Turning Red is Pixar’s coming-of-age story about 13-year-old Mei Lee. On top of having to go through life changes like every girl, Mei Lee has to deal with the fact that she’ll turn into a giant red panda every time she experiences an intense emotion— and she gets them pretty much all the time.
However, Mei Lee’s physical shift into a lesser panda has a deeper meaning that goes beyond a comedic take on “the werewolf transformation”. During interviews about Pixar’s movie, director Domee Shi and producer Lindsey Collins revealed that Turning Red has metaphorical connections regarding girls’ puberty.
Mei Lee’s awkward pre-teen changes
You see, when girls go through the puberty phase, without a doubt, the first things we notice are the changes in our bodies. And yes, this includes the menstrual cycle. It’s no coincidence that Mei Lee’s age of when she transforms into a giant red panda corresponds to that of preadolescence onset, which is between the ages of 8 and 13.
This has to do with the fact that the studio wanted to tackle serious topics that girls have to go through, such as getting your first period, but aren’t addressed enough in the media addressed for all ages since it’s usually seen as “taboo” subject (which it shouldn’t be).
“It was always in the very earliest versions of the film. It was the first thing we put into production,” told producer Collins to Polygon. “Everybody on the crew was unapologetic in support of having these real conversations about periods and about these moments in girls’ lives”.
On the other hand, She and Collins expressed in the interview that, despite wanting to include the above, Turning Red’s crew were also wary as to how Pixar would respond with the scenes in which Ming Lee, Mei’s mother brings her some pads and addresses the female body’s physical changes.
Fortunately, as mentioned by Lindsey, the studio was never displeased:
“I think they saw it very much in the DNA of the film and the characters,” said Collins. “The hope is with putting it on the screen and having it be something that is cringy, but also funny, and a part of this story, it does normalize it. There’s an appreciation from anybody who’s gone through it for what we put on the screen, but also those who haven’t gone through it”.
Mother and daughter relationship
Another aspect that Turning Red reflects on puberty is how this phase can change our relationships. And of course, the one we have with our parents is one of those.
While Mei has to deal with her peculiar family heritage, she’s also caught up in a struggle between being the dutiful daughter that her mom expects her to be and finding her own voice.
“[Mei is] growing up caught between two worlds, East and West, but [she’s] also at this time in her life where she’s blossoming into adulthood,” explained Shi to Polygon. “And all of these changes are happening not just to her body, but to her relationship with her mom”.
Ming is portrayed as Mei’s overprotective and strict mother who never separates from her. A scenario that may be undesirable for a girl who’s seeking her independence whereas her mom wants to protect her— yep, sounds relatable to many.
In another interview, Domee Shi revealed that “Turning Red is just inspired by this universal struggle of growing up and trying to figure out how to honor your parents but also stay true to yourself.”
The director also added that they specifically wanted to depict the mother and daughter dynamic on a cultural level: “We want[ed] to explore the nuances of Asian parent-child relationships and dealing with change and all of the intergenerational conflict and how it shapes who we become.”
Big red panda and pre-teen emotions
Since its first teaser, Turning Red’s supposed conflict happens when Mei is triggered by intense emotions, thus changing into the giant lesser panda; this is the other major and challenging shift as we enter our pre-teen years.
The director explained that they used the red panda to show this emotional phase in their movie:
“For Mei Lee, the red panda is that magical spark that sets off this internal conflict within herself. 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, and our emotions are all over the place, and we’re hungry like all the time”, told Shi to Sarah Scoop. “[It’s] an adorable metaphor for the scary, awkward, and cringy changes we go through during this age”.
Turning Red delves into the universal experience of growing up, a moment that may seem scary but can also be exciting as we try to figure out who we want to be.
