This is one movie, even though animated, that I think many people can relate to, especially from their teenage years. If I'm being honest, I don't remember much from my teen years but I can still remember a first time experience that signalled to me that I am becoming a woman indeed. It was more assuring than fearful and that was because I had the guidance I needed.
That's by the way but it was a memory that came to me while watching this movie. Watching Turning Red felt like stepping into a very real, but colorful world of growing up, emotions, and family expectations. It is not just a fun animation.
"Turning Red" is a coming-of-age animation movie in the genres adventure, teen comedy and family. The movie was released in 2022 starring Rosalie Chiang voicing Meilin, Sandra Oh voicing Ming, Ava Morse, Hyein Park and Maitreyi Ramakrishnan voicing Meilin's friends (that is Miriam, Abby and Priya).
The movie tells the story of Meilin Lee, a confident and hardworking 13-year-old girl who lives in Toronto with her mother. Mei tries to balance being the perfect daughter and enjoying life with her friends. But everything changes for her when she suddenly turns into a giant red panda whenever she feels strong emotions like excitement, stress, or embarrassment.
Mei is the center of the story. Even though she is smart, loyal, and full of energy, she struggles with pressure from her mother. Her journey totally feels to me what to grow up and start discovering who you really are means. Her red panda isn't just a funny transformation but a representation of emotions and changes she cannot fully control.
Her mother, Ming Lee, plays a very strong role in the movie. She is loving but also very strict and protective, it is a clear picture of how some parents can be especially when it involves something they think is best for their child. Ming wants the best for her daughter, but her way of showing it sometimes feels too controlling.
There's no way I'll write about this movie without mentioning Mei’s friends (Miriam, Priya, and Abby) who I think brought so much fun and support into the story. They accept Mei for who she is, even after her strange transformation. Their friendship shows how important it is to have people who understand and stand by you.
The story teaches a lot of lessons and one of the main lessons is you do not need to erase parts of yourself to fit in like Mei tried to do. Another lesson is importance of communication between parents and children, I think most of what Mei and Ming struggled with was because they couldn't relate it to each other in communication.
Overall, "Turning Red" is a fun, interesting and beautiful movie to check out. I also love the feature of a boy band that even I could see how cool they are alongside Mei and her friends lol. It's surprising to find out that one of them is voiced by an actor I know from "To All The Boys: P.S I Still Love You". His role was significant too.
Images used are from Imdb.
