Turning Red Review

The name “Pixar” has essentially become a synonym for “charming” over the years. If you thought their film about a girl turning into a giant red panda would resist that charm, you’re not exactly a savvy gambler.

So, Meilin “Mei” Lee, thirteen-year-old overachiever extraordinaire, is living in Toronto, Canada at her family’s temple, alternately crushing school, upholding familial responsibilities, and having the time of her life with her friends. One day, some strange new feelings arise in Meilin. The next she’s a big red panda.

The transformation is a fun and family-friendly puberty metaphor. The change comes on fast; Mei suddenly grows, gets hairier, and is having some powerful mood swings… Minus the tail, most people who have finished middle school can relate. But to add onto the stress, Mei has to suppress this transformation or risk a permanent curse.

The film covers a lot of ground, and it reminded me a lot of coming of age novels broken up into episodic chapters in a story that feels like it’s traveling at less of a breakneck pace than most children’s movies these days. Sometimes that means a less-than memorable scene drags out and sometimes that means the film lingers in an uncomfortable scene for longer than you may be comfortable with, but it also gives you time to think and empathize, and the genre could certainly use more of that.

The film is, obviously, a delight to look at. Top-notch animation is so much a hallmark of the Pixar brand that it tends to go without saying until they add a new element that really shines. There are several contenders for that element in this film, but for me it really came down to the color palette and eastern animation inspiration. The colors in this movie are so mellow and soothing. Even when there’s a lot of action going on, it still feels manageable. And speaking of action, there are a lot of homages to anime and hand scroll art that give this film a style distinct from everything else in Pixar’s catalogue.

The last point that I wanted to address is that I think the film does an admirable job depicting the effects of cultural expectations on children and parents as families grown and change. Certainly, upholding traditions in a changing world can be challenging and even painful. But this film shows that when treated with empathy, an evolving tradition can be a blessing for everyone.

It’s a shame this one didn’t come to theaters, because I think it would have been one of Disney’s larger pandemic-era successes. I give it a 4.5 * Town out of 5 * Town.