Review of Turning Red (2022) by Samichsupernova — 17 Mar 2022

I am a 34-year-old Asian man and I find this movie totally dumb and weak. The script and plot are all over the place. After the cliche info-dump at exactly the 30-minute mark, I nearly turned it off. What surprised me is the plot didn't follow or respect its own made-up lore rules. "Turning Red" doesn't know whether it wants to be an allegory for puberty or a character study. Every single character aside from Meiling and Ming is completely one-dimensional. I can't believe this was a Pixar film, as there was evidently no proper quality control involved in this movie. This film's stupid, manic energy actually ends up sinking it. There are like 2 good scenes, and one of them is mostly great because it doesn't have any dialogue (like the director's "Bao" short, which was very good). It seems like this film fell through the cracks during the Chapek takeover, and did not receive proper care and oversight. This was clearly a movie made by Millennial artists with mommy issues for Millennial artists with mommy issues. The early-2000s setting is barely utilized (I was a kid during that time too), whether it's in the dialogue/slang, fashion, trends, or general behaviors (compare to something like "The Wackness", which captures the '90s perfectly).

I haven't even gotten into the myriad problems with the story. Do you want to show your children that reckless, thoughtless selfishness and self-interest is a virtue? Do you want to see a film where children are not only rewarded for lying to their parents, sneaking out at night multiple times, and putting others in danger, but the mother is an overbearing, neurotic, controlling mess? (Not to mention our protagonist puts her friends, family, and tens of thousands at risk multiple times for a ****ing concert, but even after a wildly idiotic grand finale, that point is totally glazed over?!) Is your idea of a good movie one filled with cliches and cookie-cutter characters? Do you think stereotypical portrayals of Asians - both visually and in the script - are "wins" for "diversity" and "inclusion"? Do you enjoy the butt-ugly "CalArts" character design elements - noodle arms, bean mouths, and Mr. Potato Head-style facial expressions that don't squash or stretch faces at all? Then this dumb farce, totally inappropriate for anyone younger than 11, might just be for you.