The Pixar animation studio just dropped a teaser trailer on their upcoming 3D American animated film, Turning Red. Directed by Domee Shi, the 2018 Oscar winner of the short film Bao, the film’s trailer has left most people eagerly waiting for the release.
Turning Red follows the story of a young girl called Mei Lee, a confident 13-year-old. The protagonist is torn between giving in to the chaos of adolescence and being her mother’s dutiful daughter. As if all the changes in her body, relationships, and interests are not enough, she turns into a giant red Panda whenever she gets excited. It proves more difficult for her since, as a teenager, excitement is part of growing.
Mei Lee’s mother, Ming, is protective and overbearing. She is always staying close to her daughter to find out what is happening with her. In the trailer, she sneaks into school to check on her daughter, which doesn’t play out well as Mei Lee gets anxious and poofs into the giant panda.
The film cast include Rosalie Chiang as Mei Lee, Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) as Ming Lee, TBA as Mr. Kieslowski, and John Ratzenberger as TBA. Domee Shi set the film in Toronto, Canada, her hometown. We see this in the teaser with Mei Lee’s outfit featuring maple leaf of the Canadian flag and in the CN tower shot.
“We are beyond thrilled that director Domee Shi chose her hometown of Toronto as the backdrop for her new feature film,” Greg Mason, Walt Disney Studios Canada Marketing VP, said in a statement. The film setting will be in the early 2000s, as seen in Mei’s student ID on the poster.
Turning Red will be the first full-length Pixar film that Domee Shi will work on after the short film Bao. The Academy Award Winner started writing the film in May 2018. She later confirmed in November 2019 that she was working on a film at the studios, which was at its early stages of development.
She said in a statement that “she was excited to work on the 90-minute film” and that she planned for it to be emotional and entertaining. The title makes her the first woman of color to direct a Pixar full-length film.
After serving as the production designer in Domee Shi’s previous short film Bao, Rona Liu will return in the same capacity in Turning Red. Lindsey Collins will also reprise her Bao role as the producer of Turning Red with Pete Docter as the executive producer. Ludwig Göransson will be writing music for the film. With part of the crew joining forces again, fans can only expect the best!
Since the film centers on the unfortunate encounters of a teenager, it connects perfectly with the young generation. If you ever got embarrassed by your parents when young, this might be the film for you too. Turning Red also enriches parents on raising adolescents and how they may be hurting them unknowingly.
Pixar Animation Studios will produce this fantasy comedy film while Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures will see through its distribution. Turning Red is set for a theatrical release on March 11, 2022.
