I’ve been looking forward to Turning Red ever since Domee Shi’s short film Bao premiered ahead of The Incredibles 2 in 2018. It was probably the best short Pixar produced in the last decade and I was excited to see Shi get her chance to make a feature one day. I didn’t think it would be so soon, but that day has come. And though it’s been disrespectfully shunted off to Disney+ as its’ two predecessors from Pixar have, it’s no less worthy of cinematic consideration. In fact, it might be one of the most unique and necessary movies the company has ever produced.
It’s certainly the most personal and inarguably one of the most bold. The title should give it away, but in case it’s not quite obvious enough, Turning Red is a movie about puberty, specifically girls’ puberty, encased in the metaphorical text of a girl spontaneously turning into a giant red panda in response to high emotions or burgeoning sexual feelings. Not all of it is subtext even: menstruation is directly alluded to, references to changing bodies are scattered throughout, and early on there’s a scene of unambiguous sexual awakening. Subject matter not common of mainstream family movies despite a high propensity of coming-of-age narratives. Girls just aren’t given the same treatment that boys are in that department, and it’s astonishing that Disney, with its’ recently publicized history of censoring Pixar, allowed this film to see the light of day at all.
Inasmuch as it’s still quietly at a disadvantage due to that Disney+ exclusivity, it is a significant achievement. In addition to its’ central theme it also happens to be Pixar’s first film directed by a woman (though the great Brenda Chapman was the co-director on Brave), and their first film set in Canada –Toronto providing the films’ charming backdrop and Canadian culture informing many of its’ small details (it’s neat to see real Toronto street names and authentic Ontario licence plates, transactions in colourful Canadian money or a box of Timbits in the background of a shot).
But protagonist Meilin is just as indebted to her Chinese heritage, helping her mom run their family temple as a local tourist attraction. Her relationship with her family and specifically to her mom is one of the chief sources of anxiety once the unexplainable starts to happen. Shi plays it all with wonderful honesty though from Mei’s perspective, how embarrassing moments are felt so much larger, how out of control any situation becomes. Every ounce of her humiliation is felt when her mom, say, confronts the convenience store worker Mei has a secret crush on. And it reveals how specific a character Mei is, albeit one who clearly reflects a lot of thirteen year old girls. She sketches fantasy scenarios in her notebook to a manga aesthetic, she and her friends are obsessed with a boy band called 4*Town, and she’s extremely self-sufficient until the panda throws that confidence into disarray.
I don’t know exactly of course the nuances of how closely Mei’s whole ordeal parallels the experiences of girls at that stage of adolescence, but it all feels very genuine, handled with care and not an insubstantial degree of humour thrown in. The benefit of animated fantasy is that such things can be played big enough to both drive home a salient point and exaggerate it entertainingly. Mei’s emotional outburst at her mom finding out about this strange, scary change to her body wouldn’t quite hit the same if it didn’t take the form of a giant red panda running over the rooftops and causing general mayhem in downtown Toronto while her mother tails her with concerned determination. The movie strikes these balances with wonderful exactitude, both relating acutely the themes being communicated and giving way to a great deal of fun and creativity.
One of those themes that is perhaps underwritten by the more overt allegory is the weight of family and expectation, and is a much more specific sphere that Shi chooses to focus on. Voiced by Sandra Oh, Mei’s mother Ming is a domineering presence in her life, and yet doesn’t quite fit a standard type. She is overbearing and overprotective, but in her own way also sympathetic, having gone through the same thing as Mei due to the red panda being an ancient family condition that has affected the Lee women going back generations. Though once considered a blessing, the family has more recently sought to repress it, and it’s this context that is explained to Mei. Not only does this make Turning Red the second Disney animated film in a row to address inherited trauma, but it symbolizes really aptly the culturally ingrained idea that a girls’ puberty and coming of age is supposed to be something shameful -and that Mei must break free of that notion and in fact embrace her inner panda in spite of what she’s been taught. We see this most emphatically in the contrast between Mei’s relationship with her mother in light of this, who is cautious and cold towards the panda, and that of her friends, who are pretty immediately accepting and genuinely love Mei no matter what.
Miriam, Priya, and Abby are such a stupendous support system for Mei amid this confusing time, and a delightful crew of characters in their own right. Shi draws the quartet as a nigh unbreakable unit, capturing a very believably intense friendship for kids at that age. They’re the ones who encourage Mei to be open and express herself in the red panda form, which even as they’re doing so mostly to get concert tickets, is a freeing act for Mei. They’ve got each others’ back and take joy in their mutual weird interests and personalities. It’s a sweet understanding, which is why it’s something of a disappointment when the film brings out a classic third act break-up for them that thankfully doesn’t last long. However, it does serve the function of further wedging Mei and her mother, showcasing how what she has with her friends is healthier. It lays groundwork for the deepening of their communion, ultimately illustrated with a real beauty and poignancy in a silence which conveys so much. And this following a particularly outrageous climax.
Turning Red is up to the Pixar standard, and yet visually it is the most excitingly dynamic film they’ve made since maybe Inside Out. Once again taking cues from anime, the animation is characterized by a real spontaneity in form -characters are loose in design and highly expressive, in a couple cases directly referencing anime tropes. Yet never does this infringe in any way on the reality of the film, which is itself quite elastic and with a manic energy once more befitting that of pubescent youth. It also just works so great for the visual comedy, smart and striking, this is often a very funny-looking movie in the best way.
At the same time, it can be serene, the textured world around Mei highlighted in soft colours and a warm atmosphere –its’ pretty affection for the city making it perhaps one of the best Toronto movies. On any level it’s impressive, this cute little kids’ movie with its’ inconspicuous audacity. Turning Red may prove to be one of the most important movies Pixar has yet made, venturing into territory so few family films are willing to explore, and likewise being more of a singular artistic vision than anything that Pixar has yet allowed. It belongs to Domee Shi above belonging to the brand –and once more is demonstrative of a compelling direction the company is headed in …and why more than ever they deserve the respect Disney is reluctant to grant them.
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