Turning Red – Film Review

In Turning Red, Mei Lee is a confident, dorky thirteen-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. And as if changes to her interests, relationships, and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which for a teenager is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda.

Pixar is well known at this point for crafting highly emotional films that are able to make even the toughest adults shed some tears. Even a film like Inside Out – which is aimed more towards kids than adults – makes most adults get teary-eyed. The one that easily affects me the most is Soul, which honestly had me holding back a puddle.

So, just as a warning, don’t go into their latest film Turning Red with the expectation that you’ll be an inconsolable mess by the time the end credits appear. You won’t be. Domee Shi’s film is one that aims more towards comedy than extreme emotion, and it’s definitely a little bit strange. That’s not to say the film isn’t enjoyable because it definitely is, but it did feel like there were some ingredients that were missing here.

Turning Red reminds me more of a DreamWorks movie than a Pixar one. DreamWorks movies are usually more comedy-oriented whereas Pixar wants to make you hugely emotional. Not this time, though. Gratefully, this film is quite funny and there were a handful of scenes that had me grinning from ear-to-ear, even if I couldn’t relate to what our lead protagonist Mei was going through during the film.

Because Pixar typically makes movies that can be relatable to everyone, Turning Red definitely stands out like a sore thumb – for better and for worse. It’s a gleefully weird movie and it just doesn’t care. This is without a doubt one of the most stylish and out-there animated movies I’ve ever seen. But it also creates a problem – there isn’t as much fun to be had for families of all ages.

If you were to sit down with your family and watch this, you’ll notice that your kids will probably have a great time. But as for you and your partner? You may think it’s kind of cute but that’s about it. All of the voice performances here are terrific – especially from Rosalie Chiang who delivers a highly memorable and energetic performance as Mei – and the animation style is one-of-a-kind.

I just really wish this story was a bit more accessible because it is certainly aimed towards young audiences and doesn’t have as much substance for older audiences. That’s not to say that this film isn’t impressive, though. It’s another great achievement from Pixar, but I definitely do recommend going into this one with a much different mindset than their other outings.