On the one hand, this is an adorable film about changing and magic and growing up with friends and relatives and smiles and support … it’s everything you’d want in a family film. On the other hand, mom is an ogre. And she’s not just a mean ogre, like the principal in Matilda. She’s a mom ogre, where she gets to be both aggressive and disappointed with her daughter at the same time.
And the ogre takes over this film.
I’m mentioning this right at the start because while I could have LOVED Turning Red had the film just been about Meilin (voice of Rosalie Chiang) coming of age, accepting changes, and getting lost in her friendships, I might have called it among my favorites of the new year. But Turning Red pivoted not on Meilin’s tweenery, but instead upon monster mom. I was not fond of monster mom. I was not fond of monster mom when she embarrassed Meilin at the convenience mart; I was not fond of monster mom when she forbade a concert; I was not fond of monster mom when she attacked the Skydome (?!)
Is there a
Canadian Godzilla? Would it swim over, destroy Vancouver, and say, “oooh. Sorry, eh?”
Pushed by herself and her parents, Meilin is the perfect junior high student. Her grades are impeccable; her boy-crazy friends are adorable, and Meilin never lets anything get between herself and her duties. If given a choice between her mother’s satisfaction and her own happiness, mom (Sandra Oh) wins that battle every.single.time.
Well, something has to change, right? Two things, in fact, one big and one small. The small change is that the dreamy One Direction-like boy band 4*Town is coming to Toronto. Meilin’s crew is gaga as tweens are apt to get, but they have neither funds nor parental approval. Oh well. The big change is that in lieu of getting her period, Meilin suddenly turns into a giant red panda whenever she gets emotional. Luckily, middle schoolers never get emotional.
The best part of Turning Red is Meilin’s relationship with her inner panda; is it something she hides or something she cherishes? The next best part is her friendships; there’s a huge conflict in the film between Meilin’s friends and Meilin’s mom. It’s both sad and amusing that mom can readily accept the panda stuff in stride but has no tolerance for Meilin’s non-familial relationships.
Meilin is a wonderful heroine. She represents an entire world of kids who grow up with overwhelming parental expectations and handle them with spirit and personality. She doesn’t always make
the right choice, but let’s face it; you wouldn’t either if you were a thirteen-year-old who kept turning into a panda. Now, is the red panda a metaphor for her period or coming of age in general? It might be … and not a bad metaphor at that. The self-panda is represented as a gift and a curse at the same time, which is puberty in a nutshell.
And this is all why I found Turning Red so frustrating. I loved Meilin and her friends. I loved her dilemma, and I truly wanted to see how she and her posse handled their 4*Town dilemma. And then the film gets taken over by mom, whom I did not need more of. Now I realize how important the relationship between Meilin and her mom reamins, but as much as the family needed resolution, this relationship completely detracted from the enjoyment of the picture. What I’m getting from this is that Chinese mothers can be ogres. That isn’t really what you wanted to say, is it, Pixar? Disney? And this is a feature-length Pixar cartoon; if it isn’t enjoyable, I better be in tears. Don’t make me wish I were watching a different film entirely.
A pre-teen needs a supportive hand-a
When she keeps turning into a red panda
Her kin are averse
Insisting it’s a curse
I think it’s all such propaganda
Rated PG, 100 Minutes
Director: Domee Shi
Writer: Domee Shi, Julia Cho, Sarah Steicher
Genre: The crimson curse
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Cowed overachievers
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: Their parents
