Alerte rouge

In the latest Pixar movie, Rosalie Chiang voice a 12-year-old girl in Toronto in 2002. She is the daughter of a tiger mother, has nervous breakdowns when she comes in second in spelling bees, and is securely under the thumb of her mother -- voiced by Sandra Oh -- although she adores a boy band, of which her mother severely disapproves. But being at that age, she finds a change in her body: under great emotional stress, she turns into a giant red panda. This turns out to be true of all the women in her family.

In what may be described as 'fantasy autobiography' -- the director was born in China, moved to Canada at 2, and was twelve for most of 2002 -- we see the expected Pixar combination of technical excellence -- the red panda looks like a plush doll, with every one of its million or two hairs carefully drawn -- and story telling. It hews a little too closely between its literal and figurative meaning -- we're dealing with menarche in some form -- with jokes about her mother bringing tampons and similar products to school, embarrassing the protagonist. But I laughed out loud and leaked some tears, and what more can you demand of any movie?

My oldest daughter was thrilled as we watched "Turning Red", as she really could relate to the main character, Mei and her struggles with the emergence of puberty. It's something that might make many men uncomfortable...but it IS a part of life that has long been ignored in movies. So, while the film is clearly a metaphor for a girl's first period, it's pretty amazing that any film would talk about this in any way....and my advice to guys is just accept it and enjoy the story. As a father with two daughters, I got over my fears of female sexuality and puberty long ago....and like the film seems to say, it's NOT a curse or something that should be a taboo.

Mei Lin is an 8th grader whose transition to puberty is MUCH worse than she could have imagined. This is because party of puberty is also the onset of a family curse (or gift...depending how you look at it). What is the curse? Well, when women from this Chinese-Canadian family lose their emotional control, they literally become giant red pandas. Now red pandas are about the cutest animals on the planet, but a 7 foot (or larger) red panda is difficult to explain!! The film is about Mei Lin's struggle...as well as how her mother and extended family also struggle with this beast within them.

As you'd expect from Pixar, the animation is lovely and the film looks pretty. I also appreciated the daring plot. My only regret is that the first half of the story is great...the last half is a bit formulaic...especially the big confrontation scene between Mei Lin and her mother at the stadium. It's not at all bad....just a bit disappointing. Overall, it's a film girls will adore and guys will like IF they let themselves appreciate and aren't afraid to see a film about girls' first period.

Greetings again from the darkness. If only the transformation brought on by puberty were half as soft and cuddly as the giant Red Panda in this latest from Pixar, imagine the reduction in slammed doors and the increase in dinner table conversations between parents and young teenagers. Writer-director Domee Shi won an Oscar for her excellent animated short film BAO (2018), and has collaborated with co-writer Julia Cho for the director's first feature. It seems reasonable to assume that much of what we see on screen is taken from their own adolescent experiences, as well as those of countless others.

Meilin (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) is a 13-year-old 8th grader who fancies herself as a free-spirited teenager basking in her independence. However, the real story is that she's a straight-A student obediently following the highly structured life constructed by her mother. Mei's responsibilities include helping her mother clean the temple the family manages ... the oldest temple in Toronto. It not only serves the local Chinese community by paying homage to the Gods, but it also holds a sacred place for Mei's ancestors. Mei's mother keeps her so duty-bound, that she's unable to find time to karaoke with her friends.

One morning, after a particularly vivid and emotional dream, Mei is transformed into a giant Red Panda ... well she pops in and out of Panda state. Her mother Ming (Sandra Oh) quickly reacts assuming her daughter's "change" is the beginning of a menstrual cycle. But things change drastically when Ming finds out about the Red Panda. Her family has considered this a spell from the Gods, one that has followed the women for multiple generations. Mei discovers this when her grandmother and a slew of Aunts show up for the Red Moon ritual - the only way to rid Mei of the Red Panda.

Mei soon realizes her emotional outbursts are what cause the transformation. When she's overly excited or agitated, the Red Panda appears. It's mostly when she's calm and at ease around her friends that she's her 'normal' self. In fact, the friendships are the key to this story. Miriam (Ava Morse), Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and Abby (Hyein Park) immediately rally to Mei's defense and accept these startling changes. They even find a way to use it to their advantage, focusing on an upcoming concert by 4-Town, a 5 member (yep) boy band that the girls are gaga about. The music for 4-Town is co-written by Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, and is humorously in line with what we'd expect (and remember) from a 2002 boy band.

We watch as Mei struggles with the emotional rollercoaster that brings out the Red Panda. It's refreshing to see such a portrait of friendship, and also acknowledge that overbearing parents can cause stress, no matter how caring they might be. Mei learns that by letting go of the perfect kid syndrome and wallowing in her messy self, she can truly discover who she is as a young person. It's a Pixar movie, so we fully expect life lessons and psychology to play a role. And that's also part of the problem here. Being a Pixar film means you get compared to other Pixar films, and that's a crazy high standard. This one doesn't come close to the best work from the studio, although we welcome the rare look at female adolescence and friendship, as well as the impact a mother-daughter relationship can have on multiple generations.

Available exclusively on Disney+ beginning March 11, 2022.

There's a reason this movie is a PG and not a U! Everyone having a little turn because a 13 year old girl is given some maxi pads and has crushes on boys - it's not woke, it's reality.

And if you have a problem with characters wearing turbans/hijabs, then I really think you need to look deep inside yourself!

This movie doesn't feel like a Disney/Pixar because it's cringey and has anime elements - but it's still fun, and my 10 and 8 year old boys had no problem at all with seeing sanitary protection because guess what, they see it in our bathroom every day!

'Turning Red' (2022)

Opening thoughts: Pixar is one of the finest animation studios to exist and one of the few studios today for anything to continually deliver. Sure they did become less consistent post-'Toy Story 3', but in the 90s and 2000s their work was of higher quality than Disney's generally and hit more than it missed. Pre-'Toy Story 3', the one slight disappointment was 'Cars', the others are very good to brilliant and even their lesser work is still watchable.

'Turning Red' appealed to me immediately when looking for things to watch when on a three week cruise last year where there was a lot of film and television watching in the evenings and on the at sea days. Really liked the concept, unique for Pixar, and the message. 'Turning Red' is not one of Pixar's best films and can understand why people had issues regarding its target audience (admittedly not as accessible as other films from the studio), but it is still very good with relatable themes handled with fun and emotion and one of the better films seen on the cruise.

Bad things: Some of the awkwardness is a little too overkill in the humour, especially between the four friends early on.

Also felt that the darker tone seen at the concert, where the mother in red panda form was reminiscent of something like 'Jurassic Park' or Godzilla, clashed a bit too much with the rest of the film.

Good things: However, there is so much to praise. The animation, as per usual, is stunning. Absolutely loved the vivid colours and the very rich attention to detail in the character animation. The character animation on the panda and the background art and visual effects at the end standing out. The music really enhances the story's wild energy, and "Nobody Like You" sticks in the memory for a long time.

Did also really enjoy the writing on the whole. The humour is sharp, hip and witty, of course there are awkward spots but that was hardly uncommon in adolescence (a lot of it actually at my school) and how adolescent children acted and still do. The cool geekiness of the four main characters took me back, being somewhat a geek myself and it stood out in both a good and bad way, and adolescence and the mature themes are depicted entertainingly and with heart. The atmosphere didn't feel out of date and was affectionately handled, some may have issues with some of the characters' negative actions, but the film isn't encouraging anybody to do them, just showing that they do happen, and in a realistic way.

Loved the story's wild energy and often infectious wackiness. Also how inventively the culture of the family was shown, in a way that was intriguing and expansive. Having never seen a family backstory like this before, so it felt fresh and original. The mother and daughter relationship was beautifully realised and realistic, both points of view understandable and not hard to relate to.

A great job is done with the emotional side of the film, especially in the truly heart-wrenchingly powerful climax. And with the message, one that was brave to tackle and also one that is universal and relatable. Luckily delivered in those ways here and not heavy handedly. The friendships and outcome warm the heart. The characters are strongly written and the voice acting is top notch, particularly Sandra Oh.

Closing thoughts: Overall, not one of Pixar's best and not for all but very good and hardly a waste of the studio's most unique concept.

8/10.