Pixar’s Turning Red is one of the best coming-of-age films I have ever seen. It was a fun nostalgia ride and reminded me how mortifying it was to be thirteen.
Non-Spoiler Review: Turning Red
The story follows Mei Lee, a thirteen-year-old Chinese Canadian girl. And as a part of growing up, she undergoes a pretty big change. The movie is not shy and leans heavily into themes like puberty and menstruation, crushes on classmates, pining for celebrities, and having to navigate your changing body. Mei is torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and embracing the chaos of adolescence. Whenever she gets too excited, she “poofs” into a giant red panda.
What makes Turning Red such a great coming of age film
The film was very refreshing because none of the difficult topics were sugar-coated. Mei’s Chinese heritage is also a huge part of the movie. As well as her strained yet loving relationship with her mother. The humanity and complexity of the characters made me love the film even more. The parents and extended family members were present. Even through hardships and disagreements, there was still immense love. The parents did not feel like obstacles or accessories, they felt like people.
Also, Mei’s friends are the best group of animated girls I have seen in a very long time. They all had such different personalities and backgrounds. They bonded over their shared love of boy bands. There were so many scenes of the girls just being girls with other girls and I loved it.
Overall the movie was funny, emotional, and sometimes filled me with secondhand embarrassment. There were a few scenes in particular that turned on the waterworks. I would show this movie to a class of middle schoolers or just a kid who was going through it. I wish I had a movie like this growing up.
Featuring Rosalie Chiang as the voice of Mei Lee, and Sandra Oh as the voice of her mother Ming, Turning Red will debut exclusively on Disney+ (where Disney+ is available) on March 11. Turning Red is directed by Academy Award® winner Domee Shi and produced by Lindsey Collins.
@amandajustvibin
I love this review and agree with all of your thoughts Amanda! The movie was such a breath of fresh air and I appreciate that this movie gives kids a lot of the thing that we didn’t get as kids ourselves, the representation and the fact that the characters are allowed to just be cringey kids without being shamed for it by the narrative. It’s something that we need more of in these stories because let’s face it, teens are cringey, we’ve all been cringey as kids and it’s perfectly okay. Being cringey is normal and shouldn’t be looked down upon.