Turning Red (2022)

Turning Red (2022)

 

7/10

 

Starring the voices of 

Rosalie Chiang

Sandra Oh

Ava Morse

Hyein Park

 

Directed by Domee Shi

 

Turning Red is different from what we have been seeing. This coming-of-age work is very intense, with a strong story. The story is multidimensional, and it is created in such a way that you see the slight changes in the characters as they mature and as the movie progresses. You see behaviors that you will admire and the gentle building of characters in the young adults as they try to make things go their way.

I like the animation and voice casting. This development shows us a child trying to please a parent because she believes all her mother's hopes and dreams are placed on her. Then there is the mother, trying to make sure her daughter never strays by micromanaging her life to the last detail.

The strong plot with its emotions may be too much for kids to follow. Also, the actions of Mei and her crew may not be something you want your children to emulate.

Encanto had us by the horns in 2021, dragging us by the lips into 2022 because we don’t talk about Bruno.

This Pixar’s 25th production may not have the same strength as Encanto, but it is just as good. Set in the early 2000s, the animation is a coming-of-age fantasy comedy. The movie centers around a Chinese-Canadian family with a tricky past. One of their ancestors (like hundreds of years ago) was blessed with the ability to turn into a red panda to fight and save her family. The downside of that gift is that, now that the danger to her family has gone, the ability to change is still with her. She then passed the same ability to her daughters, which became a genetic trait that was then transferred to Mei Lee.

Mei Lee is the young thirteen-year-old girl whose story we are following and her struggles to live a double life. One life is an exact replica of her mother in almost everything, and the other is herself in front of her friends.

With a setup like this, you know something will draw the two lives together. That something becomes this genetic trait. Mei turns into a giant red panda anytime she is excited and must wait until the next red moon, while keeping the panda in check to free herself from this curse.

Her mother believes the best thing to do is to keep Mei hidden until that time comes. Mei and her three best friends have other plans. After Mei is able to master control of her emotions, she and her group decide to do whatever it takes to see their favorite boyband, 4-Town, when they tour Canada.

Without their parents’ help, these four must raise $800 and find a way to sneak out to go to this concert. This is a side note and not the current issue at hand. Mei has to keep the panda transformation to a minimum and in check until the next red moon, which is less than two weeks away from the time she first transformed.

I have no qualms recommending this to anyone to see. It is amazing and so much fun the moment the girls get together to make their dreams come true.