The various reactions to TURNING RED are more fascinating than the movie itself. The reaction is undoubtedly politicized: it's either a masterpiece of female empowerment or oversexed degeneracy out to make sure kids don't obey their parents. Turns out it's neither.

The movie is often touted as a metaphor for menstruation, but I found the red panda operated more as a symbol of the sense of independence and separation from one's parents that comes with puberty. It's not encouraging kids to disobey their parents so much as depicting that sort of rebelliousness often comes with puberty. The protagonist is torn apart by her desire to be independent and grown-up (though her ideas about maturity are decidedly immature, as it is with middle schoolers), and her desire to please and stay close to her mother. Similarly, the mother is not an ogre, but someone who wants to do what's best for her child while also keeping up the pretense of being perfect herself (a condition we later learn comes from her own domineering maternal figure).

As for the "horny" elements, it's pretty tame (the main character draws shirtless mermen and swoons over a boyband about as sexually dangerous as cotton candy), though any allusion to burgeoning sexual desire is a raging taboo by Disney/Pixar standards. Preteen girls tend to be boy crazy-- that's not being degenerate, it's being honest. However, this does mean that parents with smaller children might want to screen the movie first. Unlike earlier Pixar films, this one is more for the preteen and up crowd considering the themes it tackles.

Judging by my lengthy defense of the film, you might expect I loved it. Not quite. It's a decent coming of age movie with some funny scenes and a well-done mother-daughter relationship, but I confess I dislike the CalArts style, which is frankly unappealing in CG. Many of the supporting characters were not as developed as I would have liked either: with the exception of Miriam, Mei's other friends are simple types (the deadpan one, the hyper one), and I would have loved to have seen more of Mei's imposing but well-meaning grandmother. It has the same issue as Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME in that it wants to tell a more mature story but it's held back by the requirement of certain kiddie movie conventions, like the action-packed climax.

In the end, TURNING RED is undoubtedly a unique entry in the Pixar canon, exploring themes that still seem to be too taboo for mainstream western animation. The screenplay could have used a little more fleshing out, but it turned out much better than I expected. It's worth a single viewing at the very least-- certainly worth more of a viewing than something sterile and safe like THE GOOD DINOSAUR.

This is a tricky one for me. I find myself stuck in the nebulous space of not really getting much out of this movie because I can't relate to it but also desperately wanting studios to make more like this. The story of a young girl hitting puberty represented by her turning into a giant red panda is a bit... On the nose but there's this really wonderful message in here about embracing your body and not being ashamed of perfectly natural bodily functions. Obviously, we've had countless stories of maturity over the years but the vast vast VAST majority of them have been centered on the male perspective and male experience. Its refreshing to see this going at it from a different angle and eye opening for me to watch and wonder if this is what it's like for every girl out there having to watch a story about a boy's first crush/boner.

Again, LOVE that Disney/Pixar are tackling this material, that a studio powerhouse like that is doing this. Sincerely doubt this will stick with me, personally, for very long though. I imagine this falling into Big Hero 6 territory. A movie that's good, but mostly forgotten.

Disney finally did the impossible. They made a terrible Pixar film. This is easily the worst film Pixar has ever done, and yes, that includes Good Dinosaur and Cars 2.

The premise involves Meilin Lee, a 13 year old girl living in Toronto, Canada. She declares that she's doing her own thing and does and says what she wants. She lives with Ming, her strict overbearing mother (think typical Aisan Parenting), has a side job of taking care of the family temple and has a group of friends who she hangs out with, all of whom are fans of a Boy Band named 4* Town. For her, she thinks her life is balanced, she thinks she has it all figured out. Or does she?

One night (after being caught doodling a secret crush as a merman), she has a bad dream and wakes up as a Red Panda. This, it turns out, is a family trait and her family (just the females) turn into Red Pandas whenever they experience strong emotions. And Mei's life is completely upturned as she's forced to evaluate what she wants.

I'm gonna be honest, the concept of a girl turning into panda whenever she has strong emotions is not a good concept. Maybe if it was for a Dreamworks movie, then I could understand why they'd go for that. But here, it feels out of place.

Then, there's the coming of age and family aspects, which was done so much better in Pixar's other movies: Luca, Brave, Inside Out, and Coco inplemented those aspects in a much better way than this film. Even Soul handed the family aspect a lot better in just one scene and in a much more mature way. It would have been slightly better if she was made older but even then, it wouldn't improve the film that much.

The characters felt completely stereotypical and unintersting in comparison to Pixar's previous characters. We have the energetic but overly emotional, overachieving young kid (Mei), the strict and overbearing Aisan tiger mom (Ming), the tomboy (Miriam), the emotionally deadpan friend (Priya), and the energetic friend (Abby). All of these characters are not only annoying due to their over the top emotions, but they're also completely unlikeable.

I know that Domee Shi was inspired by old-school anime but it felt like she copied my least favourite aspects of said old school anime and not the best. There's a reason that those aspects are outdated. The animation quality took a nosedive in this film and considering the film's budget $175 million, it's kind of baffling. Especially considering that Dreamwork's films, which look better than this film, have a smaller budget.

Turning Red is Pixar's worst film as we get a subpar storyline, unlikeable characters, and a message that despite meaning well, says that it's ok to disrespect your parents.