Pixar’s newest family film isn’t getting a cinematic release, which seems like a dang shame.
Turning Red appears on our lists of 2022’s most exciting animated films and most promising films directed by women, just based on how vibrant, fun, and sweet its coming-of-age story looks to be. Even if it’s only available on a small streaming screen, Turning Red should make your teenage dreams come true, available from March 11 on Disney+.
Sarah Ward is keen to tune in for “one crucial reason: filmmaker Domee Shi, who makes her feature debut after winning an Oscar for gorgeous 2018 short Bao, which screened with The Incredibles 2.” Shi’s squishy, loveable art style from Bao returns here for the awkward tale of 13-year-old Mei.
Everything turns upside down for the Toronto tween when she begins “poof”-ing into an enormous red panda, anytime her emotions run high. It turns out her family has some mysterious, ancestral connection to the beast—Mei will have to contain herself throughout the usual high school tribulations of P.E., bullies, and wobbly self-esteem.
Pop star siblings Billie Eilish and Finneas composed the songs for the movie’s in-universe boyband 4*town, and Sandra Oh plays Mei’s overprotective mum. Otherwise, Turning Red is a delightfully fresh-faced affair, for both lead voice actor Rosalie Chiang and first-time feature director Shi, Pixar’s only instance of a woman directing solo.
We’ve definitely seen similarly fuzzy metaphors for puberty in movies like Ginger Snaps and Teen Wolf, but Pixar’s gorgeous pastel visuals will add a family-friendly dimension to such stories. Could be a good way to get into the birds and the bees (and the mystical red panda beings) with your own fam…
