Edd Watches Pixar: Turning Red

I’m a grown man who hasn’t seen most of the Pixar movies that people are obsessed with, but I was challenged to check ’em all out and share my thoughts. Join me as I watch ’em all one by one – see if I buy into the hype.

No. 25: Turning Red (2022)

So in the last episode of Old Guy Watches Kid Movies And Destroys Your Nostalgia, I mentioned that I liked Luca, but thought that it didn’t FEEL like Pixar. It was just a straightforward kiddie film about acceptance covered in Little Mermaid scales.

Turning Red though? This feels 100% like Pixar.

I went into this film totally blind. All I knew was that somebody was gonna turn into a giant red squirrel/fox/possum thing and mayhem would ensue.

And I was right – except I had no idea that this movie was actually about, well … you know. That thing all young girls of a certain age go through.

Look, I’m trying to use my words carefully. Y’all love getting folks banned on these apps for talking out of turn. One minute it’s “speak your truth, king!” the next it’s “YOU can’t talk about that!” It’ll be hard doing my day job of managing social media If I’m sitting in the Facebook penitentiary.

But when you think about it, it’s the avoidance of those important conversations that fuels the taboos in both this story and in real life. It makes Turning Red a very poignant allegory for girls going through puberty. And while I expected the movie to mostly be about kids hiding the big red panda from the adults, I appreciated the left turn that explored the mother-daughter dynamic and coming to terms with the dreaded red curse.

I also loved the film’s anime feel – from the exaggerated facial reactions to the wanton chaos – and the early 2000s aesthetic was pretty fun too.

But I certainly don’t miss the boy band era. All the songs sounded the same!

I’m glad I wasn’t around for the avalanche of think pieces that I guarantee arose from this film. I’m sure the more conservative among us weren’t cool with the Mei-Mei’s ‘my body, my choice’ decision at the end of the film. But her squabbles with her mom (by far the best character in the film), her random crushes, devotion to her friends over family and even the insertion of Gangsta Grandma and the Auntie Army are very real things our girls go through.

I wouldn’t call Turning Red a top-tier Pixar release – there’s some stiff competition once you hit the top 10 – but it was way better than I expected.

It also makes me VERY nervous for my nieces in about 10 years. Any questions they have are going to be directed to Auntie Jai. It’s hard out here for these girls! I’m just trying not to get canceled.

4 stars out of 5

Edd’s favorites:

Inside Out
Toy Story 3
The Incredibles
Monsters, Inc
Ratatouille
Coco
Soul
WALL-E
Finding Nemo
Up
A Bug’s Life
Toy Story
Incredibles 2
Toy Story 2
**Turning Red**
Onward
Finding Dory
Cars
Toy Story 4
Luca
Monsters University
Brave
The Good Dinosaur
Cars 3
Cars 2

Next up is the final film to date, Lightyear. Y’all are gonna milk that Toy Story cow until its udders shoot out dust, huh? 

Want to see more? Keep up with Edd as he stumbles through the world of Pixar here.