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I feel torn about Turning Red
I enjoyed the film, more than a lot of recent Disney/Pixar releases
But some serious issues leave me very confused
Directed by Domee Shi
Who previously directed the excellent short film, Bao
Turning Red marks her feature directorial debut
It's a coming of age comedy about a Chinese-Canadian girl, Meimei
Who turns into a red panda whenever she gets too excited
While she struggles with her puberty metaphor
She's also torn between being a good friend
And being a good daughter
Well, since the film is about torn identity
I suppose it's only appropriate to approach it as such
So, let me share my thoughts on the film from three different angles
As a Chinese-Canadian immigrant
As a critic (sort of)
And as a casual viewer
We will be spoiling the entire film
So, give it a watch if you are interested
Otherwise, there's not much else to say
So, let's get right into it
[Chinese-Canadian Critic Reviews Turning Red]
[Chapter One]
THANK GOD Meimei doesn't have to go back to China
Joy Luck Club kinda did it
Shang-Chi definitely did it
Crazy Rich Asians didn't go to China but Singapore
The whole trope just reinforces the notion that Asians belong in Asia
I'm so sick of being told to "go home"
So it's refreshing to see Meimei, a Chinese-Canadian girl
Living an immigrant life that feels Canadian
She has friends of various ethnicities
All of them go crazy about a boy band
Oh and they also spy on boys
School life
Dodgeball
Birthday parties
Drawing horny anime figures
Meimei's social life is no different than your average Canadian
Her Chinese roots show up more when she's home
Dinner
Cantonese TV shows
Religious practices
Her Chinese roots are of equal importance to her
But do not exclusively define her identity
She's not just Chinese
She's Chinese-Canadian
This duality is also reflected in the film's various aesthetics
For example, the music
I love how it is often a contemporary score
Mixed in with some Chinese percussion instruments
It can be very traditionally Chinese when the film calls for it
But it also has a boy band soundtrack
When the two come together at the end
It's kinda cool!
Instead of "what reminds me of Chinese culture"
Our director looked inward and asked
"What reminds me of my past"
And the result is a much more authentic representation
Of the Chinese-Canadian experience
It embraces the complexity behind a person's identity
And refuses to be defined by stereotypes
For all the young immigrant children
Who are unsure if they are Chinese or Canadian
The film stands up and says
"You can be both, and you can be you"
That is very lovely
[Chapter Two]
Now, onto the bad stuff
While the film looks pretty good
It's definitely the lesser of the Pixar catalog
Look, Meimei's glasses have no lenses in it
The animation sometimes lacks finesse
Using emoji faces for expression just feels cheap
Still, they are just small blemishes in an otherwise
Fairly gorgeous movie
It made Toronto look good
That's pretty impressive
My problem with the film mainly lies within two things
Number one:
The inconsistent metaphor
Meimei turning into a red panda
Is a metaphor for puberty, right?
"I didn't mean that"
"I'm a gross red monster!"
It's preluded by her drawing... anime porn?
It's in the color red
And it is triggered by intense emotions
For the first act of the film, that connection stands
Meimei struggles to keep her emotions at bay
And feels lost and confused as a lot of teenagers do
Meimei's mom also experienced this
"Your mother and I were close once"
"But the red panda took that away"
It's puberty, right?
But then the movie starts to lose me
For one thing, Meimei quickly gains control of her power
And starts using it to gain money
I almost thought her dad was going to die
And she was going to turn into a superhero
Towards the end of the film, it's revealed that the entire family
Still have the power, just suppressed
Okay, it's not puberty, then?
And at the end, every family member seals their powers away again
Except for Meimei, who chooses to keep it
So... what's the lesson here?
Number two:
The film also lacks stakes and consequences
There is practically no downside to Meimei's transformation
She uses her power to make money
So she and her friends can go to a concert together
Low stakes, but that's fine
Super Bad is a low stakes teen comedy, and it works
But this abuse of power has to have consequences, right?
Grandma warns her not to turn into a panda
"But each time you do"
"The stronger it gets"
"And then you'll be bound to it forever"
Next scene, Meimei goes to a birthday party
And turns into a panda again
Now, what would you do if you were the writer?
She'd be stuck as a panda, right?
She wouldn't be able to turn back
She has to face the consequences
But nope, none of that happens
The movie just moves on
Turns out they got the date of the concert wrong
A new obstacle that has nothing to do with her curse
Yes, she does lose control over her emotion
But that reaction feels independent from her transformation
It's something she probably would do as a human, too
The panda has no real bearing on the story
To me, both problems come down to the feeling that
The first half of the film feels different than the second half
It sets up a Jekyll and Hyde metaphor for puberty
Abandons it
And proceed to tell a story about generational trauma instead
It's unfocused
I watched the movie twice
And that bothers me both times
[Chapter Three]
Yes, I did watch the film twice
I enjoyed it that much
Despite all of the problems
There is a certain charm to this film
I guess it just... has a personality?
This goes back to the idea of the director asking
"What reminds me of my past"
From the 2000s music
To nostalgic TV shows
To Canadian iconography
You can see the director's personal love and affection
Both the Godzilla climax
And the Sailor Moon transformation get me pretty excited
The friendship depicted in this story feels natural
I bet these characters are all based on real people
All of these personal touches
While often fail to come together in a cohesive package
Are nevertheless very entertaining
Watching this movie is like listening to a new friend
Rambling on about her interesting life story
It may not be a masterpiece of narrative
But I prefer it over formulaic corporate products
The film clearly means something to the director
And that is enough for me to enjoy the film
[Conclusion]
So, those are my thoughts on Turning Red
I enjoyed it, despite its flaws
Expectations were high for this movie
Bao was such a well-done film
We all wanted an A+ performance from Domee Shi
Instead, we got a B
And on the Asian grading scale
B stands for bad
I think one thing we can all agree, however
Is that this film feels different
From your usual Pixar animation
And that is a good sign
It shows that Pixar is not afraid to break the formula
And is willing to explore ideas
Willing to take risks
That's the thing about risk
You don't always strike gold the first time
But there is always next time
At the very least
Each time, it'll be different and unique