Turning Red (2022)

Director: Domee Shi

A 13-year-old girl named Meilin turns into a giant red panda whenever she gets too excited.

Animated feature films usually have powerful underlying themes. So does ‘Turning Red’. Children usually don’t understand these messages, and simply enjoy the film for its animation and cute characters.

‘Turning Red’ sees a 13-year old girl, Meilin, who is way too big for her shoes, believing to be mature and independent. This is due to her mother’s upbringing, and soon to be explained.

Without admitting it to her friends – or herself – Meilin has a crush on Devon, who works in a supermarket. When she draws pictures of them together, her mother is infuriated when she sees it, and faces Devon to Meilin’s embarrassment. That night Meilin has a nightmare about red pandas, and the next morning finds she herself has transformed into a giant red panda.

We learn the family has been cursed – or blessed as it was centuries ago – seeing the women turn into red pandas whenever they get excited. Meilin has only one chance to rid herself of the curse – at the next Red Moon. But so much is about to happen before that….

There’s a lot to admire about ‘Turning Red’. The animation is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! The underlying theme is powerful, although maybe not very clear. You have to carefully analyze the character development to fully understand the message here.

As for the film in general, I found it aimed primarily at a young demographic – girls, to be more specific. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters. It also felt like a re-imagining of ‘The Incredible Hulk’, tweaked a bit to have a greater appeal to kids (girls). The finale in turn felt like a re-imagining of the Marshmallow man from ‘Ghostbusters’. So, having said this, ‘Turning Red’ didn’t feel all that original. Kids surely will be entertained. As for adults, I’m sure most will be too, or they will simply be entertained by watching their kids being entertained by a cute, cuddly giant red Panda.

Being streamed on Disney+ simultaneously to a theatre run, the film only made $20 million at the box office – on a budget of $175 million, deeming it one of the biggest box office flops. It did, nevertheless, receive an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature (pending at this stage). It received a further 87 award nominations, winning 4.

Would I watch it again? No.