Reviews for Turning Red are officially in, and it sounds like critics had their hearts melted by the new Pixar film. After winning an Oscar for Bao, director Domee Shi is making her feature film debut. Exploring the awkward phase of early adolescence, Turning Red follows Mei Lee (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old girl who turns into a giant, red panda when she gets overly excited. While dealing with the challenges of her overbearing mother, Ming (Sandra Oh), and their ancestral power to become pandas, Mei Lee is also confronted by the chaos of growing up in the 21st century. Turning Red marks the first Pixar film directed by a woman of color, as Shi makes history and earns high praise for her feature.
Sharing a deeply personal story about the universal confusion surrounding puberty, Shi and her co-writer, Julia Cho, charm viewers with a celebration of youth, with all its cringe-worthy moments and emotional highs and lows. While Ming may have good intentions, her hands-on style of parenting becomes too much for Mei Lee, and one particularly embarrassing experience triggers the first of many transformations into a fluffy red panda. This nerdy, spunky teenage girl goes on a journey to understand her body with all its new, unusual quirks. As Mei figures out how to use the panda to her advantage with help from her friends Miriam (Ava Morse), Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and Abby (Hyein Park), she also brushes up against her mother, who would prefer to suppress the spirit and give Mei a more normal life.
Critics are raving over the coming-of-age story, one told unlike any other Pixar film. With a unique art and animation style, engaging storytelling, and a joyful exploration of girlhood, Turning Red is cultivating glorious feedback. Check out the following comments on Shi’s Turning Red below.
Ferdosa, Screen Rant
“Domee Shi’s Turning Red is a deeply personal and highly relatable story that is bursting with creativity, nostalgia, and joy. It is one of the most ambitious Pixar animations, with a perfectly balanced story that draws on cultural mythology, personal experiences, pop culture, and more.”
Petrana Radulovic, Polygon
“With Turning Red, Shi gleefully celebrates early adolescence, a time of life often portrayed as awkward and cringey, and she revels in extensive cultural specificities that enrich the story. With a bright visual style and specific, evocative storytelling,Turning Red is an incredibly special addition to the Pixar canon, and one of its best films.”
Peter Debruge, Variety
“What’s most satisfying about “Turning Red” is the degree to which Shi gets to share so many aspects of her upbringing — based not on field trips to a foreign country, à la “Ratatouille” and “Up,” but on the cuisine and customs of its lead creator. The fact that said storyteller is a woman makes a world of difference, as Shi channels her insecure adolescent self into the film’s upbeat and relatable protagonist, embarrassing boy-band obsession and all.”
Ross Bonaime, Collider
“Turning Red proves that a Pixar film can be cheery, positive, and light, while also leaving a touching and powerful impression.”
Ben Travis, Empire
“Compared to the livewire opening half-hour, Turning Red’s middle act drags a little, pacing-wise, but the extraordinary finale offers an exquisite blend of spectacle and sentiment.”
David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
“Turning Red is original, funny and tender, an affectionate reminder that adolescence is a time of life not easily tamed, and sometimes the animal inside us demands release.”
Overall, Shi has earned a huge wave of positivity for her newest addition to the Pixar world. Most notably, critics are applauding her ability to take viewers on an emotional, impactful journey without the need for sorrowful scenes. The Turning Red protagonist loves her mother while embracing her weird hobbies, nerdy tendencies, and her big, red panda within. Press reviewers are also impressed with the world-building that takes place, from Shi’s unique art style to the detailed Toronto setting. While Turning Red sounds like the next best thing to hit Disney+, audiences will soon get to decide if the buzz around Shi’s new film is deserved.
If Pixar is to learn anything from the reviews pouring in, it is that including greater cultural diversity on and off-screen is earning highly positive feedback. Audiences are enjoying the new era of storytelling that highlights minority voices or celebrates unique identities across the world. From Coco to Luca, and now with Turning Red, Pixar is embracing the variety of lifestyles around the world to deliver the same heart-warming stories as always, but from a fresh perspective. Shi has already made history with her first feature film, and now she and the entire creative team wait with anticipation for what audiences think as they stream Turning Red.
Key Release Dates
Turning Red
Release Date:2022-03-11
