My Review of "Turning Red"

Turning Red is Pixar's latest 2022 movie. It's rather odd that it would be available for streaming right away on Disney Plus. I think they could make a killing in the box office with this movie. Everything about it screams quality.

The movie starts out with the introduction to our main protagonist Meilin. It's the early 2000's and she's an Asian pre-teen living in Toronto Canada. Right away I can quickly identify a ton of references throughout the introduction. I'm not sure if others can relate to her story as well as I do but I understand everything that she's narrates in the opening.

She's has a very tight knit support group but each group displays their support in a different manner. Her friends at school are the ones that she identifies best with because they're the ones going through the same things as her. Her family supports her through what they believe are her best interests. Unfortunately this includes Meilin's overly protective mother.

I have to say that Meilin's mother is a source of a lot of comedy in this movie. The way her mother embarrasses her in front of everyone is the most epically cringe induced fun I've had in a while. I feel so bad for Meilin in these situations but I can't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situations. This is part of the fun of this movie.

As she lives in an Asian household she abides by a set of rules and technically you don't talk back to your elders. You can see Meilin struggling to keep herself from going berserk every time her mom puts her into some incredibly awkward situations.

This leads up to one of her most embarrassing situations. She actually wakes up as a giant red panda one day. If she thought her mom was bad just how will she cope with this embarrassing situation? She's a smart cookie so she's able to navigate what causes her transformation however the learning process isn't so quick.

Ultimately, her goal in the movie is to go to a concert. To a lot of people this wouldn't seem like such a big deal but in Asian households back then it is. I can remember myself going through the same issues she had in order to go to the concert of her favorite group.

I'm very impressed that they would be able to pull of such a storyline. I didn't think such a story could even make it to the screen. Then again the imaginations working at Pixar never ceases to amaze. All of the struggles of duty and identity are beautifully conveyed in, what I thought, a globally comprehensive way. I've lived in similar shoes so I understand her character. I'm not sure about everyone else though.

The animation and effects just keep getting pushed up higher and higher with their movies. Some of the scenes they depicted in the movie were breathtaking and at times very familiar. There were some places that looked like places I've been to in Toronto.

Oddly enough there feels like there were a lot of influences in this movie. Most notably there were a lot of Scott Pilgrim vibes. That makes sense because in that movie they almost made Toronto a supporting character and I felt like this movie did something similar. There were also a ton of anime influences and tons of nostalgic early 2000's references.

My only nitpick about this movie was Meiling's references to her parents. It felt quite odd that she'd refer to her mom and dad as mom and dad. A lot of immigrant households don't simply call their mom and dad's like that it's more like ma or ba. This especially goes for those that are even older generations like popo for grandmother. It's small but in some ways it took me out of the story.

Overall, I really loved this movie. There's so much to see and feel when I saw it. It was like a road down memory lane and with so much fun and excitement. They really outdid themselves with the visuals and I can't recommend this movie enough. I have to give them a 9 out of 10. This is probably best watched in the theaters if you're able to do so.