‘Turning Red’ Again Shows That The Pixar Slump Was Just A Myth

Turning Red

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_{98 minutes}

_{Rated PG}

_{Debuting on Disney+ March 11}

Turning Red is yet another Pixar triumph. It is yet more evidence that the so-called Pixar slump, which became a fashionable media narrative in 2011 (after the admittedly not-great Cars 2), was always something of a myth. Just judging by the post-Toy Story 3 output, they’ve had a few halfway decent sequels (Cars 3, Finding Dory and Monsters University), two great sequels (Toy Story 4 and Incredibles 2) and a slew of originals (including the rock-solid Luca and Onward) that would put most rivals to shame. So The Good Dinosaur bombed, and I’m not a fan of Brave. However, the 2015 Pixar flop is a visually dazzling achievement, and plenty of smart peers loved Brave. Moreover, had Inside Out, Coco and Soul been released in the 2000s, they’d blend right in with Up, Wall-E and Ratatouille as further evidence of Pixar’s initial superiority.

Turning Red is the next chapter in the “Pixar is still good, actually” discourse. It’s also the third Pixar original in a row to forgo theaters (in participating territories) for a straight-to-Disney+ release. Now I’ve argued that the move is less about disrespecting Pixar and more about disrespecting movie theaters and using Pixar’s earned prestige as a carrot to entice or retain Disney+ subscribers. Still, the success of Sing 2 ($360 million worldwide while ruling on VOD) shows that Disney didn’t have to choose streaming or theatrical. Moreover, it’s unfortunate that the slew of Disney toons (including Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto) impacted by Covid and the streaming war (with the former arguably being used as an excuse to indulge the latter) mainly were “not a white guy” movies, films about “not a white guy” protagonists and from “not a white guy” filmmakers.

Domee Shi’s feature directorial debut, penned by Shi and Julia Cho, is indeed pretty terrific. Her ghoulishly witty and moving Pixar short Bao reminded me of a more wholesome variation on Fruit Chan’s Dumplings. Turning Red features no such transgressions, but it’s still (pathetically?) groundbreaking in 20-frigging-22 for a kid-friendly animated film to be remotely honest and nonchalant about pre-teen sexuality (in a Tiger Beat fashion) and puberty. The film is an obvious but potent metaphor for the changes young girls face as their bodies transform into young womanhood, as well as the conflicting, societal, cultural and family-specific pressures placed upon them. Again, it’s embarrassing that such a kid-friendly and gee-whiz look at such issues would still be considered transgressive. However, Judy Blum’s books are still getting banned. There’s an entire sub-genre of teen girl adventure movies whereby protagonists must embark on dangerous quests to… obtain contraception and legally-available abortions.

Turning Red is centered around a modern Asian-Canadian family, and it’s nice to see Toronto playing itself as opposed to Los Angeles or essentially everywhere but Toronto. While I’m sure there will be much written about how Turning Red is a “universal” look at girlhood and or a representational triumph for Asian audiences, and that’s true, I did appreciate the specificity of the film’s setting and in its respective family unit. That unit is centered upon young Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang) and her mother (Sandra Oh), and to my surprise, the film doesn’t try to pit them against each other at the start. She has a few quirky friends (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Ava Morse and Hyein Park) and a healthy relationship with her more laid-back father (Orion Lee), but conflict only arises when Meilin’s desires start to conflict with her mother’s expectations.

Yes, Meilin reacts to an embarrassing social situation (in frankly, a scene probably crueler in terms of a mother’s reaction to her child than intended) by turning into a giant red-and-fluffy panda. And it’s no subtextual spoiler to argue that the film’s core fantasy hook is a metaphor for menstruation and generational conflict between immigrant parents and citizen children. But the actual plot developments, including who knows what and how certain characters react to certain developments, took me by pleasant surprise. No spoilers, but this is not a film where Meilin (or “Mei” to her friends) has to constantly hide the beast within and deal with people who are afraid of what they don’t understand. Once again, as with Soul, Incredibles, Brave and Up, Pixar has excelled in selling their films in ways that “spoil” the subtext and themes without revealing much plot.

Beyond the film’s value as representation, kid-friendly sex education and a universal “you can be more than you’re intended to be” moral, Turning Red is a lively, joyous, candy-colored romp. It’s thoroughly entertaining and ruthlessly paced, bouncing from one amusing situation or character interaction to another with the greatest of ease. Yes, I guess this is Pixar’s “horniest” movie, but only to the extent that young girls harmlessly lusting after hunky boy band members (4*Town, whose Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell-penned songs are a hoot) now qualifies as progressive in today’s often sexless mainstream blockbusters. I might suggest, especially for adults, that perhaps instead of waiting for Disney to get liberated, one might watch other films/shows in different genres or other studios. Why wait for Captain Marvel to go gay when you can watch the Legends of Tomorrow all hooking up right now?

I do wish it had avoided the conventional “mom is a traditionalist hard-ass while dad just loves his kid for who she is” stereotype. That’s a minor nitpick, as Turning Red does tip a hat to why Mei’s mother feels as she does, and it’s more complicated than “that’s how it’s done in our family.” Besides, I’m guessing this is at least somewhat autobiographical, so I can only complain so much if Domee Shi’s real-life inspiration contained certain “clichés.” The arrival of Grandma (the unofficial family matriarch) and her group of aunties from Florida make a fun contrast to Mei and her circle of besties. This is an effortlessly diverse/inclusive picture that doesn’t use that as an alibi for telling an oft-told tale. In a nonchalant/no big deal fashion, that includes a minor character who essentially comes out as gay or bi.

I still hate that the film won’t get a conventional global theatrical release, as it’s everything we say we want when it comes to inclusive big-screen features with of-the-moment cultural texts beyond standard heroes’ journeys. And its release amid Disney’s (arguably) cowardly reaction to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill further complicates its social value. But A) there really is no ethical consumption under capitalism (everyone picks and chooses their battles), and B) it’s still a terrific movie that will presumably still reach a sizeable at-home audience. Whether or not Turning Red is “one of Pixar’s best movies,” or “Pixar’s best in years,” it’s a testament to their artistic batting average that A) those designations tend to get thrown around whenever everyone time we get a new one and B) a film as good as Turning Red only might be one of their best.