Disney-Pixar’s freshly released animated movie ‘Turning Red’ receives strong criticism from the audience. Directed by Domee Shi, the movie follows the story of a Chinese-Canadian teenage girl, Meilin Lee who is caught between being her mother’s obedient child and the challenges of puberty. Lee is considered to be a dorky, weirdo by her schoolmates as she is her own person. Her family worships their ancestors and the red panda is considered to be an important symbol. As she shares a connection with the red panda, when she gets too excited, she turns into a big panda.
Soon after the movie was released on March 11, it has gained criticism. The film’s humor impressed the critics but they cannot seem to connect with the storyline. Some parents have said that watching ‘Turning Red’ with children is inappropriate as it can convey a wrong message to them, “That Turning Red Disney movie is not appropriate for children,” tweeted one parent. Some people also termed the movie as “totally unrelatable” and “wildly inappropriate”. The viewer said the film was totally unrelatable and criticizes it for the depiction of puberty. On the other hand, the movie doesn’t totally disappoint the audience, it impressed the audience with its humorous and culturally rich storyline. It is quirky and portrays the ups and downs of the mother-daughter relationship.
The film was produced by Lindsey Collins, Dan Scanlon, and Pete Docter and distributed with Walt Disney Studios Motion pictures. The film stars ‘Rosalie Chiang’ as ‘Mei Lee’, ‘Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’ as ‘Priya’, ‘Ava Morse’ as Miriam, ‘Sandra Oh’ as ‘Ming Lee’ and ‘Addie Chandler’ as ‘Devon’.
The movie was released on Disney + Hotstar. Even though it has attracted some controversies, it is yet a heartwarming and beautifully animated movie. It explores a mystical theme and in the process teaches some valuable life lessons. The way in which a 13-year old handles her life’s emotions and challenges and learns to stay calm is spectacular.
Read some of the tweets of the viewers on ‘Turning Red’ here: