TURNING RED – Review

Well, it looks like we’ve just about made it to Spring break, so it’s time to celebrate with a brand new flick from the wizards at Pixar set in…well, school. Or at least half of it is. You see the story’s heroine really divides her time between home and school, middle school. In Toronto. In 2002. Yes, after getting lots of 80s nostalgia we’re now getting a coming-of-age tale set in “the ‘aughts”. Aw, don’t feel too ancient…just yet. Whoah, you may say, didn’t our Pixar pals tackle this a few years ago (seven, actually) with INSIDE OUT. Sure, but as the title states, it was about what was happening in the main character’s interior, with different emotions calling the “shots” in her noggin. This tale is much more, for lack of a better term, exterior. You see, this young woman’s changes manifest in her outward…appearance as her emotions and hormones have her TURNING RED. And furry. And extra-large.

As I mentioned earlier, this (fuzzy) tale begins waaaay back in 2002 on the not so mean streets of Toronto where we meet a very busy thirteen-year-old lady named Meilin, AKA “Mei” and Mei Mei” (voice of Rosalie Chiang). She actually loves school, not for the classes (though she’s an academic ace), but because that’s where she hangs with her “squad”, her “BFFs”. There’s tomboyish Miriam (Ava Morse), “laid back” Priya ( Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and always excited Abby (Hyein Park). What really “bonds” them is their shared adoration of the awesome male quintet singing group “4Town’ (yes five guys of course). Oh and their shared crush, a slightly older teen (he’s 17) named Devon who runs the register at a nearby “mini-market”. After the final school bell rings, Mei is off to help her mom Ming (Sandra Oh) who manages a Chinese temple (and its souvenir shop) dedicated to their ancestor Sun-Yi who had a mystical connection with nature (especially one animal). When the last of the tourists leave, the two head to their connected home for dinner with dad Jim (Orion Lee). It appears to be a tranquil evening of homework until Ming discovers Mei’s “secret love” and publicly embarrasses her (oh the talk in the school hallways tomorrow morning). The upset Mei finally drifts off to sleep and awakens to discover that she’s changed. Not emotionally but very physically…into an eight-foot-tall red panda. She’s unable to hide it from mom, who somewhat was expecting this. It seems that this “unusual puberty symptom” has been passed down to all the women in her family, going back to the aforementioned Sun-Yi. But it can be controlled. Come the next “red moon” in a few weeks, Ming and her own mom and sisters will conduct a “ritual” to trap the “panda spirit” in a purple jewel or ruby. Mei just has to keep calm and limit the “changes”, otherwise the panda’s wild nature will “take over”. So can she keep her cool, even around her buddies? Even when they find out that 4Town is making a concert stop there? Oh, it’s near the end of the month. It surely won’t conflict with the “moon ceremony” will it?

Huzzah, it’s another solid effort from the terrific team from Emeryville, CA. Their artists expertly recreate the Canadian city in bright bold colors and designs while giving us their unique adaptation of the fashions, hairstyles, and tech of twenty years ago. And then there are the delightful characters cavorting in front of those backdrops, each giving a distinct body language (and great “acting”) and looks. Miriam seems a bit like the older sister of Guilia from LUCA, after getting a Seattle “grunge” makeover. Priya is tightly reined in, her half-open eyes and curly coif evoke the cult fave MTV ‘toon “Daria” (and we first see her with a “Twilight”-type YA novel). Abby is a riff on the anime over-caffeinated tweens with wide eyes and an always-open mouth baring bright “choppers”. Mei incorporates elements from all of them, ultra-expressive with her buds while “playing close to the vest” with the fam. Her Mom Ming seems “tightly wound” and a bit stiff until her maternal instincts turn her into a whirlwind of action. Her “savvy” business suit chic is echoed by her female relatives (they seem to be always on the red carpet, flashing the “bling”). The vocal cast expertly brings them to life, with Chiang and Oh making an excellent and convincing screen duo. The story celebrates female friendship and gives us an insight into the whole “boy band frenzy” as this is set post NKOTB and N’Sync and pre the K-Pop craze. 4*Town could easily be on the cover of subscriber Lisa Simpson’s “Non-Threatening Boys” magazine (it helps that their songs are created by Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas O’Connell). We see how they provide an emotional release for the young women, strengthening their sisterly bonds with every squeal and scream. This keys into the story’s biggest surprise (a heads up for parents who might need to prepare for the “womanhood talk”) in that it really delves into the biological transition into adulthood while mixing in the whole “magical critter” element. The transformation into “beast’ metaphor has been explored in cinema (I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF comes to mind, though it’s more exploitive of juvenile delinquency). The giant is perhaps symbolic of leaving childhood, but it also works in the mother/daughter dynamic. Mei is not a baby who will become a copy of Ming and enjoy the same things and follow the same path (“wild” is independence perhaps). Aside from such serious matters, the film is full of slapstick chaos and even fits in a kaiju homage as it nears its emotional climax. This is truly splendid “all-ages” entertainment exploring family dynamics and the intensity (everything’s extreme “drama”) of pre-teen friendship. TURNING RED is truly a triumph.

3.5 Out of 4

TURNING RED streams exclusively on Disney+ beginning on Friday, March 11, 2022