“Turning Red” Review

Turning Red, Pixar’s latest movie, was released on February 21. Juggling being the obedient, perfect daughter her mother wants her to be and the person she really is, recently turned 13 year old Meilin “Mei” Lee is the epitome of the perfect child in her mother’s eyes; straight A’s, never getting into trouble, and helping at her family’s temple. In truth, Mei is an outgoing girl who has an obsession with a boy band along with her like-minded group of friends.

However, she finds out in the beginning of the movie that her family is cursed with the ability to turn into red pandas when feeling strong emotions, which she doesn’t handle well because of her habit of being easily controlled by her emotions. This is especially due to the fact that she’s going through puberty. Throughout the movie we see how her mother’s overprotectiveness and Mei’s newfound personality clash with one another.

This new experience teaches Mei to let out the emotions she had previously repressed, and to find a new sense of balance within them. Rather than feeling ashamed of the messier parts of herself, she learns to embrace them. Sometimes I feel like I have to hide the parts of myself I am embarrassed by or that I feel like others won’t accept so in this way I feel like I can relate more to Mei because she does this too, in the form of hiding her obsession with a boy band.