Turning Red
★ ★★ ½
Much has been made about the symbolism of Turning Red and as a dad of two young girls, I'm here for it. Like Inside Out (although not as complex), Turning Red does an excellent job of blending the mental hurdles of youth with animated fantasy. I appreciated another cultural, original story that celebrates youth finding their own voice and not being ashamed of what they find interesting. If this wasn't enough emotional turmoil for you, this story mixes in the heftiness of mother/daughter relationships. Writing all of that makes Turning Red sound like a downer, but it's also a rather sweet story about friendships and adolescence. Each character is brought to life by their own unique traits and the adventures that thirteen-year-old Mei and her friends go on are both adventurous and humorous. It also helps that Mei's red panda alter ego is beyond super cute.
As a family, we really enjoyed Turning Red but I don't know how often we will come back to it. The cuteness factor may lose some older teens and its complexity may also lose some of the younger ones. Pixar takes on the hard task of juggling a lot of elements with this movie and although it doesn't come out perfect, it has a lot to say. And if a movie is able to generate conversation between children and their parents, I never think that's a bad thing.
