Review : Turning Red Teenage 13 Who Becomes A Cute Red Panda When Nervous

Turning Red is actually like the diary of the director, Domee Shi. He brings the audience to the memories of their youth through the life of a 13-year-old girl named Meilin 'Mei' Lee who is also the main character of this film. Shi described Mei as normal teenagers, feeling free, having a gang, and being a fan of a boy band.

Not to mention Mei's mother, Ming Lee, who is like a typical parent with teenagers, watching their child's movements in detail for a noble cause: not to go wrong. However, Turning Red has a magical premise, namely Mei's condition which can transform into a giant red panda if she can't control her overwhelming emotions due to puberty.

This puberty period causes various conflicts between Mei and her surroundings. So, PROMĚNA (2022) is actually not much different from other 'coming of age' films. However, Turning Red can tell the classic story of the teenager's emotional struggles with conflicts that can be enjoyed and still seem fun.

The director packaged Mei's conflict with her surroundings neatly and carefully. This is commendable because if not, it will seem tendentious and judge certain characters. Even though Mei Lee's character feels so strong, she is still able to cohere when met with other character traits. That is the strength of Turning Red, namely the characters.

In Promena (Turning Red), Domee Shi managed to orchestrate the character of a teenager with his parents, resulting in a dynamic relationship. Mei and Ming Lee who are the main axis of Turning Red are also supported by the presence of other characters. One of them is the existence of the Mei gang who supported him so much when he became a giant red panda.

The existence of the gang is like describing one of the beautiful moments during adolescence, when you have a group of friends who agree and support each other. Meanwhile, the presence of Mei's father, Jin, also feels quite important in the wealth of Turning Red's story even though the dialogue is not much. He is the balance between Mei and Ming.

On the other hand, the magical aspects that seem to be the main selling point of Turning Red, the giant red panda, are actually just spices and not impressive. The narrative is only briefly presented in its history. As if the author wants to focus on the mother-daughter conflict and how they remove the 'curse' of the red panda. In addition, the legend of the red panda like the one in Turning Red also seems to be a formula that is often used by Pixar in other films. Call it Onward with the concept of the wizarding world to Coco with the concept of 'afterlife'.

This makes the Turning Red formula not feel new, even though the characters and cultural elements raised are different from before. Speaking of cultural elements, Domee Shi, who is of Chinese-Canadian descent, is clearly seen carrying his ancestral cultural heritage in Turning Red.

Call it the red panda narrative that comes from China. Then Mei Lee's family background is Chinese who lives in Toronto, just like Domee Shi. Various stories and depictions of interactions between parents and children in the style of Asian society, especially Chinese, are also well described in Turning Red without feeling tendentious.

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Elements of Chinese culture can also be seen from the visual aspect which is thick with red and orange colors, as well as the ancestral heritage family temple occupied by the Mei Lee family. Unfortunately, the rich character and cultural elements are not supported by optimal climax execution. The final third of Turning Red feels mundane and underwhelming.

In fact, the story that was built during the first hour looked convincing and interesting. Not to mention with a number of references to adolescence and cultural elements that are displayed. But in the end, Turning Red succeeded in presenting a personal 'coming of age' story while still carrying a universal message.

For adult audiences, this film will be a nostalgic moment through a series of Mei Lee stories and cultural references that are displayed. For the audience of children and teenagers, this film is a mirror of what they are going through as well as being an inspiration to live life as they wish but responsibly.