Movie Review: Turning Red

Disney PIZAR have been on a roll as of late when it comes to original movies. I've always been of the mind that they are always in their best element when focusing on new stories consistently as apposed to finding ways to extend prior movies with sequels.  Since 2020, we've had Onward, Soul, Luca and now we've been gifted another original story in the form of Turning Red. 

Directed by Domee Shi after her debut short film Bao, Turning Red follows young 13-year old Mei Lee, who lives in Toronto and helps her family run the local Red Panda temple. As Mei Lee reaches the early pubescent years she soon learns about her secret family power which transforms the Lee family women into giant red pandas during states of intense emotion. Already struggling to face this strange and scary reality, Mei Lee also finds herself in a state of conflict between trying to find a life for herself socially and and honouring her family and the expectations they have set for her. 

As far as the narrative goes, I found myself really enjoying the plot of this film, despite not feeling like it's intended audience. This film feels like it's geared towards the young female crowd as it does tackles concepts like puberty, social hierarchy, boy bands and friend groups. Just because it's tailored to a specific audience though doesn't mean I can't appreciate what it's doing. I think the basic foundation of the story is very smart and endearing to experience. The use of the Red Panda power as a visual metaphor to represent what I can only imagine is the messy and chaotic offset of the beginning of puberty for young girls feels incredibly smart. It also balances humour and emotion in tandem with complete ease too. I like how the film is capable of firing some really smart jokes out while also commentating on what it means to live in the face of family expectations and trying to define yourself  in the face of it. I also appreciated the time and setting of the film as a backdrop too. Not many films use Canada as a backdrop and you can see a honest reflection of the culture and the early 2000's in which Donee Shi obviously grew up in. It's nice to find a film that reflects an era I grew up in and pay it a very kind and respectful tribute all throughout. 

I can't talk about a PIXAR film without talking about the visual style either. Something I've noticed with the latest run of PIXAR films is their distinct differences in animation and art style. Onward, Soul, and Luca all stood out to me for feeling visually unique in their own worlds. It helps reinforce the unique individuality of these worlds when their art style can be easily sectioned out. Turning Red is no different in this regard. I love how this film seems to integrate a collection of western and eastern art styles into the animation to make it stand out visually. The use of colour and realistic proportions in the character and environmental design was apparently a big focus of the team behind this film and it shows in every scene. I just loved how full of life this film feels in relation to its animation. There's so much detail baked into all aspects of the film, but most especially Mei and her red panda form.

Turning Red is a fantastic film for all audiences but I deeply respect how the film feels distinctly aimed towards the female crowd. It's manages to convey a funny and charming narrative held along by some of the best animation work in the industry. I really am loving this run of original stories and I can only hope the trend keeps up for PIXAR after Lightyear later this year.