Turning Red is Pixar’s latest feature film… and also probably one of the more mature as
far as its themes and humor goes. Blending the emotional and humorous
writing the studio is known for with a really unique coming-of-age story.
Set in the early 2,000s in Toronto,
Canada… and mixed together with the Chinese culture that stems from the main character,
Mei’s, ancestral family, we’re left with a really cool backdrop for an animated movie.
And with such an interesting world comes a ton of easter eggs,
little references and secrets… Hidden in every nook and cranny on screen.
Many of which, you probably didn’t catch the first time you watched. So we’re taking a deep
dive into Pixar’s Turning Red today and uncovering these easter eggs, one by one.
Let’s get started!
CANADA
Turning Red takes place in Toronto Canada… and the filmmakers did a great job emphasizing lots of
little Canadian staples throughout the world. And not just the Iconic Maple leaf. There’s a lot of
references here… It makes sense since the director and much of the main cast are all Canadian.
For instance… The little moose toy in the front of Mei’s mom’s car is a pretty clearly Canadian
thing to have in your vehicle. Not to mention her clear respect and admiration for Celine Dion…
They even proudly display Canadian Maple Syrup in the convenient store.
Being set in Toronto, you’ll also notice that this street car has the
same colors as the Toronto Transit Commision. We also see the vibrant,
bohemian style Kensington Market. An iconic part of the city.
And for those of us down in the US or outside of Canada;
who are more used to Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts… We may not know about Tim Hortons Timbits. It’s
a pretty iconic Canadian donut spot and we see one of their boxes on Mei’s family table.
The Daisy Mart we see is also a real-life Canadian chain of convenient stores.
We can also catch a glimpse of the CN Tower. Which held the record for
tallest building or freestanding structure for over 3 decades; and is still the tallest
one in the Western Hemisphere. We see it in a couple shots throughout the movie.
And we also see the Rogers Centre. Home to the Toronto Blue Jays. And we actually also see a
couple kids in purple jerseys… Likely nods to the Toronto Raptors. Oh, and then also… one of
those kids is wearing a hockey jersey that is a nod to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the NHL.
And Mei and her friends go to Lester B. Pearson Middle School.
Lester B. Pearson was the 14th Prime Minister of Canada.
The temple is loosely based on the Cham Shan Temple… one of the oldest temples in Toronto.
Where they don’t worship a God, but their ancestors… Just like the temple in Turning Red.
Another interesting reference is In school, behind the math teacher’s desk, there’s a
1980 Winter Games hockey poster… Hockey being such a popular sport in Canada, it makes sense.
This looks to be a reference to the 1980 Olympics when the USA beat the Soviet Union in hockey…
With a 4-3 upset. This was considered a huge victory because the Russians were favorites
and the American hockey team was composed mostly of Amatuer players.
Disney even made a movie about it called Miracle.
THE EARLY 2000s
Taking place in 2002, there is an absolute ton of reference to the late nineties and early 2000s.
The filmmakers did a great job rebuilding that era right down to the last detail…
When it comes to toys, there’s probably nothing more iconic to
the late 90’s and early 2000s than the Tamagotchi… Which Mei proudly displays
clipped to her backpack. Tamagotchis were little handheld digital pets
that came out of Japan and were made by Bandai. Back when mobile gaming had a lot of limitations.
Though the most obvious reference to that era is the boyband 4 Town,
which is a clear parody of popular boy bands from the late 90s and early 2000s
like The Backstreet Boys and N’Sync. During their concert, they’re even
wearing all white like The Backstreet Boys did for their album Millennium. And when they
perform the ritual, they do the dance moves from the Backstreet Boys video Everybody.
That “Tween Beat” Magazine they’re on is also a reference to the “Teen Beat”
Magazine from the 90s and early 2000s, which covered boybands.
A lot of the character’s fashion sense fits the era perfectly as well… Specifically with
the Skater culture… With Vans, graphic tees and boards… and the Goth subculture made up of
clothing that you would see in Hot Topics around that time. As well as the emo haircuts and styles.
Miriam reflects the skater and grunge styles that were popular in that era.
From the plaid short and beanie hat to the skater t-shirt and vans.
And of course, the friendship bracelets were a staple of the 90s.
When we see the stickers on Mei’s instrument case… One of them says “Y2K A’OK”. This is a reference
to the Y2K scare in 2000. It stands for Year 2000 and it was a huge scare in the late 90’s that
computer errors related to date formatting would occur when the date turned to 2000.
Speaking of computers, that PC in the living room looks like an IBM PC 340.
Her backpack that says “Bagsport” is actually a parody to the popular Jansport brand bags.
And that isn’t the only brand parody we see. There’s also the JOKIA phone…
a clear reference to NOKIA phones that were popular in the mid 2000s.
And of course the Discman… Which has the ultimate portable entertainment device of the early 2000s.
Mei also names the Red Panda statues in front of the temple
Bart and Lisa, a pretty clear reference to The Simpsons.
In the early 2000s, when skateboarding really made its way into the mainstream… The Tech Deck
fingerboards became a popular toy. And were a popular way to kill time when in school.
It’s also kind of funny that we see a lot of little 1970’s references sprinkled into
the world. From lava lamps to smiley face pins to bracelets and jewelry. Much of this
stuff stuck around and remained popular even into the mid 2000s.
We see Priya reading a book called Nightfall:
The Final Chapter… Which is likely a parody of the Twilight books that came out in 2005.
Also notice the handshake that Priya and Mei do. It’s the same
one that Will and Jazz do on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Abby is also wearing an early 2000s version of the Baby G Shock watch.
And Mei is seen with a calculator watch.
Oh, and this shot of Mei running definitely looks like the Quicksilver running shot.
PIXAR & DISNEY
Pixar is known for adding little nods to other movies in their
library through hidden easter eggs. And Turning Red has its fair share.
First and foremost, let’s get the A113 out of the way. For those that don’t know,
A113 is an easter egg that has been put in every Pixar movie. It refers to the classroom
at CAL Arts used by animation students including Pixar co-founder John Lasseter.
This time, you can spot that number all the way at the end of the film
during the end credits… If you look at the 4 TOWN ticket… you’ll see that the seat number is A113.
And then… We can’t have a Pixar movie without the Luxo Ball.
That’s the iconic toy ball from the Pixar logo sequence… In Turning Red,
you can spot it in the pool when Mei and her friends are sitting on the roof.
Next up, Bao Dumplings are eaten throughout the movie. These of course come from Pixar’s short
film, Bao. That short was also directed by Domee Shi, who directed Turning Red.
And we know those are Bao dumplings because when Mei is walking down the street
after getting off the trolley, there is a sign for Bao Restaurant.
Other Pixar shorts are referenced as well. We see the bunny from 2020’s Burrow on the back
of Mei’s sketchbook. And also… Purl from Pixar’s 2018 short, Purl, on Mei’s desk.
When the girls are walking to the convenient store, Miriam’s skateboard has two stickers on
it that are references to Toy Story. First, there’s Sid’s skull shirt decal… and then
also we have a much smaller Buzz Lightyear of Star Command insignia sticker as well.
And speaking of Toy Story… It’s worth pointing out that many of the sky
shots look very similar to the iconic Toy Story Cloud Background from Andy’s room.
And remember those JOKIA phones? Well, one has a rainbow unicorn sticker on it from Inside Out.
And speaking of stickers… There’s a tiny Nemo sticker in the bathroom as well.
When r. Gao draws a circle to open a door to the astral plane, it’s similar to Pixar’s other film
Soul… as they also sit around chanting in the hopes to enter the astral planes.
Another couple subtle Pixar references include the fact that Abby
is dressed in a similar pattern as Boo’s door from Monster’s Inc…
and Mei’s teacher kind of resembles a younger version of Charles Muntz from UP.
Also, when Mei says the cashier her friends are oogling looks like “a hobo”...
She may be channeling her inner Edna Mode from The Incredibles.
When she comes back in Panda form to oogle him herself,
she taps her foot like Thumper in the Disney classic Bambi.
And Mei’s bunny slippers might be a reference to Mushu’s line from Mulan… saying his Bunny Slippers
just ran for cover. But also… this smiling breakfast definitely looks familiar as well…
And the box of kittens might be a nod to Oliver and company…
mainly because there is one orange kitten in the box.
If you’re a fan of Disney Easter eggs, you’re probably familiar with Hidden Mickeys…
Which are representation of Mickey Mouse, subtly hidden within shots of Disney movies.
There are a couple of these Hidden Mickeys in the pond made out of lily pads.
And then also… the donut holes the family has for breakfast make up a Hidden Mickey too.
And maybe these balloons at that party as well…
And maybe pushing it… but the dumplings kind of form one too.
And last, but certainly not least… When Mei is running to the stadium in panda form,
she runs past the iconic Pizza Planet truck. The vehicle truly is timeless as it really gets around
from movie to movie. For those who don’t know, this was the ride that Woody and Buzz hitched a
ride on in the original Toy Story; and Pixar has placed it in their movies regularly ever since.
CHINESE CULTURE
We also see some Fortune plants in the movie… which are usually sold as Lucky Bamboo Plants…
These actually got really popular in the early 2000s,
which makes them fit the setting really well. The Chinese call The Lucky Bamboo
Fu Gwey Zhu, which signify Luck & Fortune… Power and Honor… and Bamboo.
These Panda statues… are essentially Chinese guardian lion statues that traditionally stood
in front of Chinese Imperial Palaces. But just swapped to Pandas instead.
Again, more Panda statues that are in the style of traditional guardian lions.
The lions but in this case the red panda are usually depicted in pairs.
When used as statuary the pair would consist of a male leaning his paw
upon an embroidered ball (which, in imperial contexts, represents supremacy over the world)
and a female restraining a playful cub that is on its back (which represents nurture)
These guardian Lions are actually traditionally called Foo Dogs as well.
These Red Panda roof charms are also quite interesting… These “Walking Beasts”
or “Crouching Beasts” were statues placed along the ridge line of official buildings
of the Chinese empire. And reserved only for official buildings like palaces and temples.
The old woman is performing a Qigong meditation. (chee-gong). This is
an ancient Chinese healing practice and translates to “The Master of One’s Energy”.
And Mr. Gao uses a Chinese Exorcism sword.
And this Wooden Fish Drum, as well as the Tibetan Singing Bowl
and Golden Feng Shui 7 metal Bell are used traditionally for cleansing rituals.
JAPANESE CULTURE
In addition to the Canadian and Chinese influences throughout the
world… The animation definitely takes a lot of influence from Japanese animation. The
characters’ eyes being exaggerated in various situations is a big staple of anime and manga.
There’s also the glowing glasses anime trope we catch when Mei’s dad is cooking dinner.
When Mei notices a boy she has a crush on her eyes and the effects switch to a heavily anime
inspired style… and then immediately after, when she notices the embarrassing poster on her locker,
her reaction is also heavily inspired by anime… Same with the girl’s reactions to the boyband.
The movie really utilizes these stylizations to emphasize various
emotions and reactions and its always really cool.
Even these little insert shots often reference anime. Like the spinning
pen is done in a similar way as Sailor Moon.
Speaking of Sailor Moon, there are a lot of little influences from the
anime. Take this shot of Mei jumping into the sky with the moon in the background.
And this backdrop of the kids up on the roof is definitely influenced strongly by Sailor Moon.
They essentially take the Sailor Moon Tokyo shot and converted it to Toronto, which is really cool.
Lots of little shots like The Shaman using his
sword to shoot an energy blast have a very distinct anime feel to them.
Or Mei launching the dodgeball with extreme power like its some kind of battle sequence.
Sticking with the Japanese themes… In Mei’s room, we see a collection of toys
with oversized heads… and they look to be references to the Japanese Sanrio Company…
A company that produces kawaii collectibles… which focus on cuteness. The characters here
seem to be an homage to Hello Kitty… Rilakkuma Bear… Badtz-Maru Penguin and Keroppi The Frog.
This bamboo forest is also a reference to the Japanese Kayoto Bamboo Forest.
And then there is a really cool reference during the final battle
between Mei and her mom to Dragon Ball GT… The two giant Panda forms
are strikingly similar to The Super Saiyan 4 Red Ape from Dragon Ball GT.
Even Ming’s transformation in front of the Red Moon is an homage to the
Red Ape sequence. Which is a really cool show.
Whew… That’s a lot of Easter Eggs. Pixar really knows how to pack them into their movies.
Let us know in the comment section what your favorite one is… or if we missed anything.
Be sure to hit that notification bell and check
out our other Turning Red videos this week. But most importantly, stay wicked!