Directed By Domee Shi

Starring – Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse

The Plot – Mei Lee (Chiang) is a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (Oh), is never far from her daughter – an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited, which is practically always, she “poofs” into a giant red panda.

Rated PG for thematic material, suggestive content and adult language

Turning Red | Official Trailer – YouTube

POSITIVES

Pixar once again breaks down conventional walls with a film as conceptually and creatively ambitious as anything they’ve ever made, but one with metaphorical simulations in the depth of its bountiful expression. This allows the film to tackle the thematic impulses of puberty in the life of an adolescent teenage girl, but with the spectacle of some breathtaking animation to vividly convey the magnitude of its internal furnace through Asian heritage. While not anything as impressively detailed as some of Pixar’s more naturalistic canvases, the illustrations here intentionally and beautifully combine a transfixing exuberance of color and boldness in expressions of its many alluring backdrops and character designs to constantly indulge us in the insight of their corresponding psychologies, especially in the aspect of protagonist Mei, whom the story remains faithfully by her side at all times. Being that this is quite literally a coming-of-age story from the perspective of a teenage girl, the bubbly, candy-coated canvases breed a light-hearted innocence that immerses us wholeheartedly in the air of its characters and corresponding tonal consistencies, and when combined with the kind of expressive, almost comic book surrealness in cinematography from Mahyar Abousaeedi, presents an intriguing welcome mat of substantial style too endearing not to immerse ourselves in. On the topic of aforementioned puberty, the film is respectful without exploiting it as a gimmick, yet affirmative enough in its depiction to not shy away from such touchy topics, crafting a satisfying compromise that is educational for kids, yet entertaining for adults who have already freed themselves from the clutches of this turbulent time. The performances are mostly satisfactory, especially from the range of 16-year-old Rosalie Chiang, whose spontaneity and emotional recklessness cements an authenticity to the way Mei interprets these tender moments, complete with ragingly ravenous instincts materializing the beast that shakes and spellbinds those she comes into contact with. Sandra Oh is equally a force of nature as Mei’s sensitive mother with her own transforming moments of destructive criticism. Because of such, Chiang and Oh transcend disbelief with a dynamic that at more times than not feels conflicting, but ultimately one that carries with it the protection of a mother’s aging wisdom and undying love that occasionally smother the intention towards Mei. Finally, the film never overstays its welcome with a 90 minute run time that promptly moves the story forward with calculated urgency, but also one with a consistency for pacing between arcs that carefully disperses near-perfect timing allowance to keep the film from ever dragging. “Turning Red” was never a story that required two hours to properly tell it, and like adolescence flashed before audience eyes with the kind of velocity that never transcribed enough down time to test my investment.

NEGATIVES

Though I did applaud the film for finding a creative means of rendering teenage puberty through the representation of a reckless panda, the rules of its transformation are a little inconsistent to say the least. Sometimes it’s a bit too obvious, like when Mei makes a noise to signify that she’s bothered, and other times the panda doesn’t appear all together during scenes when she’s obviously bothered. It starts to become noticeable all the more because of the abundance of times that this character is considered annoyed or embarrassed in the context of her smothering mother, but it’s much more under explored in scenes of other emotions that should trigger the same effects. If the transformation is based on a feeling of instability, then the character should definitely spend more time as her animalistic counterpart. Failing to do so removed the nuance of the transformation, and only explored it when the scene absolutely required such.   As for the conflicts in the film,  while they were effective in the way they materialize psychological duress in the captivity of the protagonist, do feel a bit unearned when fleshed out with universal impacts. Part of it certainly stems from the film’s exaggerated approach in the themes they materialize visually throughout, but with these aspects of puberty only serving as a temporary speed-bump towards a bigger picture, it’s a bit difficult to invest in their stakes as something that feels condemning for the characters surrounding Mei, especially when the climax deconstructs everything figuratively and literally, and yet it’s cleaned up in a way that insults audience intelligence, only to be justified with “Well, it’s a kids film”. Finally, while the film never bored me or left me feeling unfulfilled in what was promised, I can safely say that the demeanor of its characters did earn a few instances where their abrasive personalities grated on my nerves. The dialogue for them is a little too on-the-nose, with lingo and puns feeling forced, and energy of their personalities feel like they’re constantly elevated to eleven, while playing into the one-sentence summaries that they never elude themselves from.

OVERALL

“Turning Red” uses expression over realism to vividly convey conscience into one of Pixar’s most ambitious psychological plunges. Though, the stale soundtrack, various imagery, and pop culture punchlines severely dates the film to periodically distracting instances, the story of magical transformation as a metaphor for personal and cultural change cements an imaginative appreciation for family and friendship in the most kid-friendly captivity, all the while teaching us to embrace the monster from within that roars louder with teenage adolescence.

My Grade: 7/10 or B