In 2018, Chinese filmmaker Domee Shi became the first woman to direct a short film for animation powerhouse Pixar. Not only did she break ground in terms of diversity, but her charming short Bao received an Academy Award for Best Animated Short.
Four years later, her directorial debut is set to hit Disney+ due to the COVID pandemic disrupting its global theatrical release. Set in Toronto, Turning Red focuses on teenager Mei (Rosalie Chang), a Chinese-Canadian teenager who is obsessed with boyband 4*Town.
However, her world is quickly turned upside down when she discovers that she turns into a red panda when she becomes stressed or excited. With the help of her besties, she tries to control her condition but when 4*Town announce that they are to perform a live concert, her priorities become divided.
Set in the early noughties, Turning Red captures the excitable giddiness of being a teenage girl who worships boybands. 4*Town is God in the eyes of Mei and her friends, but the very idea of boys sees Mei's first step into adolescence and rebellion, which causes her mindset to stray away from the innocent and into the emotive, resulting in her transforming into a red panda in a puff of pink smoke.
Turning Red incorporates a coming-of-age narrative that revolves around Mei's 'condition', a metaphor for puberty. The unfamiliarity and her freaking out from her body changing makes it easy to empathise with Mei's plight (not to mention her embarrassment when her mum tries to help with "supplies").
Although it provides some of the movie's memorable comedic moments, it also brings a relatable plot device rarely used in modern animated cinema to the point that even younger audiences can resonate with Mei's angst.
Turning Red also explores how family relationships change when kids grow up. Voiced brilliantly by Chiang, Mei is a confident high-achieving student who is full of attitude and in her own words, "a grown-up".
However, she is afraid of disappointing her parents as she chooses to brush aside plans with her best friends to co-host tours around her family's temple with her mum Ming (the consistently wonderful Sandra Oh). Ming's immaculate and composed exterior hides an overly vigilant and somewhat intrusive nature as she tries to protect, in her eyes, her sweet little girl.
The mother-daughter relationship between Mei and Ming is dysfunctional and often hilarious, especially when Ming grows increasingly paranoid over her daughter's innocence, but it is unconditionally supportive. The same can be said with Mei's best friends, who act as her confidantes and a source of comfort that emboldens her to break out of her shell and be herself – panda or no panda.
Although her family and friends represent two sides to Mei's personality with their own ups and downs, they highlight an endearing circle of support around Mei that offers a charming camaraderie while boosting Turning Red's female-dominated narrative.
Turning Red fully embraces its diversity as, behind the scenes, we have Shi (who is also the first woman to solely direct a Pixar feature film), co-screenwriter Julia Cho and production designer Rona Liu. On screen, there is its incredible voice cast led by Chiang and Oh, but also with witty performances from Orion Lee (Jin, Mei's father) and Big Trouble in Little China legend James Hong as Mr Gao.
Altogether, Turning Red is a celebration of Asian talent and this sense of pride is consistent throughout the movie.
Shi incorporates a gorgeous blend of animation styles, including intricate and detailed visuals with anime-inspired touches that reinforce the movie's Asian roots and elevate its deadpan comedic moments. There's also the undeniable cuteness of fluffy things, while wisely straying away from the overused trope of dragons in Asian-led cinema.
There are also little nuances of a Chinese family such as the practice of bai san (lighting incense to pay respects to one's ancestors), post-dinner orange slices, indulgent family meals with an extra-large Lazy Susan and even the use of Cantonese (the primary dialect of Toronto's Chinatown). They're all brilliant additions that reinforce Shi's sentimental vision of life as a Chinese teenager in Canada.
The nostalgic tone also extends to its music with Black Panther composer Ludwig Göransson's score and a melee of pop music in the background, with the beats and vocals of 4*Town's 'Nobody Like U' (written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell) bringing back fond memories.
Overall, Turning Red stands proudly as one of Pixar's most diverse movies to date and thanks to Shi and its cast, it offers buckets of charm and beautiful visuals wrapped in a heartfelt and entertaining coming-of-age story.
Turning Red is out now on Disney+.
