‘Turning Red’ Film Review And Reactions

‘Turning Red’ is an animated fantasy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Starring the voices of Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Hyein Park, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen, and James Hong, this is Pixar’s 25^thanimated feature film. Since being released on the popular streaming service Disney+, many people have been giving mixed reviews on the film, so let us look at the film and its reaction in further detail together.

Directed by Domee Shi, making her feature directorial debut, ‘Turning Red’ is written by her too, alongside Julia Cho, and produced by Lindsey Collins. The film is set in Toronto, Ontario, in 2002, in which we follow a young girl named Meilin Lee, otherwise known as Mei; she is a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student “who, due to a hereditary curse, transforms into a giant red panda when she expresses any strong emotion”.

This is the first Pixar film that is solely directed by a woman, and the second film to feature an Asian lead character after ‘Up’ in 2009. There has been a lot of praise on its story, humour, animation, vocal performances, and the use of Chinese culture. 

Many people have given mixed reviews on this film saying that this is targeted at a niche audience, since not many people are able to understand or “feel” the portrayal of the characters. Others have commended the crew behind the film because there is tremendous work gone behind creating a story that represents and showcases a lot of ethnic minorities. 

Plot:

“Mei Lee is a 13-year-old girl who is torn between being her mother’s obedient daughter and the chaos of her youth. As if that were not enough, when she gets too excited, she turns into a big red panda.”

Trailer:

Read more about what other people are saying HERE.