Walt Disney and Pixar Studios are producing their latest animated coming-of-age tale, Turning Red. Directed by Domee Shi, a Pixar story artist making her directorial debut, the story has a message for children and adults alike. The studio behind Inside Out takes audiences on a new deep dive into the world of emotions in Turning Red, with a fresh take on what it means to be cool. Follow Mei on her journey to stay true to herself, understand her emotions, and try to find freedom while under the watchful eye of her overbearing but loving mother. With themes of common teen issues wrapped in a not-so-common supernatural surprise (and a lot of fluffy red fur), this family-friendly film is sure to leave you feeling warm and fuzzy inside.
When Will Turning Red Be Released?
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is set to release the mystical, heartwarming movie on March 11, 2022, with the date being reaffirmed by the most recently released trailer.
Watch the Turning Red Trailer
Pixar released the official trailer for Turning Red in November 2021, featuring funky 2000s trends and some totally sweet throwback jams.
What Is The Plot Of Turning Red?
Meilin “Mei” Lee is a math-loving thirteen-year-old who is astonishingly ambitious and utterly unafraid of being herself. With her flute skills and academic hustle, Mei is one cool, educated young lady. This totally rad middle schooler and her three closest friends share secret handshakes, environmental protests, and a love for the most incredible boy band of all time, 4*Town. Most importantly the girls love each other through thick and thin, even when things get a little hairy.
As she herself is soon to find out, there’s much more to “perfect little Mei-Mei”. One fateful night Mei undergoes a strange transformation, (and no, it’s not her first bout of acne), she wakes up magically turned into a giant red panda. While Mei is shocked by her new appearance, her parents were expecting this to happen. Mei learns that her family has a mystical connection to red pandas. Turning into one runs in their family, and in order to control the transformation, she must control her emotions. That shouldn’t be a problem, right? Thirteen-year-olds are great at controlling their emotions, especially with the stress of school, and the concert of a lifetime coming up! Most thirteen-year-olds have to deal with a few body changes, but Mei is a whole other story. Talk about finding new hair in surprising places.
While trying to keep her cool, Mei finds that she likes her new self and instead of trying to hold her feelings in, she takes the changes in stride, learning about her emotions and the power of feeling them along the way. The film's deeper message teaches that you are never too much for the right people, and instead of bottling up your emotions you can turn them into superpowers and do something incredible.
When And Where Does Turning Red Take Place?
Turning Red is set in Toronto, Canada, between the years of 2002 and 2003 (according to Mei’s school ID and the Y2K sticker on her flute case). Along with the 2000s fashion, Tamagotchis, and the boy band craze, hopes are that the film will feature some epic throwback slang and a soundtrack of early 2000s tunes. The sneak peeks that have been released so far feature songs from real-life boy bands *NSYNC as well as the Backstreet Boys.
Who’s In The Voice Cast Of Turning Red?
Voicing the intelligent and enthusiastic Mei is Rosalie Chiang, a young newcomer known for her role as the lead in the 2018 short Soiled. Turning Red is Chiang's first voice acting role.
Starring alongside Chiang is Sandra Oh of Grey’s Anatomy. Oh is Ming Lee, Mei’s overprotective mother who tries to keep an ever-watchful eye on her strong-willed and self-assured daughter.
Mei’s father Jin Lee is voiced by Orion Lee, who is best known for his role as King-Lu in the soulful 2019 film First Cow. Lee has also been spotted in various action films, such as The Last Jedi and Skyfall.
Ava Morse is Miriam, Mei’s beatboxing, brace-faced bestie. Morse’s most recent role was voicing a science-loving character in the 2021 animated film Ron’s Gone Wrong.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, known for her role as Devi Vishwakumar in the teen drama Netflix series Never Have I Ever, is Priya, Mei’s deadpan, too cool comrade.
Hyein Park voices Abby, Mei’s tough and excitable purple-clad pal who finds Mei in her panda form to be “so cute!” This is Park’s first acting role, having previously worked as a storyboard artist for various animated films, including Disney’s Toy Story 4 and Soul. In addition to lending her voice to Turning Red, Park is an animation story artist for the film.
Voicing the members of the boy band 4*Town are actor and musician Jordan Fisher, known for his role as the love interest in the Netflix film To All The Boys: I Still Love You. Josh Levi, who you may recognize as being a finalist in the musical competition show, X-Factor. Topher Ngo, a bass vocalist and budding actor with Turning Red being Ngo's first credited acting role. Grayson Villanueva, an actor, and vocalist known for his role as Manny’s roommate in the comedy series Modern Family. Finally, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Finneas O’Connell, O’Connell, along with his sister, award-winning singer/songwriter Billie Eilish, will be writing songs for the boy band to perform in the film.
Where Will Turning Red Be Available To Watch?
Following nearly 2 years of straight-to-stream premiers, Disney had announced that Turning Red would have a theatrical release. Unfortunately, in early January the studio reversed that announcement, stating that Turning Red will only be available to stream from home on the Disney+ streaming service, where it is likely to be part of their exclusive Premier Access service, which costs an additional $29.99 on top of the standard monthly subscription charge. While the theaters might not be poppin', the popcorn in our microwaves sure will be as audiences can't wait to stream this totally rad movie and have a totally chillax time from the comfort of home.