Turning Red

As we've moved through the years with Pixar, I've determined that there are really two types of Pixar films, or rather, two quality levels:

Instant Classic

or

Good/Great

I'd be hard pressed to say they've ever made anything I'd qualify as "average" or even worse, "bad", but I think there's a clear distinction of the various bars they set for themselves. Obviously, there are classics like Up, or more recently, Soul (the best movie of 2020!) but then there are others like Onward or Finding Dory that are enjoyable, but not going to be what we look back on the studio for.

So at this point, I ask myself each time we get a new Pixar film: which quality category does this fit into? Tier "Classic" or Tier "Good"? 

The same is true for Turning Red, Pixar's newest film about a young girl going through changes in her 12-13 year old age as she navigates school, friends, and demanding expectations from her parents. In particular, it's important to emphasize that she's a young girl and her family is Asian. That's important to both compliment on how well Pixar did making it feel applicable to a 32-year-old white male, but also a callout that this film's target audience is quite niche and in some respects, holds it back from that particular aforementioned classic tier. 

Turning Red is ultimately a Pixar movie that just likes to have a lot of fun. It's cute as hell and I was never bored or wishing it would end, even if I would 100% put it in the Good/Great Tier of Pixar films. It won't be anything that ranks highly in the pantheon of Pixar, but there's a lot of silliness to have fun as a family, particularly if there are some millennial parents, given the film is set in 2002. That setting feels somewhat unnecessary - I thought there would be more important call backs - but it also doesn't detract from anything and gives it the big excuse to have a boy band, which fells like the biggest driving factor.

ITS SO FLUFFY!!

"I am vengeance on the rooftops. 
I am the Red Knight"

Our central story is about Meilin, a 13 year old in Toronto, who's outspoken, does well in school, has a solid group of close friends...and a controlling Asian mother. She loves her mom, but there's a constant disconnect about what her mother approves of and what's Meilin enjoys. Like boys and a boy band named 4-Town, for instance. If you couldn't tell by now, the Red Panda is a metaphor for teenage hormones and how our relationship with our parents shifts as we crave to become independent-but-still-need-a-roof-over-our-heads people around that age. In this regard, there's a lot to love about Turning Red, without anything being overtly emotional or riveting like the best of Pixar usually is. That's fine, because it probably would have felt out of place to have something ultra-dramatic happen here, but that results in the story being "just fine". 

Luckily, we've got some fantastic other Pixar staples to carry us along. Outside of some wonderful voice work, the animation is an amusing blend of cartoony, colorful, and intricate. There's a ton of fur on Mei's panda for instance, and it's remarkable watching how realistic all the different tufts of fur on various body parts move similar to a real life animal. Turning Red is also quite funny, with laughs ranging from amusing to a handful of laugh-out-loud moments. Again, it's not Pixar's funniest, but Meilin and her friends have a lot of adorable fun throughout.

Despite a short review, I feel like I've captured Turning Red accurately. It's a good/great tier Pixar film that's more laughs vs. story oriented and the target audience is pre-teen girls and their parents, specifically of Asian descent. As someone very clearly not in that target audience, I had a good time with it because...well...Pixar, but I'd likely not seek to watch this one again. 

CONS

• Seems to jump around a little bit in terms of focus and the finale drags a bit
• Nothing inherently bad about a target audience, I just was not part of it and thus probably connected with it less

PROS

• Incredible animation, per usual. Lots of great color usage too
• Wonderful voice work from all. No one steals the show, but that's ok
• Fun and funny. The film (and panda) are super cute and that's part of what helps it reach outside its target audience most effectively
• Rather short and sweet 

Rath's Review Score | 7.5/10