Disney Pixar's Turning Red

[Bill1978]

Yeah it's typically an hour away, so the movie better be worth the trip. Which often means it will be a big blockbuster where a big screen is required to fully enjoy the experience. As opposed to a little drama that can still be enjoyed at home and not miss any experience a big screen would bring.

[Ben]

Sounds like another winner, and certainly my interest has picked up from this (rather long, has to be said) review…

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movie ... 1235103757

[gaastra]

LA getting it in theatres for one week.

https://southpasadenan.com/disney-and-p ... n-theatre/

[Farerb]

I am looking forward to it, but I no longer trust reviewers when it comes to animated films anymore. I don't even remember the last time an animated film got mixed or negative reviews.

[gaastra]

Addams 2 was mixed. Critics hated it. Aud loved it.

[EricJ]

I am looking forward to it, but I no longer trust reviewers when it comes to animated films anymore. I don't even remember the last time an animated film got mixed or negative reviews.

The long-lasting cultural damage of the Shrek movies ("It's humor adults can appreciate, along with their kids!") runs deep.

[Daniel]

Lengthy clip:



Literally the cutest! "Go and become women without me"! Wasn't expecting Abby (the shortest one) to sound deep like that. I like it. All of them seem great. Love how Mei reaches for her Dog plushie. (looks almost like Pugsheen!)

[Farerb]

Seems that the audience is less receptive to the movie, it currently has 69% on RT.

[EricJ]

CinemaBlend's review was flat-out cancelled, literally AND figuratively, when the reviewer complained that:

"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," O'Connell wrote.
In a since-deleted tweet, he also called the movie "exhausting."

https://www.npr.org/2022/03/12/10860400 ... ontroversy

Naturally, there was outcry of how the reviewer could dare say such a thing about such an Achievement for Asian Representation in Films, but...looks like you'll have to cancel my review, too, as that pretty much nailed my two major opinions of it.

1) With this, Luca and Coco, Pixar seems to want to get away from their Toys/Cars stereotype of talking-things, and into warm personal animator "family album" projects about their ethnic grandmothers, but...I don't want to look at other people's family albums. I miss the tight piled-on plots of the Toy Story movies or Ratatouille, that always pulled out one more plot crisis just when you think you've got a handle on the third act.

2) For a movie about calming down, I guess it's in the style of the movie that everything's comically turned up to 11--And I know it's unfair to compare Mei's tween angst to Riley's tween angst in "Inside Out", but I kept trying to figure out what that movie had for emotional punch that this one lacked in its hyperkinetic attempt to keep us comically identifying with the heroine.
Riley seemed to have more real problems, with moving, and friends, and even her interest in hockey, and here...if Mei's biggest strength is her friends, maybe the friends need a few more COMPLEX interests than in just grooving to BTS songs as the main crux of the story.

I know the animator probably had a few Japanese anime inspirations in mind, but Genma Saotome's embracing of the panda was more comic, and...maybe if Mei whipped out a Casio and started rapping like Sana Kurata in "Kodocha". (Which also had a few darker problems for our heroine than Puberty, School Embarrassment and Boy-Bands.)

[Ben]

Right…well, moving on (I knew someone would have to bring that up, and no prizes for guessing who), so…

The animation in this film is *sublime*. I don’t think I’ve noticed such a natural and easy feel to movement in CG like this since Tangled. We have yet to watch the entire movie, since we started late last night, but the early scenes are wonderfully crafted.

[Randall]

I liked this film, though it may be one of Pixar's weaker films overall. It started a little slight and silly, and I'm getting to dislike the "chunky foam rubber" look of their human characters. I did like it better, certainly, than Brave, Good Dinosaur, and maybe Onward, and I wouldn't say it's a bad film at all--- just not a Pixar favourite. Other Pixar films have more depth, but it's okay to have a fluffier one sometimes (pun partially intended). And I liked it more as the film progressed, and we got more plot to deal with. By the end, it had thoroughly won me over.

With its Asian-ness and its family and transformation themes, it is certainly reminiscent of a Studio Ghibli film, and anyone who enjoys those shouldn't have trouble plugging into Turning Red. I can see that some folks who have less of the immigrant experience may not relate as well, but I think this film will resonate well with Canadians, as we do so much to embrace and celebrate multiculturalism here, and we encourage immigrants to maintain their original cultures - for better or worse. That means that the "torn between two cultures" motif can extend well beyond the immigrant and into the later generations. It's hard to imagine a Canadian who doesn't have at least one friend (or even quite likely a family member) like Mei, caught between two cultures in a city that wants her to maintain both. I know the same is likely true in many places these days, but even more so here, I think. Toronto is often called the most culturally diverse city in the world (though it may be close to a tie with many others), with more than half its population being people of colour, with many just within a generation or two of being removed from their home countries.

And I admit it was fun to see a film so thoroughly Canadian, maybe overly much for some. Even Saskatchewan got a mention. The diversity, maple leaves, Timbits, Loonies, and a SkyDome finale all put a smile on my face. This was recognizably Canada, not the old-fashioned igloo/teepee/dress uniform Mountie/trading fort stereotype.

Artistically, I did not care for the flattened pastel pink/purple colour scheme. When I think of Toronto, those are not the colours I think of, any more than one would associate those colours with New York or Chicago. It was pretty "girly", but I guess that was maybe the point.

The important thing is that the emotional story rang true and was, I thought, relatable. I had some laughs, and teared up just slightly. It's a good Pixar film. Not great, maybe, but good.

[EricJ]

I had to look up whether the red panda was native to China (it is)--For some reason, its raccoonishness made me think it was Canadian.

Which got a little confusing as to why THAT one: I agree, a Studio Ghibli film would have delved more into ancient traditions while staying firmly in the mind of a tween girl--Obviously it had to be a big "legendary beast" for the puberty-emotions metaphor, and if Mei turned into the temple guardian of a Chinese giant-panda, or the dragon from Raya, we'd have the metaphor of her worrying about not living up to her mom's tradition. (Even though the family seems pretty culturally balanced to begin with.) OTOH, if she worried about turning into a giant goose or Kodiak bear, she might worry about being too modern-Canadian for her family's tradition.
Here, it's sort of in-between, just because red pandas were cute.

I'm getting to dislike the "chunky foam rubber" look of their human characters.

Between this and Luca, we're seeing more of the big bad-dentistry Aardman mouths--Which isn't bad, and could be worse, but does seem to be reflecting the current "new CalArts style" that teaches its feature graduates to draw funny characters in the style of Gravity Falls.
Which could be a problem if Pixar is starting to lose its tight house-committee grip on story, and just let animators pursue their independent family-album whims--It would be nice if the current generation of would-be animators would come out of training learning to watch other animation besides Gravity Falls (or Steven Universe) for the...ahem...reasons they currently watch them to begin with.

And yes, I'm only halfway through it too, and I'm guessing from the poster that the climax will involve Mei ultimately learning to embrace her panda moves after accidentally grooving onstage with the group?
(See, that's what I mean about old-school Pixar--Every time you THINK you have it figured out ahead of time from the trailer...)

[Randall]

Yeah, she's a red panda simply because the director finds them cute. And, of course, that they are from China. The director also liked the idea that the panda's colours coincidentally reflect the Canadian flag, so in the chromatic sense it's a reflection of becoming more Canadian.

The movie may not end quite exactly as you think (we do get a fun action set piece), but the final conclusion isn't exactly surprising. I'd say it ends well, though.

[Farerb]

I overall liked the movie, though it is not without flaws, but none of it matters because I saw the film again with my sister and her daughter (my niece) and seeing my niece's reaction to it was priceless, I have another niece (my brother's daughter) and I plan to watch the movie again with them and I can't wait to see her reaction. In the end I think they really needed and wanted a movie like this, and sure they have the many heroines from Disney films but none of them really encapsulated the experience of a modern teenage girl like this one did, so it might speak to them on a personal level. I'm glad this movie exists for them and I'm glad that Pixar and Domee Shi made it.

[Randall]

Well said. This is certainly a film aimed mostly at younger teenage girls, though I enjoyed it, too.