Hidden in Turning Red's story about the messiness of growing up are a ton of secrets that predict
the movie's big twists and that Godzilla-sized finale!
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers, I'm Jan, and in this video I'm explaining all the secret
symbolism, details and clues in Pixar's latest hit.
Spoilers ahead, so take care.
There are lots of signs early on in the movie that, by the end, Mei will choose to embrace
her Red Panda spirit.
For example, when she transforms for the first time, she tries to hide the change she's undergoing
by wearing a hat to cover up her new red hair.
But there are literally signs everywhere telling her to be true to herself.
It says "Be Yourself" on the noticeboard right behind her friends.
And the other words on the board like "loyal", "caring", and "fun" neatly describe Mei's
ride-or-die mates and how they'll later support her when they discover her secret.
We love you Mei.
You're our girl Yeah.
No matter what.
Panda or no panda.
There's also the "Dare to be Different, Dare to be You" poster, an encouragement that she
doesn't need to repress this strange, new panda version of herself.
Then there's the sign "Nothing Changes if Nothing Changes", which hints at Mei upending
her family's tradition of locking away their panda spirits.
And finally, the "Dream BIG!"
poster also anticipates how, in the end, Mei will decide to keep her furry 8-foot-tall
side in her life.
When Mei and her squad perform a spontaneous version of 4*Town's "Nobody Like U" in the
street, there's another hidden message, this time, to "Awaken Your Potential Dreams".
On top of that, the 4*Town flyer that Abby shows Mei reveals that the name of the band's
tour is "BREAKING FREE!".
It's only on screen for a split second, but it's another subtle suggestion that Meilin
is going to cut the apron strings and become her own person.
And when she high-fives red panda statue Bart and rubs Lisa's tummy, it's a signal to how
she'll end up accepting both sides of her identity.
Even before we learn the truth about Ming's own Red Panda transformation as a young woman,
there's plenty of clever clues that ready us for that reveal and set up the big finale
with Mei's mum taking on her humongous panda form once more and their ancestor Sun Yee
welcoming Red Panda Mei into the world.
To begin with notice how both Ming and Sun Yee one-by-one appear in the shot as Mei tells
us...
some of my moves are... also hers.
Which emphasises the crucial panda connection between all three women.
Ming is also framed by two wooden carvings of red pandas and in the altar picture of
Sun Yee, there are two more pandas, which emerge during Mei's nightmare, all of which
points to both the mother and daughter pandas in the finale and also Sun Yee and Mei's appearance
as red pandas right at the end.
Notice also how, when they exit the temple, not only is Ming standing next to the much
angrier looking statue of the two, a hint to the Mingzilla version of herself, but if
you look carefully, you'll see that the statue on the left also has a young red panda under
one of its paws, foreshadowing the dual mother-daughter transformation.
An indication as to just how dangerous Ming's panda would become was in the scar on Meilin's
grandma's face...
She and your grandma had a terrible fight. ...and you can still spot that scar on Grandma's
face when she turns into a panda herself.
Likewise, Red Panda Ming has a similar hairstyle to her human counterpart.
And the fact that there are going to be even more red pandas in the form of her aunties
and grandma is also signaled during Mei's nightmare when she sees masses of them run
over the roof of the family temple.
By the way, you can literally see red panda faces hidden in various accessories worn by
Mei's aunties, just as you can in Ming's pendant.
Another clue to the final showdown between Mingzilla and MeiMei is via the welcome mural
that Meilin runs past at the start of the film.
The wall painting is, of course, in keeping with the Chinatown location, however each
creature also represents one of the two women.
The green one symbolizes Ming who's predominantly dressed in green throughout the movie versus
the orangey-red one which represents Mei and her generally red clothing.
And, much of Turning Red is full of clever colour symbolism that accentuates the differences
between Mei and her mum.
Red and green are colours that contrast sharply with one another, so shades of red are often
used around Mei and green for Ming, right down to their nail varnish, eye shadow, and
soles of their shoes.
The colour differences emphasise the fact that Meilin isn't just Ming's mini-me, she's
her own, distinct person, and Mei coming into her own as a young adult is the movie's main
theme.
Some people are like, "Be careful.
Honoring your parents sounds great, but if you take it too far, well, you might forget
to honor yourself."
Intriguingly, though, both mother and daughter also have a just splash of the other's colour
in their outfits: Mei has a green hair clip and Ming has a red
pendant, which signals that despite their differences they're still connected, and it's
also a clue to the fact they both have red panda spirits.
Another curious detail is that although Ming dislikes Miriam because she views her as a
threat to her own relationship with Mei, Miriam...
I mean, she's a nice girl, but maybe she's slowing you down.
both Ming and Miriam mostly wear green.
A hint perhaps that, while they're different in many ways, Mei's mum and friend have more
in common than Ming would like to think as, after all, they both love Mei and, ultimately,
want the best for her.
Mei's grandma and aunties also favour green, emphasising both their family connection and
the similarity between Ming and her own mother, whose relationship is also complicated by
feelings of perfectionism and not being good enough, something we also see happening between
Mei and Ming.
Mirroring and symmetry is another technique used to highlight the state of Mei and Ming's
relationship.
We see this first in the opening family snapshots, but also in the first scene set at the family
temple.
You ready?
Let's do this!
Mei and Ming even sweep in sync with one another, clean the red panda statues in sync and, after
a long day, sigh and get up in sync.
Interestingly, Ming cleans the statue with the more controlled, calm expression, while
Mei's statue has more of an animated or startled look, reflecting some of the feelings and
struggle she'll go through as she transforms.
After falling out of sync for much of the film as Mei grows into her own, the mother-daughter
symmetry and mirroring is back again by the end, after Mei helps Ming deal with her own
issues of inadequacy in relation to Grandma.
Now, if you'd like to discover even more details hidden in Turning Red such as all the Pixar
references to movies like Luca, Inside Out, Coco, Lightyear, and Toy Story, tap here to
watch my Turning Red easter eggs video.
There's also a link in the video description.
So, what do you think of Turning Red?
And what were you favourite moments in the movie?
Let me know in the comments below.
If you enjoyed this, then do like and share this video, I really appreciate it.
Thanks for enjoying this movie with me and hope you have a marvellous movie-loving week!
Yippee-ki-yay, movie lovers!