Seeing Red

Turning Red was released on Disney+ in March of 2022, so I was well behind the crowd when I finally watched it a few weeks ago. But better late than never, as they say. Now I'm posting about the movie as it reenters the public conversation, with many critics putting it on their lists of the best movies from last year.

If you're late to the party too, Turning Red is the story of 13-year-old Mei, who learns she has inherited a family curse: when she's overcome by strong emotion, she transforms into a giant red panda. As her mother tries to impress upon her the importance of control, Mei tries to continue living her teenage life -- which includes doing whatever she must to go to a concert by her favorite band.

Turning Red is the brainchild of director and co-writer Domee Shi, who was also behind one of Pixar's best shorts of the last decade, the wonderful Bao. Here, given 10 times the runtime to play with, she includes 20 times as many ideas... yet retains the same emotional connection that made the short so good.

This movie weaves together Asian culture and a Canadian setting. It's a curious time capsule of some sort, set 20 years ago, but at times feeling like an 80s movie with 90s sensibilities. It subverts expectations by having the main character's secret revealed to all in the first act rather than the final act.

The movie has been touted for its diversity, and rightly so. It's easy to see the metaphor for menstruation at the core of the story, and that's a huge barrier being shattered: for an animated movie, aimed at a family audience, to center on this. Yet I think the real trick is how, even while being so specific, Turning Red remains quite universal. At a larger level, this movie is about finding out who you are as you grow up, and breaking out of the boxes defined by your parents, your friends, and more.

There's great animation, which really goes without saying in a Pixar movie, but should be said all the same. Same goes for the voice cast, which here includes Sandra Oh and James Hong, but mostly features actors being cast for their talent more than their name recognition. And there are catchy songs too -- not necessarily the norm for Pixar -- from Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell.

I'd give Turning Red a strong B+. It's a shame that Pixar made three solid movies in a row (Soul, Luca, and Turning Red), yet none of them was released in movie theaters. But I suppose they're all right there on Disney+, any time you want.