Puberty and Red Pandas

Pixar’s animated film, Turning Red, is a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old girl whose life changes as she suddenly turns into a red panda. She deals with the struggle to maintain the perfect image her mother wants her to have as her hormones start to rise.

Turning Red was released on March 11, 2022, exclusively on Disney+. It stands out from other Pixar films due to its different animation style. I noticed that the animation style may have had some influence from anime.

The way the characters express their emotions is similar to how anime characters do. Characters were seen with twinkles in their eyes as they saw people or things they were amazed by. This is like how anime characters visually express feelings of amazement.

One of the movie poster for Turning Red. Image by Disney

The film accurately displayed the awkward and quirky behaviors of kids aged 13. I saw an image of myself within the main character, Meilin Lee, especially with her obsession for a boy band.

Lee is Chinese-Canadian and partakes in Asian culture with food and traditions in this film. I’m Filipino-American, so I appreciated seeing Asian representation. Although I am not Chinese, Asian cultures tend to share the same family values with respect.

My family values those aspects and I enjoyed seeing characters with similar family values on my screen. It’s important to showcase underrepresented cultures in movies.

Image of characters from Turning Red. Image by Disney

The story takes place in 2002 and pays homage to early 2000s pop music, fashion and lingo. A song from the movie called, “Nobody Like U,” sung by the boy band in the movie, 4*TOWN, went viral on TikTok and gained a lot of popularity. Here is a link to the song if you would like to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQQRjFzB8gY.

Photo of boy group from Turning Red. Image by Disney

I rate this movie a four out of five stars. The beginning was very fast paced, and I think it could have been slowed down a little bit. I like how it got straight to the point where she turned into the red panda, but the introduction to her character and family could have been slightly slower.

Rating of Turning Red. Image by Hannah Gillamac

The animation quality and story were well done. I recommend this movie to others of all ages and genders. It tells a great story about growing up and could possibly make younger audiences feel less embarrassed about going through puberty.