Disney and Pixar's Turning Red became an instant success with its coming-of-age story of a young girl named Mei Lee. When she realizes she can turn into a red panda due to a power passed down throughout the family, she has to decide if she should get rid of the power or learn how to control it.
Throughout the animated movie, fans pointed out Pixar Easter eggs along with relatable moments on Mei's journey. As a 13-year-old Chinese girl living in Toronto in 2003, Turning Red is praised for its diverse characters while having a nostalgic, relatable feel.
Being Embarrassed By Mom
One of the more relatable moments in Turning Red was how bothered Mei was by her overbearing and overprotective mother, Ming. Mei loved her mom and had a great relationship with her, but at the same time, Ming hovered Mei because she was secretly waiting to protect her from the moment she transformed into a red panda.
Ming is a likable character at heart, but Mei is embarrassed by her when she spies on her at school and ambushes her crush who worked at the Daisy Mart. For Ming, it's hard for her to accept that Mei is growing up and may have an interest in boys and music.
First Crushes
With Mei and her friends being 13, having crushes on boys at school was a very normal and relatable moment. While Mei's friends crushed on an older boy named Devon who worked at Daisy Mart, Mei had her eyes on her classmate Carter.
But before there was Devon and Carter, Mei and her friends' first loves were the men of 4*Town — their boy band obsession. Lusting after a boyband and having crushes at school were relatable for viewers who remembered what it was like to be 13.
The Boy Band Obsession
It's an unpopular opinion to not enjoy the 4*Town's music throughout Turning Red. It's catchy and it plays throughout the movie since they're the girls' favorite band.
With Turning Red taking place in 2003—a time when boy bands were at a high—older viewers can remember what it was like when pop bands ruled the world and everyone was obsessed with the music, dance routines, and outfits. Everything Mei and her friends did was to be able to see 4*Town in concert.
A Life Before Social Media
Turning Red takes place during a time when social media and Internet browsing weren't popular. In the movie, students passed notes in class instead of texts, Mei drew in her notebook when she was bored instead of scrolling, and they played with the '90s throwback Tamagotchis.
Turning Red allows the kids to be kids. Mei was physically changing because of her power but she still relished being a 13-year-old girl. Mei's quotes on youth and being a kid without the dangers of technological distraction were refreshing and relatable.
Hiding Things From Parents
Although Mei loved her parents and was extremely close with them, there were a few things she felt like she couldn't be honest about. She loved music, dancing, and being silly with her best friends, but this was a side of her her parents rarely saw.
Mei hid her love of music and drawing from her parents by hiding things under her bed. Although Mei's family is quickly becoming one of Pixar's best families, her mother was disturbed when she saw her daughter's true interests outside of school and blamed Mei's friends. It took time, but Mei eventually came clean to her mother about the real her.
A Core Group Of Bffs
Another relatable aspect of Turning Red were the best friend moments. Mei's best friends were Abby, Priya, and Miriam. As a foursome, they were a little dorky but embraced their true selves and didn't care what others thought of them.
Mei's friends accepted her when she became a red panda and helped her get her emotions under control when in public. Having a group of best friends where a person can feel safe being themselves wasn't just relatable, it was endearing.
Cultural Representation & The Importance Of Family
Domee Shi is the creator and director of Turning Red. In an interview with Daily Hive, Shi expressed that the movie was based on real experiences. "I’m so inspired by how diverse Toronto is," Shi said.
She continued saying "I was so lucky to have friends who were diverse, who looked like me, [or] who didn’t look like me but had immigrant parents. I really just wanted to celebrate that on the big screen because you don’t see that very often, and you don’t see Toronto depicted very often in movies." For viewers seeing different cultural representations on screen and Mei's dedication to her family's traditions was huge.
A Need To Please Her Parents
Turning Red is ranking nicely among other Pixar movies due to its relatability. Mei was an outgoing and spunky teenager but she had this need to please her parents. Even though Mei was a straight-A student with extracurriculars, she could always do better in her mom's eyes.
Ironically, Turning Red touches base on generational trauma because it wasn't just Mei who stressed herself out pleasing her parents. Ming Lee was also stressed trying to please her mom as well. When Ming's mom (Mei's grandmother) came to town to get a handle on Mei's bodily changes, Ming acted similarly to Mei, which viewers who find themselves in the same predicament related to.
Bodily Changes
Mei turning into a red panda could be seen as a metaphor for puberty. As the director Domee Shi stated to D23, "Mei thinks she has it all figured out—like we all did before we woke up one day and realized all of a sudden we’re covered in body hair, we smell funky, our emotions are all over the place, and we’re hungry all the time." This moment made Turning Red into one of the funnier Pixar movies.
Turning into a red, cuddly red panda was a cuter transition that wasn't as scary as the real thing. Nevertheless, being 13 can be a shock mentally and physically and Turning Red made this time in peoples' lives relatable.
Priya's Fictional Book Obsession
In an unforeseen relatable moment for those who grew up in the early 2000s, Priya's obsession with the fictional book Nightfall was reminiscent of global obsession, Twilight. Priya was obsessed with vampires and werewolves and even asked Mei if she was a werewolf when she transformed into a red panda. Priya is a part of the fanbase who loved movies where people turned into animals.
In one scene, Priya is even lying on the roof like a vampire while the girls are looking up at the sky. Her love for a fictional tale was relatable for viewers who went through the same phase.