Film Snail

Turning Red
Turning Red

7.4

Turning Red

PG·2022·100m

Summary

Thirteen-year-old Mei is experiencing the awkwardness of being a teenager with a twist – when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.

Cast

Rosalie Chiang

Rosalie Chiang

Meilin 'Mei' Lee (voice)

Sandra Oh

Sandra Oh

Ming (voice)

Ava Morse

Ava Morse

Miriam (voice)

Hyein Park

Hyein Park

Abby (voice)

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

Priya (voice)

Orion Lee

Orion Lee

Jin Lee (voice)

Wai Ching Ho

Wai Ching Ho

Grandma (voice)

Tristan Allerick Chen

Tristan Allerick Chen

Tyler (voice)

James Hong

James Hong

Mr. Gao (voice)

Lori Tan Chinn

Lori Tan Chinn

Auntie Chen (voice)

Mia Tagano

Lily (voice)

Sherry Cola

Sherry Cola

Helen (voice)

Lillian Lim

Lillian Lim

Auntie Ping (voice)

Jordan Fisher

Jordan Fisher

Robaire (4*Town) (voice)

FINNEAS

FINNEAS

Jesse (4*Town) (voice)

Topher Ngo

Aaron T. (4*Town) (voice)

Grayson Villanueva

Tae Young (4*Town) (voice)

Josh Levi

Josh Levi

Aaron Z. (4*Town) (voice)

Sasha Roiz

Sasha Roiz

Mr. Kieslowski / Additional Voices (voice)

Addie Chandler

Devon / Additional Voices (voice)

Lily Sanfelippo

Lily Sanfelippo

Stacy Frick / Additional Voices (voice)

Anne-Marie

Anne-Marie

Lauren (voice) (uncredited)

Evan Agos

Evan Agos

Additional Voices (voice)

Trinity Bliss

Trinity Bliss

Additional Voices (voice)

Devin Bright

Devin Bright

Additional Voices (voice)

Kimberly Brooks

Kimberly Brooks

Additional Voices (voice)

Ian James Corlett

Ian James Corlett

Additional Voices (voice)

Juliet Donenfeld

Juliet Donenfeld

Additional Voices (voice)

Terri Douglas

Terri Douglas

Additional Voices (voice)

Ellen Dubin

Ellen Dubin

Additional Voices (voice)

Alison Fernandez

Alison Fernandez

Additional Voices (voice)

Jack Fisher

Jack Fisher

Additional Voices (voice)

Erin Fitzgerald

Erin Fitzgerald

Additional Voices (voice)

Poon Fong-Fong

Poon Fong-Fong

Additional Voices (voice)

Hadley Gannaway

Hadley Gannaway

Additional Voices (voice)

David Hayter

David Hayter

Additional Voices (voice)

Karen Huie

Karen Huie

Additional Voices (voice)

Sean T. Krishnan

Sean T. Krishnan

Additional Voices (voice)

Arif S. Kinchen

Arif S. Kinchen

Additional Voices (voice)

Paul Kwo

Paul Kwo

Additional Voices (voice)

James Taku Leung

James Taku Leung

Additional Voices (voice)

Lydia Look

Lydia Look

Additional Voices (voice)

David Chen

David Chen

Additional Voices (voice)

Kim Mai Guest

Kim Mai Guest

Additional Voices (voice)

Caleb Jeon

Caleb Jeon

Additional Voices (voice)

Ethan Loh

Ethan Loh

Additional Voices (voice)

Noel Mason

Additional Voices (voice)

Jason Maybaum

Jason Maybaum

Additional Voices (voice)

Jaiden McLeod

Additional Voices (voice)

Ulka Simone Mohanty

Ulka Simone Mohanty

Additional Voices (voice)

Iara Nemirovsky

Iara Nemirovsky

Additional Voices (voice)

Capri Oliver

Capri Oliver

Additional Voices (voice)

Benjamin Plessala

Benjamin Plessala

Additional Voices (voice)

Tsang Pui-Yee

Additional Voices (voice)

Maddix Robinson

Additional Voices (voice)

Zeno Robinson

Zeno Robinson

Additional Voices (voice)

Vivienne Rutherford

Vivienne Rutherford

Additional Voices (voice)

Violet Grace Schaffer

Violet Grace Schaffer

Additional Voices (voice)

Mariel Sheets

Mariel Sheets

Additional Voices (voice)

Christian J. Simon

Christian J. Simon

Additional Voices (voice)

Artemis Snow

Artemis Snow

Additional Voices (voice)

Sydney Thomas

Sydney Thomas

Additional Voices (voice)

Timothy Cheng Chi-Sing

Timothy Cheng Chi-Sing

Additional Voices (voice)

Benjamin Valic

Benjamin Valic

Additional Voices (voice)

Shondalia White

Shondalia White

Additional Voices (voice)

Cedric L. Williams

Cedric L. Williams

Additional Voices (voice)

Crew

Director, Screenplay, Story

Domee Shi

Head of Story

Madeline Sharafian

Screenplay, Story

Julia Cho

Story

Sarah Streicher

Story Coordinator

Searit Huluf

Story Manager

Lucy Laliberte

Reviews

g

garethmb

March 7, 2022

The digital animation geniuses at Pixar are back with “Turning Red” and it marks a departure for the studio known for the “Toy Story” and “Cars”, franchises.

Set in 1990s Toronto, the film centers around 8th grader Mei (Rosalie Chiang), who considers herself an adult at 13 and eagerly applies herself to school when she is not helping her family tour business at a local Temple or hanging with her friends.

Life comes crashing to a halt when after a traumatic day of embarrassment; Mei awakens in the form of a large Red Panda. In a panic, Mei attempts to hide her situation which causes her over-protective mother to assume it is Puberty related and that her hormones are kicking in.

Mei desperately wants to get her life back to normal and learns that as long as she is calm her Panda is under control. However, this proves to be harder than expected and soon Mei learns that the Panda is the result of a family bloodline but there is a way to end it during a Lunar ceremony in a couple of weeks.

Chaos soon follows as Mei struggles with her situation and must find a way to cope with the changes that are going on and make some very important decisions about her life and her future.

The film is a difficult one to review for me as never having been a teenage girl dealing with puberty, raging estrogen, and the issues that go with it. That being said the film struggles to find a balance as it tacks on the capers of Mei in Panda form without being overly funny or charming and keeps the focus on Teen Angst, puberty-related issues and becoming an adult.

The film lacks the interesting characters, charm, and appeal that have set the foundation for so many Pixar films and it is surprising that a company that can elicit a range of emotions in an animated short fail to really connect with their latest feature. There were some amusing parts but the film as a whole was rather dull and lacked much in the way of humor and was very predictable.

The decision to put the film directly on Disney+ as the studio’s recent “Soul” and “Luca” was raised some controversy but in the end, I do believe it was the right decision as “Turning Red” is not likely to be a film that draws people to the cinema beyond the opening weekend.

It is a film that is a bold step for the company, but one that lacks the charm and humor of previous films as not everyone is going to want to sit through a feature-length film on teenage angst and dealing with changing bodies and the emotional turmoil that follows. However, the target audience is likely to connect with the characters and it will be interesting to see what the reaction to the film is long-term.

3 stars out of 5

“Turning Red” will debut on Disney+ on March 11th

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$175,000,000.00

Revenue:

$21,328,962.00

Keywords

friendship
canada
concert
temple
shapeshifting
toronto, canada
coming of age
teenage girl
female protagonist
east asian lead
animals
domineering mother
perfectionist
aftercreditsstinger
chinese canadian
woman director
ancestor
boy band
thoughtful
mother daughter relationship
red panda
appreciative