Turning Red

Turning Red

Thirteen-year-old Mei is experiencing the awkwardness of being a teenager with a twist – when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.

  • Released: 2022-03-10
  • Runtime: 100 minutes
  • Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
  • Stars: Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Jordan Fisher, Grayson Villanueva, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo, Finneas O'Connell, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park, Addie Chandler, Lori Tan Chinn, Sherry Cola, Lillian Lim, James Hong, Anne-Marie, Sasha Roiz, Tristan Allerick Chen, Mia Tagano, Lily Sanfelippo, Evan Agos, Trinity Bliss, Devin Bright, Kimberly Brooks, David Chen, Ian James Corlett, Juliet Donenfeld, Terri Douglas, Ellen Dubin, Alison Fernandez, Jack Fisher, Erin Fitzgerald, Poon Fong-Fong, Hadley Gannaway, Kim Mai Guest, David Hayter, Karen Huie, Caleb Jeon, Arif S. Kinchen, Sean T. Krishnan, Paul Kwo, James Taku Leung, Ethan Loh, Lydia Look, Noel Mason, Jason Maybaum, Jaiden McLeod, Ulka Simone Mohanty, Iara Nemirovsky, Capri Oliver, Benjamin Plessala, Tsang Pui-Yee, Maddix Robinson, Zeno Robinson, Sasha Roiz, Vivienne Rutherford, Lily Sanfelippo, Violet Grace Schaffer, Mariel Sheets, Christian J. Simon, Artemis Snow, Sydney Thomas, Timothy Cheng, Benjamin Valic, Shondalia White, Cedric L. Williams, Ethan Berger, Jacob Batalon
  • Director: Domee Shi, Josef Qazi Wenngren, Domee Shi
 Comments
  • zdybscy - 24 May 2024
    BAD
    I mean it may be interesting for litle girls but for olders it is gross. The main villain in this film i a mom ho just doesnt lets her daughter go to a concert, whole film was pretty much boring some good animations tho.

    I dont like the concept some funny scenes but the characters were pretty much bad. When they were thinking how to get money i thought i would go to sleep in the cinema. Also the finnishing was mid like her mum just stopped her couldnt she do it faster? Luckilly there are no lgbt+ characters. The main character is weird too i mean why does she puts her friends over her family that just didnt feel right. Overally a bad film.
  • malmevik77 - 10 February 2024
    Missed the mark. A rare Pixar disappointment.
    Turning Red

    The second film Pixar released during the pandemic finally got a theatrical release in February of 2024. The film tells the tale of Meilin, a Chinese Canadian teenager in 2002. She has allowed herself to be 100% controlled by her overbearing, rude and selfish mother who insists on nothing but perfection. A perfection that only she can define, of course. These characters really get under my skin as I am very aware of their presence in reality, and their refusal to quit ruining people's lives.

    All of her mother's faults finally get Meilin to snap, and she turns into a red panda. It turns out that all the women in her family turn into pandas during adolescence and they must learn to control the beast before it can be exorcised. The metaphor of emotions physically manifesting is very much not lost on the audience as we are smacked in the face with it throughout the film. I find Meilin's rebellious nature, emotional release and growing maturity very refreshing as I can't say enough bad things about her awful mother. The fact she gets the confidence, at 13, to do so makes her a hero in my book.

    Meilin's journey to understand the beast within her is not walked alone as she has 3 best friends who are by her side, and help her when she needs people the most. And then we get a boy band. Oh my goodness the boy band. They were perfect, especially with the 2002 setting. I would buy tickets to see 4 Town!

    I was very disappointed in the film's ending because nobody learned anything at all, except Meilin, who turns out to be the most mature female in her entire family, by far. I'm not exactly sure what the writer/director had in mind other than to express adolescence is bestial, especially when dealing with a very difficult family. One character's journey does not deserve a full length film. I wish I had seen more of the friends with more dimensions in their supporting role. I wanted to see more of the father, as he was quite wise. And if any of the women in her family showed any kind of development in their characters, I would have been happy, but no. Guess we'll just see them next Tuesday.

    I wanted to love this film, especially since the teenage girls did so well in their roles. But that family needs to be sent to an island somewhere and marooned. They ruined the film and I can't recommend it. Pixar has always set a high bar, and they tried, but it didn't come together.