If there is a film that I have been looking forward for, despite poor advertising, it's this latest Pixar film. Not only is it because Pixar makes a lot of great movies, but this is one of two movies this year from Hollywood that is set in Canada, particularly in Toronto. As a Canadian, I was completely intrigued, but what can the movie offer me aside from just a familiar location? The answer is a lot. Set during 2002, 13-year old Mei Lee is a hyperactive tween girl who is constantly trying to appease the sides of both her traditionalist mother and her school friends. When a family curse suddenly awakens inside Mei, she discovers that extreme emotion turns her into a giant red panda. While she and her mother plant to perform a ritual to be rid of the panda, Mei prays that she and her friends are able to see their favourite boy band, 4* Town, perform in their city before it's too late. If you can't tell, this is a far smaller-scale, coming-of-age film that is more akin to "Luca" rather than a "Toy Story". It's clear how the film is inspired by Studio Ghibli in its execution and the metaphor of the red panda works in regards to adolescence and the choice of letting your true self exposed or bottling it up for reputation sake. The red panda element of the story can however be carried away a bit too much for some, particularly by the climax. The tone is the most distinct I've seen of a Pixar film, which is that it doesn't feel like one. Because of the setting, characters, and time period, the film feels oddly modern and wacky, almost as if another studio made this film. The humour relating to certain pop culture and the personalities of the girls can be hit-or-miss for some, but I personally enjoyed myself, since I found it quite charming.
Mei is a loveable protagonist thanks to her expressive animation and range of emotions. Her personality can be a bit annoying for some, but given her age, it makes sense for the character and the tone of the film. Her mother, Ming Lee, is also a well-written character given her relationship with Mei and her perspective of her family and what makes a woman. Mei's friends, Miriam, Abby, and Priya, are a bit of a mixed bag. On the one hand, they show to be really supportive and enjoyable with their chemistry with Mei. On the other hand, their humour involving 4*Town and pop songs can be pretty irritating at times. Lastly, Tyler is a pretty fun bully archetype, since he manages to grow as a character throughout the film. There is Mei's father and extended family, but they don't have much screentime to really worth mentioning. All of the voice actors do their job great and I do find the characters enjoyable for the most part with Mei being a great character to follow due to her personality, despite the negatives that go with her and her friends.
The animation style has been the film's biggest punching bag ever since its marketing. People hate the simplistic art design the film is going for, despite "Luca" doing the same thing last year with no criticism. Calling the animation simplistic is an insult as it's top-tier Pixar animation quality as always. Not only are the colours vibrant and the city and characters given so much detail, but the facial expressions make the simplified character designs work extremely well for this movie and tone. There are a lot of fun character animation details to highlight that you can easily make a montage of all of the over-the-top expressions made. In regards to if the city of Toronto and Canada as a whole was given justice, I would say that the film uses a perfect amount of iconography that Canadians are aware of Toronto and their country as a whole along with using the setting of the city to the story's advantage. Although it's odd that the CN Tower is never name-dropped nor involved in the climax, it was still so much fun seeing this film and recognizing the details distinct to Toronto and Canada. The score by Ludwig Goransson is nowhere near his best, but is an effective score for the multicultural film using a mix of oriental music and pop songs. Not only does the film have original songs made for the fictional boy band that sounds like it could be sung by a real-life boy band, but the 2002 setting also allows it to feature some songs from the era such as "Cha Cha Slide" by DJ Casper and "Bootylicious" by Destiny's Child. It is so surreal to hear licensed pop songs in a Pixar film, let alone a Disney film, but that is simply the uniqueness of Domee Shi's directorial debut.
"Turning Red" is another strong addition to the Pixar library. While the climax gets a bit too out there, the tone and humour can be a bit alienating for some, and the tween girl characters can get a touch annoying when they don't shut up about 4* Town, these issues aren't a big deal in the grand scheme of things. The story mostly works as a low-stakes, coming of age story that will resonate with adolescent girls and just finding your identity as a whole, the tone and humour is so distinct that it's admirable coming from Pixar, Mei is an enjoyable female lead, Ming Lei is a understanding obstacle and mother figure, Mei's friends have their moments of levity and charm, the voice cast all around does a great job, the original score by Goransson is solid, the original and licensed songs perfectly fit the early 2000's, and the animation demonstrates how talented Pixar is in not only creating expressive and vibrant character movements, but fully realize Toronto as a distinct city that has its own identity and pays it with great respect. It sucks that Disney hasn't treated this film well by putting it on Disney+, since I would not only have wanted to see this in theatres, but a financial success could prompt more films to use Canada's setting to their advantage.
Verdict: 8/10. Great, but probably not top ten material for Pixar. Please check it out when you get a chance and watch the most refreshing and unique title from the best animation studio!
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