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Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2022 film Turning Red.
Story
This was a coming of age movie done extremely well. I loved the supportive friends and the music obsession. The family trauma was well done. I’m also amazed that with no real villain they managed to have a marvel-worthy boss fight at the end.
Score: 1
Characters
The kids in the movie were all stereotypes I remember from my high school. They are, however, well nuanced despite the little amount of screentime.
The overbearing mom with the soft-spoken dad is a dynamic I’ve seen in real life and is nice to see a move away from the idiot/useless father figures.
The aunties gave me flashbacks and made me giggle.
At the heart of it, Mei was both cringingly 13 but extremely relatable.
Score: 1
Dialogue
It was odd watching a Pixar-Disney movie with Canadian accents and expressions; odd but comforting.
A lot of information was given as worldbuilding and came back as important to the plot. The dialogue was fast, frantic and well crafted. I’ll need a rewatch to appreciate the full scope.
Score: 1
Music and Visuals
The songs are perfectly crafted to match the time period and the style of music. It reminded me of sitting in my cousin’s room listening to TLC, Destiny’s Child, Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, and 98 Degrees. Meanwhile the score was absolutely epic.
The animation is spectacular, as expected for Pixar. The backgrounds and details are wonderful and the character design was spot on.
Score: 1
Fun
The movie’s pace and energy is so perfectly reminiscent of being an early teen that it took me a little time to acclimate. It was great to step into that feeling and world again. I also thought it was fun spotting all the Canadianisms and things that are purely Toronto.
My kids liked it, although the 2 year old found the big panda scary and my 5 year old writhed in secondary embarrassment for most of it.
The most unrealistic thing was that they could get their concert tickets that close to the show and be on the floor.
I can’t wait to rewatch it and see all the little details I missed in the animation and storytelling.
Score: 1
Overall
This movie throws you into the life of a teen and drags you at the breakneck speed of youth. It’s exciting, heartwarming, and extremely poignant. It continues the excellent storytelling that Pixar is known for.
See this movie with an open mind and heart and it’ll transport you to the exotic land of Toronto and remind you what it means to be a young teen.
Final Score: 5 Stars out of 5*
*A 5 star review doesn’t mean the movie was perfect nor that it is perfect for everyone but it is a movie I believe is as close to perfect as possible.