in the mirror, and screams! Ming asks her daughter if the red peony bloomed as Jin walks backwards. Mei hides her red panda body behind the shower curtain and shouts at her mother which is her first act of defiance, but understandable with her red panda transformation. Ming is offended, but she has brought in medicine, a water bottle, and pads. There are some who critizes the female puberty changes, but the kids in the audience I saw in a screening didn’t have a problem, I think it’s the adults. Shi said in the Disney+ documentary Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red, “metaphor for magical puberty.”
Ming is about to pull back the shower curtain, but has to run smelling her porridge is burning. Mei sneaks into her room and tries to sleep, calming down, parts of red panda poofs away. It is the kawaii version of the Hulk. She uses two brushes to comb her fur and in a pink poof transforms back to girl form with red hair. Mei has to adjust to the crazy middle school life in her new red panda form. Also, she is set on trying to find a way to go to the 4*Town concert at the SkyDome (now the Rogers Centre). There is a ceremony that will transform Mei back to girl form that also involves Ming's mother, Grandma (Wai Ching Ho). The actress plays the leader of the Hand, Madame Gao, in the Daredevil series. Mei has to come to an understanding with her mother and the family secret. The movie is filled with laughs from start to finish, not certain moments or scenes. Turning Red is a hilarious, anime/Pixar fusion, catchy music, with a theme of identity and destiny, and embarrassment with life changes!
Five+ Combs out of Five!
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