Rot

My oldest daughter was thrilled as we watched "Turning Red", as she really could relate to the main character, Mei and her struggles with the emergence of puberty. It's something that might make many men uncomfortable...but it IS a part of life that has long been ignored in movies. So, while the film is clearly a metaphor for a girl's first period, it's pretty amazing that any film would talk about this in any way....and my advice to guys is just accept it and enjoy the story. As a father with two daughters, I got over my fears of female sexuality and puberty long ago....and like the film seems to say, it's NOT a curse or something that should be a taboo.

Mei Lin is an 8th grader whose transition to puberty is MUCH worse than she could have imagined. This is because party of puberty is also the onset of a family curse (or gift...depending how you look at it). What is the curse? Well, when women from this Chinese-Canadian family lose their emotional control, they literally become giant red pandas. Now red pandas are about the cutest animals on the planet, but a 7 foot (or larger) red panda is difficult to explain!! The film is about Mei Lin's struggle...as well as how her mother and extended family also struggle with this beast within them.

As you'd expect from Pixar, the animation is lovely and the film looks pretty. I also appreciated the daring plot. My only regret is that the first half of the story is great...the last half is a bit formulaic...especially the big confrontation scene between Mei Lin and her mother at the stadium. It's not at all bad....just a bit disappointing. Overall, it's a film girls will adore and guys will like IF they let themselves appreciate and aren't afraid to see a film about girls' first period.

Greetings again from the darkness. If only the transformation brought on by puberty were half as soft and cuddly as the giant Red Panda in this latest from Pixar, imagine the reduction in slammed doors and the increase in dinner table conversations between parents and young teenagers. Writer-director Domee Shi won an Oscar for her excellent animated short film BAO (2018), and has collaborated with co-writer Julia Cho for the director's first feature. It seems reasonable to assume that much of what we see on screen is taken from their own adolescent experiences, as well as those of countless others.

Meilin (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) is a 13-year-old 8th grader who fancies herself as a free-spirited teenager basking in her independence. However, the real story is that she's a straight-A student obediently following the highly structured life constructed by her mother. Mei's responsibilities include helping her mother clean the temple the family manages ... the oldest temple in Toronto. It not only serves the local Chinese community by paying homage to the Gods, but it also holds a sacred place for Mei's ancestors. Mei's mother keeps her so duty-bound, that she's unable to find time to karaoke with her friends.

One morning, after a particularly vivid and emotional dream, Mei is transformed into a giant Red Panda ... well she pops in and out of Panda state. Her mother Ming (Sandra Oh) quickly reacts assuming her daughter's "change" is the beginning of a menstrual cycle. But things change drastically when Ming finds out about the Red Panda. Her family has considered this a spell from the Gods, one that has followed the women for multiple generations. Mei discovers this when her grandmother and a slew of Aunts show up for the Red Moon ritual - the only way to rid Mei of the Red Panda.

Mei soon realizes her emotional outbursts are what cause the transformation. When she's overly excited or agitated, the Red Panda appears. It's mostly when she's calm and at ease around her friends that she's her 'normal' self. In fact, the friendships are the key to this story. Miriam (Ava Morse), Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and Abby (Hyein Park) immediately rally to Mei's defense and accept these startling changes. They even find a way to use it to their advantage, focusing on an upcoming concert by 4-Town, a 5 member (yep) boy band that the girls are gaga about. The music for 4-Town is co-written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, and is humorously in line with what we'd expect (and remember) from a 2002 boy band.

We watch as Mei struggles with the emotional rollercoaster that brings out the Red Panda. It's refreshing to see such a portrait of friendship, and also acknowledge that overbearing parents can cause stress, no matter how caring they might be. Mei learns that by letting go of the perfect kid syndrome and wallowing in her messy self, she can truly discover who she is as a young person. It's a Pixar movie, so we fully expect life lessons and psychology to play a role. And that's also part of the problem here. Being a Pixar film means you get compared to other Pixar films, and that's a crazy high standard. This one doesn't come close to the best work from the studio, although we welcome the rare look at female adolescence and friendship, as well as the impact a mother-daughter relationship can have on multiple generations.

Available exclusively on Disney+ beginning March 11, 2022.

This is a story about a girl who turns into a big Red panda.

The animation is fresh with a scent of manga about it, the characters are pretty interesting and all in all this a solid enough movie.

I think a younger audience will like it and there is lots of relevant stuff for young people.

Looking back over the Pixar catalogue there is a dizzying choice of absolute classics that are loved by children and adults alike.

Many took really big choices like opening with a tragic death, including a full length music video or excluding dialogue for the entire opening act.

Pixar couldn't possibly keep this up forever and Turning Red shows signs they are running out of steam.

This takes no risks and is happy just being a kids film about a big fluffy creature.

The scenes with the Panda are relatively rare and after a few incidents everyone accepts the Red Panda and that embarrassment factor is removed diminishing the aliment.

The story shies away from any kind of conflict. Making it very soft and friendly - happily rolling around in themes of friendship and individuality - but removes any kind of tension.

The mother starts as a great character but the story can't stomach her overbearing nature for long and soon it is apparent that everyone is right and the things that were held as important really never mattered, everything works out and everyone agrees to disagree without any consequence.

This is all very nice and friendly; younger people of a milder disposition will love this.

As an adult it made the experience feel quite empty and pointless - I have a feeling this isn't going to stick long with a younger audience either.

Perhaps this is aimed at a eastern audience where perhaps it resonates better.

Nothing bad here but if I was to watch all the Pixar movies again this would be way down the bottom of the list.

*EDIT* my 8 year old grand daughter has since watched this and she loved it. When I asked what she liked most about the movie she said "the big fluffy panda" - She seemed a bit sketchy on what the actual plot was but she is a girl who knows what she wants and fluffy panda's is it - so a 9/10 from her.

It's 2002 Toronto. Meilin is a 13 year-old Chinese-Canadian girl on the verge of adulthood. Her family cares for their temple honorable their ancestor who turned into a red panda to defend her family. One morning, she wakes up to find herself transformed into a red panda.

This is a coming-of-age story from Pixar. It's fun. I love the characters. There is a realism in these characters. They feel very authentic. Aside from the supernatural, this is really a story of a girl trying to find her way through puberty and dealing with her mother-daughter relationship. There are no big name actors other than Sandra Oh which does give this a feeling of non-Hollywood. The Toronto locations are also part of that. This has plenty of fun while dealing with some real tween issues.

Interesting. I thought my 14 year old & her 13 yr old friend would have loved this movie. We waited for it to come out and they had a movie night. 3/4 of the way through they were bored and switched to the Nintendo switch. They said they didn't really "get" what the point of the story was and they lost interest. Head scratcher. I need to watch it myself but if the target audience don't enjoy it - is it really for them?