Princess Kinoc writes about “Turning Red”, a new Disney animated picture directed by Domee Shi, with voices from Sandra Oh as Ming Lee and Rosalie Chiang as Mei-Mei.
It is unusual for a Disney movie to show us how the real things happen in real life. While there is no such thing as “the myth of the red panda” in any Asian folklore, in the film “Turning Red”, the decision of Sun Yen to ask the gods to turn her into one is more of a revered choice. One that would also encompass the meaning of choice in the film’s plot.
A few centuries later, we find Mei-Mei the film’s lead character turn into a huge, fiery red panda as soon as she holds her thoughts and emotions to herself. Talk about turning red as puberty arrives, along with the different emotions that are often prescribed to as “hormonal”, it seems as if the emotional build up Mei-Mei has accustomed herself into turns her into a huge, often cute red panda that causes both excitement to a crowd and accidental incidents. We later find out that she has turned quite sooner than the rest of her family. The pressures she had to accept at a young age, and the fear of failing expectations seem to be the reasons why she has “turned” earlier than others in her family.
With the successful turnout of Encanto and how it hits closest to the origin country of the plot, Turning Red follows proper suit into how adapting a traditional plot (how Asians stay true to traditions and truly conservative beliefs is the key to success) and finding out the ideals of a “happy childhood” can blend well to the call of the times. The company which is known to stick to certain tropes and rules on how “fairy tales” are told now have brazenly opened themselves to introducing storylines that hit closest to home.
Turning Red in itself gives the proper narrative a household can well relate to, and change into. Gone are the era in which an Asian child has to succumb themselves to watching Disney films and find themselves adapting into the blue-eyed personas the cartoons represent. They now get to represent their own selves, Asian or not. As Disney continues to look into proper child psychology, we get the different blend of truths and reality mixed in with sing-along tunes and a proper insight into history mixed with fantasy.
I truly enjoyed this film and the nostalgia it brings. Having the film set in the early 2000s also gives us a glimpse of a decade that has been underrepresented, same children that might be deemed as “nerds”, it is interesting to find a character that is often labeled as “annoying” but in truth has always kept it together, and is advised to keep in, despite the many successes achievers acquire at a young age. It tugs one’s heartstrings to a fault, especially for us Asians who were raised with traditions that never seem to end, but are adaptable to the changing of times.
You can catch Turning Red on Disney + as it premieres on the streaming site starting March 11, 2022.
