Turning Red

Turning Red

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.

  • Released: 2022-03-10
  • Runtime: 100 minutes
  • Genre: Animation, Comedy, Family
  • Stars: Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Jordan Fisher, Grayson Villanueva, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo, Finneas O'Connell, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park, Addie Chandler, Lori Tan Chinn, Sherry Cola, Lillian Lim, James Hong, Anne-Marie, Sasha Roiz, Tristan Allerick Chen, Mia Tagano, Lily Sanfelippo, Evan Agos, Trinity Bliss, Devin Bright, Kimberly Brooks, David Chen, Ian James Corlett, Juliet Donenfeld, Terri Douglas, Ellen Dubin, Alison Fernandez, Jack Fisher, Erin Fitzgerald, Poon Fong-Fong, Hadley Gannaway, Kim Mai Guest, David Hayter, Karen Huie, Caleb Jeon, Arif S. Kinchen, Sean T. Krishnan, Paul Kwo, James Taku Leung, Ethan Loh, Lydia Look, Noel Mason, Jason Maybaum, Jaiden McLeod, Ulka Simone Mohanty, Iara Nemirovsky, Capri Oliver, Benjamin Plessala, Tsang Pui-Yee, Maddix Robinson, Zeno Robinson, Sasha Roiz, Vivienne Rutherford, Lily Sanfelippo, Violet Grace Schaffer, Mariel Sheets, Christian J. Simon, Artemis Snow, Sydney Thomas, Timothy Cheng, Benjamin Valic, Shondalia White, Cedric L. Williams, Ethan Berger, Jacob Batalon
  • Director: Domee Shi, Josef Qazi Wenngren, Domee Shi
 Comments
  • AntoniFeliau - 22 May 2024
    My current favorite movie
    I really loved this movie. It's rare that a movie keeps me coming back but turning red is always a fun movie to watch. The pacing is on point, the movie is packed with details, I don't think there's a single boring frame.

    I watched this first in theaters when I was 19. To be honest it was a difficult first watch because it made me think a lot about myself. This is definitely a "weird" movie, and I think I understand the 7.0 rating. But I legitimately came away from it feeling more comfortable in my own skin.

    Maybe I should give some background, I'm a guy and I am autistic. I grew up spending every second of every day trying to act like everyone else. I had a significant case of social anxiety because of this, and I didn't make many friends because I didn't let anything interesting about myself come out for fear of being rejected by everybody.

    That being said, randomly turning into a giant red panda is a pretty good metaphor for the main fear of social anxiety. It is the fear that everyone will see you and that you will have no control over what they think.

    All I have to say is that the message that your true nature isn't something you need to be afraid of was extremely reassuring for me. It is the message I think the people who made the film wanted people to take away from it. The message cut deep for me and that's why I give this movie a 10.
  • lee_eisenberg - 7 February 2024
    mostly good, although there was one thing that I thought was missing
    Pixar continues its creative streak with this story of a girl in 2002 Toronto whose ancestral curse turns her into a red panda.

    As a man, I'm in no position to talk about the movie's realism with regards to issues faced by teenage girls or their interests. I did think that "Turning Red" offered a good balance between focusing on teenage life and connection to one's culture.

    There was one thing that I thought the movie was missing. I thought that, set as it was in 2002, it should've shown stuff that was characteristic of that year. The big thing was of course the so-called War on Terrorism. With the movie taking place in spring, there was the coup against Venezuela's Hugo Chavez that lasted less than forty-eight hours.

    Of course, thirteen-year-old girls probably wouldn't have paid as much attention to all that as I did at the time (I turned eighteen that year). As it stands, it's a fun movie. The cast includes Sandra Oh, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan (Devi on "Never Have I Ever") and Sasha Roiz (Renard on "Grimm").
  • Prsmrti - 25 December 2023
    Turning Red is a wonderful cartoon with a stranglehold on the right issues
    Very nice cartoon that makes you feel inside you those childhood problems of growing up with which we all who have overcome the threshold of childhood years had to face. It is very pleasant to realize that you have gone through it and that this cartoon so accurately hits these feelings and makes you think about your inner feelings.

    Moreover, it is important that this movie is ideal to watch for children with parents, as everyone here will see themselves in a certain character, and together with him will live these difficult experiences about growing up and faith in their children.

    The only thing is that the movie may at first seem overly aimed at a child audience and slightly repulsive for the older generation, but it is important not to fall asleep on this, and watch it with your child until the end.

    A well-deserved 8/10.
  • aychen-03006 - 1 January 2023
    Touching and relatable
    I decided watching this on a plane ride and ended up crying three times during the film, with tears and snot dripping down in my maskI I'm 26 years old by the way. Even though i'm an "adult" I can still relate to Meimei's struggle of breaking out of her mom's protective confines and trying to gain her independence and individuality. It was also a powerful portrayal of family relationships/conflicts between Meimei and her mom, with Meimei's mom and grandma.

    I definitely recommend watching this movie! It will hit so close to home, especially if you come a from an immigrant Asian family. I wished I had this movie when I was growing up!
  • cucuzel1984 - 22 November 2022
    Cringe from beginning to end. Who is this for?
    I was looking forward to this film, and it had some potential as and idea but what a waste of time. This movie was far more terrible then I could have imagines. Who is this film even for? It's too mature for kids, to childish for teens, to cringe for adults... Cringe from beginning to end, including the end credit scene. More than one fat-butt joke. More than one sanity-pads joke. More than one Chinese parents overfeed their kids joke. More than one overbearing mother joke... I'm so glad I saw this on streaming rather then a movie theater because I have the option to skip forward. And I used that option, a lot!

    Mei is an unlikable main character. Her actions, behavior, way of expression and basically everything about her is annoying and selfish. As a coming of age story some is expected but she is just an awful person whos obvious actions are tiring to watch. The only interesting part of the movie was her mother, Ming, and a movie about her would have been more interesting than the whiny self-righteous tween we got.

    Once wived and never again. This is one of those pixar films that will be banished to the back of the memory cabinet never to be seen again.

    Skip this and watch something better.
  • mickeythechamp - 3 October 2022
    Pixar is back
    It's great to see pixar swing back after a dry period.

    Turning red is a great and fun movie that knows what it wants to be. It is a story about growing up, becoming youself and see your ansestary in the eyes.

    We follow Mei Lee who is under a family curse that turns her into a red panda when she gets emotional. She now has to juggle getting rid of the curse and having fun with her friends. Her family duty vs. Her own identity.

    The movies symbolism is easy to translate and kids will defenetly recognise some of the things happening to Mei Lee. All the emotions in the teenage years and realising your not your parents is tough and defenetly something everyone has to go through.

    The humor can be amazing here but also a bit too "trying". Some of the humor feels like low tear "loud is funny"-kind of humor whitch doesn't land with me. But you still feel like that's just how Mei Lee and her friends communicate. There friendship seems really well made and is a treat to watch.

    Mei Lee's mom is the obstacle in this movie, the one that wants Mei Lee to stay as she is and follow her path. You still understand where she comes from though and she is a well written obstacle charecter that creates a very emotional climax to this movie.

    Overall Pixar is back and this movie is entertaining and heartwarming. While the movie doesn't always land all it's jokes for me, it's still an emensly enjoyable watch.
  • sebastianali123 - 12 September 2022
    Im a bit sick of this...
    Turning Red is an okay movie. I was expecting it to be much worse, thanks to the goofy trailers they showed us, but it's still not enough to shine, yet another proof that movies are currently in a crisis of decline. But let's start talking about the good instead of this nonsense verbiage, okay? Okay. First of all, this movie is full of messages. Pretty good about it, both very subtly and overtly. Some moments of humor are good, and the animation really helps keep several moments entertaining overall. The animation is not too bad in general either, although later I will have to mention something that some may not like.

    Already focusing on the bad, because the same as always, it's too cliche and predictable. And when I say too much, I mean TOO MUCH. It doesn't even try, the plot is just too basic. Although they end up saving their messages and humorous situations, some of these scenes are very forced or have nonsense, like when Mei Li enters the stadium with her powers near the end, which makes about half of the movie an amazing padding. Why she and their friends didnt enter on the first place? And how all of the Mei Li parents enter like nothing without paying 200 dollars each one? There´also a lot of cringe situations, and some people may say that "duh, they are 13 year old girls", like if that would fix anything, no, thats not how things work. And for last, although this is something minor, while i said that the animation is good overall, the colour is very saturated sometimes. I had to look around only to take a break. While is not a negative point and it didnt bother me too much, probably it would annoy some people.

    Despiteeeeee everything, is a movie worth watching, so anyway, my irrelevant opinion is reflected like always, and if you disagree, i dont care.