Turning Red review: Another straight-to-streaming Pixar hit
It hasn’t been a great pandemic for Pixar. Turning Red is the third film to miss cinemas entirely, heading to Disney+ in the wake of the Omicron variant. Like Soul, it seems unfortunate that a film breaking a lot of barriers should miss the big screen, being the first Pixar film to be solely directed by a woman (Domee Shi). However, Disney stablemate Encanto found huge success on streaming, so there’s hope yet.
Set in Toronto in 2002, it follows Meilin “Mei” Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang), a peppy 13-year-old who is keen to respect her Chinese heritage and please her overbearing mother Ming (Sandra Oh). However, her sense of duty begins to clash with her burgeoning womanhood, particularly her interest in boys, and when Ming learns of Mei’s infatuation with a convenience store clerk, she causes such a scene that Mei becomes a laughing stock in her neighbourhood. The embarrassment causes Mei to transform into a giant red panda – something she learns is connected to her family history and occurs whenever she gets too excited. With Ming insisting she undergo a ritual to rid her of the transformation, Mei begins to wonder if this curse is in fact a blessing.
Pixar has made its name by approaching serious subjects in entertaining and accessible ways. Turning Red addresses early womanhood, looking at changes such as crushes and periods, but chiefly the beginning of the journey to independence from your family.
Containing the same bright, sparkly energy that made Netflix’s The Mitchells Vs The Machines such a delight, it’s also a celebration of sisterhood. Mei has a friendship group made up of motherly Miriam (Ava Morse), hilariously monotone Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and hyped-up Abby (Hyein Park) who sticks by her through thick and thin, showing that sometimes the people who know you best aren’t your family.
It’s not totally clear why the film is set in 2002, but the cultural references will delight those who get them. Mei frets over a virtual pet, and swoons over a boyband called 4*Town, whose concert becomes her goal in the latter part of the film. Perhaps the setting is to avoid the quagmire of social media, but the CDs and video cameras add a sheen of innocence that reflects Mei’s infectious energy.
Ending with a bombastic fantasy battle, Turning Red is a sincere coming of age film that doesn’t flinch at the cringey parts of adolescence. At one point Mei’s father Jin (Orion Lee) says “people have all kinds of sides to them, and some sides are messy. The point isn’t to push the bad stuff away, it’s to make room for it.” It’s an example of how Pixar can still explain complex emotions with effortless elegance.