Alright, everyone, only two more reviews until we get to Movie Review # 500. Man, does time fly! Well, in the meantime, we are going to be reviewing a newer Disney/Pixar animated film that was originally going to be in theaters back in March of this year, but the company decided, for some reason like COVID, or something like that, to release it exclusively to Disney+, followed by DVD, and Blu-Ray a few months later. Honestly, let’s hope that Disney/Pixar won’t keep up this practice for the rest of their animation career, even after the more recent Lightyear flopped shortly after being released a few months ago. That all being said, let’s talk about Disney/Pixar’s Turning Red, shall we?
Plot: Set around a temple in Canada, owned by Mei (Rosalie Chiang), and her parents (Sandra Oh, and Orion Lee) in 2002, Mei is now turning 13 years old. After starting to get overly emotional about changes in her life, she turns into a giant red panda, something said to have fun in her family for generations before her. Now, can she, and her family figure out how to rid this curse from Mei once and for all?
First of all, for those of you who haven’t seen this film yet, you may be wondering, did this film deserve to only be a Disney+ exclusive film rather than first going to theaters even in the US? Well, let me put it to you all this way. Although Turning Red wasn’t exactly one of their best works, it still was good enough that it should have been in theaters first. But let’s start off with the areas where Turning Red could have improved. First of all, hearing music from around the 2000s, at least aside from the fictional band, 4-Town, is most likely going to feel a little dated years from now. Well, even when hearing newer music from the fictional band, 4-Town, that’s in this movie, those songs are most likely not going to be all that memorable in the end. Additionally, Turning Red could likely move at a little too fast of a pace at times, to the point where we don’t get to see some of the characters quite as well as we, the audience would like. Again, an extra 15, maybe 20 minutes, if not more, could have maybe helped out with aspects such as this. Oh, and there’s for sure Mei’s mother, Ming Lee. First of all, I would like to point out how Mei’s parents seem to be very complete opposites in terms of how they see the world, and deciding how Mei should handle things in life. Quite honestly, Mei’s parents could potentially remind any of us of say the the parents of Merida in Disney/Pixar’s Brave (which of course was released ten years ago). I mean think about it, both films have a strict, and overbearing mother, who wants their daughter to see, and do things properly, and wants to see their kids see, and do things a certain way, while also wanting the best for them. As for the fathers, neither of them are afraid to give their daughter room to grow. However, here’s the difference between how it’s handled in 2012’s Brave, and 2022’s Turning Red. In a film like Brave, having the overprotective mother, and the not as strict father was executed better. I mean think about it, even though Merida did still feel frustrated especially by how her mother, Elinor, was raising her, and handling certain situations, we at least actually get to see her side on why she acts the way that she does. Same can go for the father, Fergus. Yes, Elinor did end up being in the wrong in some aspects, and could have still handled situations with her daughter Merida better than she did. Even so, at least we get to see quite an amount of depth with her, Merida’s father, Fergus, Merida herself, and most of the cast. Sadly, the same cannot be said about the parents here in Turning Red. I mean we get a little bit of that, but it could have been handled a little better. Anyway, another flaw is that the film seemed to put a little too much emphasis on the ancestor worship deal, and Chinese mumbo jumbo “bs” as well. Okay, sure a film like the 1998 Mulan did have some of that kind of stuff too, but at least it put more of an emphasis on other aspects of the film, you know? The climax also may have felt a little rushed as well. Sure, it was fairly well-written, but it could have still probably improved. Finally, did we need to have Ming Lee making a scene, and making false accusations to people that she shouldn’t have at different points? Seriously!
Still, none of those things make this film horrible. In fact, there are quite a few positive aspects of this film. First of all, Disney/Pixar DID NOT LUT IN A GAY, OR LESBIAN THING IN TURNING RED. Yeah, Disney/Pixar, again, that may have factored into Lightyear not performing as well at the box-office. Seriously, please just go back to making potentially good stories, and not have these gay, or lesbian deals, you know? I say that not only to Pixar, but also Disney period, and other companies. Please, please, please, and thank you! Anyway, the animation is beautiful on the characters, especially on Mei when she’s a red panda. The designs of the town were also really good. The movements of the characters, especially on Mei as a red panda, were really great too. Oh, and one more thing to mention about the animation. It was also cool to see the characters have looks that looked somewhat similar to the designs of an anime character. It’s also cool how this film tackles the subject of puberty, change, and quite a few other mature themes as well. Honestly, with this film having a somewhat more realistic tone that it did, this film could have easily been a live-action movie. However, making this film one of Disney/Pixar’s films helped to make the film more fun, and taking quite a few liberties that may not have worked quite as well if it was a live-action film. It was also a good way to hopefully prepare kids in today’s world for issues such as these when they reach times like middle school, and onward, you know? Also, who wouldn’t want a father like Mei’s dad? Oh, and there was the ending. Let me just say that you’ll love the ending, while also being pleasantly surprised by certain aspects of the ending. Finally, the message about learning to embrace who you are, and growing up are very good messages to live by. I mean embracing who you are when it’s a good thing, that is.
And that’s my review for Turning Red. Yeah, the story could have been better, and there were aspects in which Turning Red could have improved. Still, it would’ve been worth seeing in theaters, and there are plenty of positive aspects that make this film worth seeing. So, if you haven’t seen this film yet, I would say definitely do so if you have Disney+, or want to rent this on DVD/Blu-Ray. I think people will love both the fantasy elements, as well as the overall realistic tone as well. So yeah, again, see it, and see what you think!
Final Grade: B-
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 