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
  • riheg-45047 - 10 May 2024
    Mediocre
    According to the makers we should watch & like it because it's mostly made by women, but that's not enough to save it. Neither is the self confessed self insertion by the Director. As a long time Pixar fan I hate to say it, but this is really several steps down from the usual standard. I wasn't really invested in the story nor the characters. Also, seems to me as if the coming of age theme has been explored so many times that is not refreshing or interesting. The voice acting was fine though, and the animation is as beautiful as you would expect from Pixar. It's fine for kids & casual watching, but Pixar fans will probably not love it.
  • TheLittleSongbird - 27 January 2024
    Controlling emotions
    'Turning Red' (2022)

    Opening thoughts: Pixar is one of the finest animation studios to exist and one of the few studios today for anything to continually deliver. Sure they did become less consistent post-'Toy Story 3', but in the 90s and 2000s their work was of higher quality than Disney's generally and hit more than it missed. Pre-'Toy Story 3', the one slight disappointment was 'Cars', the others are very good to brilliant and even their lesser work is still watchable.

    'Turning Red' appealed to me immediately when looking for things to watch when on a three week cruise last year where there was a lot of film and television watching in the evenings and on the at sea days. Really liked the concept, unique for Pixar, and the message. 'Turning Red' is not one of Pixar's best films and can understand why people had issues regarding its target audience (admittedly not as accessible as other films from the studio), but it is still very good with relatable themes handled with fun and emotion and one of the better films seen on the cruise.

    Bad things: Some of the awkwardness is a little too overkill in the humour, especially between the four friends early on.

    Also felt that the darker tone seen at the concert, where the mother in red panda form was reminiscent of something like 'Jurassic Park' or Godzilla, clashed a bit too much with the rest of the film.

    Good things: However, there is so much to praise. The animation, as per usual, is stunning. Absolutely loved the vivid colours and the very rich attention to detail in the character animation. The character animation on the panda and the background art and visual effects at the end standing out. The music really enhances the story's wild energy, and "Nobody Like You" sticks in the memory for a long time.

    Did also really enjoy the writing on the whole. The humour is sharp, hip and witty, of course there are awkward spots but that was hardly uncommon in adolescence (a lot of it actually at my school) and how adolescent children acted and still do. The cool geekiness of the four main characters took me back, being somewhat a geek myself and it stood out in both a good and bad way, and adolescence and the mature themes are depicted entertainingly and with heart. The atmosphere didn't feel out of date and was affectionately handled, some may have issues with some of the characters' negative actions, but the film isn't encouraging anybody to do them, just showing that they do happen, and in a realistic way.

    Loved the story's wild energy and often infectious wackiness. Also how inventively the culture of the family was shown, in a way that was intriguing and expansive. Having never seen a family backstory like this before, so it felt fresh and original. The mother and daughter relationship was beautifully realised and realistic, both points of view understandable and not hard to relate to.

    A great job is done with the emotional side of the film, especially in the truly heart-wrenchingly powerful climax. And with the message, one that was brave to tackle and also one that is universal and relatable. Luckily delivered in those ways here and not heavy handedly. The friendships and outcome warm the heart. The characters are strongly written and the voice acting is top notch, particularly Sandra Oh.

    Closing thoughts: Overall, not one of Pixar's best and not for all but very good and hardly a waste of the studio's most unique concept.

    8/10.
  • sarahnicole983-247-888298 - 13 January 2023
    Not a kids movie
    I feel like the only ones praising this movie are adults who liked it. It's not a movie for kids at all. We had to shut it off not long into the movie because it was not appropriate for my 2 and 7 year old. Maybe 13 and up. But even still the disrespect to parents, lying and sneaking out of the house alone would keep me from letting my teen from watching it. Saying that those behaviors are typical amongst teens is not true and showing them they can do those things and not get in trouble is a bad example. There were zero consequences for the girls actions. Maybe her mom was too controlling at times, but that doesn't justify the behaviors of the child and the lack of consequences.
  • EarlGenesis - 17 December 2022
    A personal favorite Pixar movie
    While I don't think this film is top tier Pixar from an objective standpoint, personally it has become one of my favorites because, even as a male, I can heavily relate to it's coming-of-age themes. Puberty was awkward and things felt like they were moving more quickly than before, me and my friends always acted cringe as kids but what mattered was that we had fun doing it and never cared about what other people thought of us as long as we weren't harming anyone, and I also have an overprotective mother and had serious issues with growing up and making my own decisions. The way this movie handles all of these topics is excellent and really resonates with me on a personal level. Also the movie is hilarious and it made me laugh very often. I really love the quirkiness and fast-paced route that this film takes. I also love that it takes risks and is not afraid to get into sensitive coming-of-age topics. I wasn't expecting myself to love this film as much as I did. It's so much fun throughout its entirety and it's something that I can completely get behind.
  • maxzeidner - 6 November 2022
    Not amazing.
    It wasn't the worst movie ever, I just didn't love it. Didn't enjoy the art style, and the characters were super overreacting and awkward to watch. They just didn't behave like real people. It was an interesting metaphor idea but just a bit off I guess. On the plus side, the 4*town songs were hilarious, and the idea for the story was neat, again though, the characters were just too ridiculous. I felt that the mother and daughter were incredibly rude and apathetic to each other, and didn't even attempt to be mature and talk anything out without screaming alot. The drug store scene is very hard to watch.
  • jace_the_film_guy - 24 September 2022
    Surprisingly Divisive
    Turning Red is a surprisingly divisive film. There are some that love the movie and praise the handling of difficult conversations. There are others who find the subject matter off-putting. Who is right and who is wrong? Honestly, I think that both have their valid arguments.

    Seeing Mei discover the ability to cope with her problems through friendship was a message I loved. The connection with her friend group was honest, tender and sweet. The humor was unique and I genuinely laughed more than once.

    While the animated panda was well done, I wasn't particularly impressed with the animation of the humans. Similarly, the voice acting was not anything special. I wanted to connect with the characters and love the story, but I left the film conflicted.

    I thought that the core message of the film had some strong elements, but there were other pieces that I didn't completely agree with. That being said, the scene in the astral realm was gorgeous and one of my favorite animated moments of the year.

    Best Character: 4*Town Best Quote: "People have all kinds of sides to them. And some sides are messy. The point isn't to push the bad stuff away. It's to make room for it, live with it." - Jin Best Scene: The astral (red panda) realm.