This is the first installment in the author’s series of opinion pieces. In each installment, the author will go over recently released or classic Disney television shows or films and give her thoughts about them.
SPOILER WARNING: This post contains spoilers for the Pixar film Turning Red (2022). Please refrain from reading this post if you do not want elements of the film (plot, themes, etc.) to be spoiled for you.
Released last month, Pixar’s Turning Red (2022) is such a heartwarming coming-of-age film. I did not think much of the film prior to watching it, but after watching it this past week I absolutely adore it. There’s so much to say about the film from a variety of perspectives, but I want to delve into a few of which I found to be the most interesting.
But before that…a quick plot summary!
Turning Red (2022) follows Meilin “Mei” Lee, a 13 year-old Chinese-Canadian living in Toronto. Arguably stuck living in the personality of her mother Ming Lee, the film follows Mei learning to grow out of her mother’s image and embrace her true identity. Facing both puberty and the revelation of the red panda blessing/curse (depends on how you look at it) that follows her family’s female lineage, she is forced to examine who she really is and what direction her life is heading in. With the support of her misfit friends Miriam, Priya, and Abby, Mei learns to embrace her imperfections and, unlike the rest of her family, choses to keep the red panda spirit within her. She realizes that the panda makes her happier and like her ancestor, views it as a blessing instead of a curse. It is a film filled with laughter and heart and of course 4*Town!
The official trailer for the film, taken from Pixar's official YouTube channel.
Source: YouTube.com
“People have all kinds of sides to them. And some sides are messy. The point isn’t to push the bad stuff away. It’s to make room for it, live with it.”
Any film or television show is bound to be great if the main characters have a well built character arc surrounding the course of their journey. Mei’s character arc, while standard to that of any coming-of-age protagonist, stands out because of how innocently it comes about. Unlike other films of this genre, Mei displays a level of vulnerability that I personally have not seen before. At the film’s start, she struggles to find acceptance outside of her parents’ approval and hides aspects of her true self from them, such as her interest in 4*Town and boys in general, aspects she didn't even know she had. Mei experiences puberty throughout the film and carries that level of embarrassment that we all shared as pre-teens. In fact director Domee Shi pitched the film to Pixar back in 2017 as “a girl going through a “magical puberty”.” As the film progresses, she learns that the parts of her she previously hated are not so bad after all and learns to embrace the ‘ugly’ aspects that make Mei Mei. In short, she learns to embrace her inner beast and that level of self-love is rare in films these days.
While other films in this genre feature leads that go through similar issues of acceptance, they often leave external influences (such as puberty) in the background, which limits the relatability with audiences. Turning Red (2022) is not one to do this and to the best of my knowledge, is the first film Disney has released that directly discusses puberty and periods as well as the first to use the word “sexy” in a children’s film. Talk about being universally groundbreaking.
Director Domee Shi has been with Pixar since 2011 and worked as a storyboard artist for Inside Out (2015) and The Incredibles 2 (2019). Turning Red (2022) is her feature film directorial debut.
Source: imdb.com
“Everyone has been there. Everyone has been 13 and feeling like they’re turning into some wild, hairy, hormonal beast, and I think that’s why Pixar was drawn to that.” - Domee Shi
Although the film is essentially the story of a prepubescent teen entering the beginning stages of puberty, the title Turning Red can be viewed from a variety of perspectives, all related to the idea of embracing all the parts of one's self. As intended by Shi, on a literal level the title refers to Mei turning into a red panda, but on a metaphorical level references a girl getting her period for the first time. However, both meanings can be taken a step further and given more meaning. In the case of the literal meaning, the film’s title can also be seen as the protagonist’s way of accepting her identity. The color red plays a central focal point in Mei’s life and by her “turning red,” she turns towards acceptance. While this was not always the case – she did after all try to shed anything red once the panda came out – she comes to realize that these two halves of her are one and the same. On a metaphorical level, the title can also be seen as a way of each of the characters learning to navigate the new emotions that come with puberty. The film sees the group of young teens navigating crushes, embarrassment, social acceptance and so on as they attempt to understand these changes in their environment. By far the one unifying feature of these emotions is the color red as the presence (or lack) of it generates that physical color on the body.
In addition, the title can also be seen as a signifier to choose life. Red is arguably the symbolic color of life; our hearts are red, our blood too, etc. By Mei and her friends turning towards red, it can be seen as a symbolic way of them choosing life. Mei starts out in the film limiting her scope of life to the neat and orderly, but by the end has chosen to embrace all aspects of it, chaotic included. Life is not meant to be lived in fear and this is something that Mei comes to realize as the film progresses.
A portion of a deleted scene from the film that would have exemplified Mei's journey through her emotions. Ultimately the plot point of a school debate was seen as unnecessary and the scene was cut.
Source: YouTube.com
“Sometimes I miss how things were. But nothing stays the same forever.”
From its references to 90s pop culture to the universal themes of growing pains, Pixar’s Turning Red (2022) brings about a level of social awareness that I don’t see in many films these days. Although the film is set in the early 2000s, it is a timeless film that holds weight to all who watch it now and in the future. I very much so recommend this film! Although the trailer does not show much promise, I promise you it is worth the watch.
Author Bio
Felicity Girty is an English major with a double minor in Cognitive Science and Film, Television, and Digital Media. She is addicted to all things Disney and has an enormous passion for literature and entertainment. If not reading or immersed in pop culture, you can find her listening to literally any kind of music. Felicity hopes to work her way into the entertainment industry as a producer/showrunner, starting out in the writers’ room. She is also involved in UCLA Project SPELL.
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