Domee Shi’s “Turning Red”

Turning Red (2022)

A solid, entertaining and smart addition to the Pixar canon; if this upset you, you probably deserve to be upset

In 2022, we’ve had a couple of movies that have dealt with Asian parenting in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Turning Red”. Both films I found to be accurate to my own experience while also recognising that these films touch on universal experiences around growing up and becoming independent. My suspicion is that the “controversy” over this moving stems from the dark extremes of American culture and perhaps other countries with a similarly conservative culture. There is nothing in this movie that’s even remotely controversial. I can comprehend people not liking it, but the demonisation is quite frankly bizarre. That said, apparently a lot of the backlash occurred before it was even released and the utterance of the word “woke” is probably a good sign of the mentality behind the meltdowns.

Telling the story of 13-year-old Meilin whose overbearing mother has her too afraid to express herself, the film uses her transformation into a giant red panda as a metaphor for our inner selves as well as Mei’s entry into womanhood. It’s brilliantly done and the style of the film is fresh veering away from the typical Pixar-look in favour of a style that adopts the style of anime. It’s not as experimental as say “Into the Spiderverse” but is effective in the setting of “Turning Red”.

Some of the reviews for the film have been outright racist with Sean O’Connell at Cinemablend saying, "By rooting Turning Red very specifically in the Asian community of Toronto, the film legitimately feels like it was made for Domee Shi's friends and immediate family members. Which is fine – but also, a tad limiting in its scope". He did apologise but it is hurtful that this kind of attitude persists in 2022 and particularly from someone who claims to be a professional film reviewer. A majority of the Sight & Sound Top 100 films of all time would be “limiting” their scope by that logic.

On YouTube, there are videos querying the “dangerous messages” in the film and the innaccuracy of a film set in 2002 Toronto not depicting the 9/11 attack. Some even tried to equate the “red” of the title being communist It’s so strange, but what’s stranger is Pixar’s decision not to release this in cinemas. It would be interesting to know the thinking behind that decision because it doesn’t make sense.

Overall, it’s a terrific kids movie with substance and unless you’re offended by the mere mention of feminine hygiene products(it’s normal, get over it), there’s nothing to substantiate the backlash this received from some quarters.