Dog’s Movie House: “Turning Red” Another Pixar Charmer!

“Turning Red” tells the tale of 13-year-old Meilin (Rosalie Chiang) and overachiever living in Toronto’s Chinatown. Despite having a group of devoted friends and an overwhelming interest in a boy band called 4-Town, Meilin’s primary focus is on helping her overprotective mother Ming (Sandra Oh). She runs the oldest temple in Toronto dedicated to the family’s oldest living ancestor who, incidentally, has a mystical connection to the red panda. After a particularly embarrassing incident involving her mother, Meilin finds herself turning into a giant red panda whenever her emotions get out of control. Being that she’s a teenager, you can guess how that’s going to go.

Domee Shi graduates from animated shorts (the Oscar-winning “Bao”) to features with grand style. Her script (with Julia Cho) features witty dialogue with the highlight of having Meilin directly address the audience. Her interactions with her friends, specifically Miriam (Ava Morse) feel authentic and are among some of the funniest moments in the film. Included are universal themes of experiencing puberty, learning personal growth and personal truth along with the bonds between mothers and daughters, all put together in a richly woven animated tapestry that works as the ultimate in eye candy.

To tell you any more would be to deny you the joys of this film. While the puberty metaphor is a little on-the-nose, the details and rich characters (plus the appearance of a Godzilla-sized red panda in the film’s finale) make the message go down easily. This is an animated film for the entire family and is a terrific reason to subscribe to Disney+! 4 1/2 Out Of 5 On Kendog’s Barkometer! So Sayeth The Kendog!

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