A.C.E.
April 4, 2022
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 11
Turning Red introduces viewers to 13-year-old Meilin Lee
Disney and Pixar’s new
original feature film, Turning
Red, debuted exclusively on
Disney+ last month. In the film,
viewers are introduced to
13-year-old Meilin Lee, who lives
in Toronto, Canada. Set in the
early 2000s, Turning Red is a
coming-of-age
story
about
change, transitional moments,
and the relationship between
mothers and daughters.
Directed by Domee Shi, the
film features the voices of Rosalie
Chiang as Meilin; Sandra Oh as
the protective if not slightly
overbearing mother, Ming; Orion
Lee as the father, Jin; Wai Ching
Ho as Grandma; Ava Morse,
Hyein Park, and Maitreyi
Ramakrishnan
as
Meilin’s
friends Miriam, Abby, and Priya,
respectively; and others.
Meilin — Mei to her friends —
is a confident, slightly dorky
middle-schooler who has a solid
group of friends, an admirable
record in school, and a
better-than-average relationship
with her family. She’s exuberant,
ambitious, overachieving, and
excels both in school and at
home.
Similar to a lot of 13-year-olds
diving headfirst into adolescence,
Mei is in for a wild ride, which
viewers of Turning Red also get to
experience. The wild ride begins
when the teen starts to
mysteriously “poof” into a giant,
uber emotional red panda at the
most inconvenient times, which
leads to an exploration of Mei as
the
dutiful
and
obedient
daughter and Mei the spirited
teenager.
“Red Panda Mei” is the same
Mei her friends and family know
and love — but in the form of a
fluffy,
eight-foot-tall,
un-
predictable and destructive red
LIFE CHANGES. Disney and Pixar’s
new original feature film, Turning Red,
debuted exclusively on Disney+ last
month. In the film, viewers are introduced
to 13-year-old Meilin Lee, known as Mei
to her friends, who lives in Toronto, Can-
ada. Set in the early 2000s, Turning Red is
a coming-of-age story about change, tran-
sitional moments, and the relationship be-
tween mothers and daughters. In the top
photo, “Red Panda Mei” talks to friends
Miriam, Abby, and Priya. In the bottom
photo, Mei watches as her mother looks
at a notebook. (© 2022 Disney/Pixar.
All Rights Reserved.)
panda. It’s a time full of
unexpected emotions.
“We’re basically using the red
panda as an adorable metaphor
for
the
very
unadorable
phenomenon
of
puberty,”
explained director Shi, with “Red
Panda Mei” representing Mei as
her most vulnerable, messy, and
true self.
Film producer Lindsey Collins
said the story is relatable in large
part because it is rooted in Shi’s
own life. “She was 13 in 2002,”
Collins said of the director. “She
had a very tight and somewhat
hilarious
and
complex
relationship with her mom. Some
of the craziest moments in the
film are based on things that
actually happened to Domee.”
Turning
Red
presents
universal themes about growing
up that will ring true to many
viewers, whether they are a
parent or child. The film is rated
PG by the Motion Picture
Association of America and is
currently streaming on Disney+.
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