Turning Red
Family FavoritePG

Turning Red

Growing up is a beast.

2022 • 100 min • Animation · Family · Comedy · Fantasy

Synopsis

Thirteen-year-old Mei is experiencing the awkwardness of being a teenager with a twist – when she gets too excited, she transforms into a giant red panda.

Our family guide

Best from age 8
87
Movie Knight Score
5979 reviews
  • 92 Reviewers · 12 · 75%
  • 73 Audience · 5967 · 25%

Thirteen-year-old Mei navigates the challenges of adolescence, friendship, and family expectations. Things get complicated when strong emotions cause her to spontaneously transform into a giant red panda. It's a vibrant and heartfelt coming-of-age story set in early 2000s Toronto.

Violence & peril
2/10
Language
1/10
Drinking, drugs & smoking
0/10
Romance & sensuality
2/10
Scary moments
2/10

Heads up

  • Discussions of puberty and body changes
  • Some intense family arguments
  • Brief peril during a concert finale
  • The main character feels strong anxiety at times

What it models well

  • Embracing change
  • The strength of friendship
  • Understanding family
  • Self-acceptance

Talk about it after

  • How we express big emotions
  • Navigating growing up and parent expectations
  • The importance of good friends
  • Cultural traditions and family history

Written by the Movie Knight editorial team for Turning Red. Our own words, our own scoring — always double-check against your family's standards.

Where to watch

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Top billed cast

Director: Domee Shi • Crew: Domee Shi, Julia Cho, Julia Cho, Sarah Streicher, Domee Shi

Trailers & clips

Recreating Turning Red's Bao Buns | Dish Up Disney

Mei's Ritual | Official Clip

Anime Influence in Turning Red

Domee Shi on Making Her Pixar Film TURNING RED

SCENE AT THE ACADEMY: Turning Red

Filmmaker Interview

“Welcome to 4*Town” Featurette

"Nobody Like Pixar" Featurette

Reviewer notes

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

Loved this movie! Was funny had a great story and moral or lesson and something I would be proud to let my daughter watch, she is 8 now. Living in a cultural diverse country and thought they handled that side of things very well. Being a sci-fi, fantasy guy this was a lovely animated film for me to enjoy with my daughter.

Recommended

**Pixar discovered anime and is looking to conquer the eastern box office.** I had some expectations regarding this film. I don't know exactly what I expected, but I think everyone will understand if I say that the film is signed by Disney and Pixar, two studios with an enviable track record of successes. However, as soon as the film ended, I felt that I wasn't exactly the target audience for this film: male, o...

Recommended

A beautifully animated movie that touches on real issues like parental pressure, coming of age, friendships, and most importantly...learning who you truly are and accepting all of you. The good and the bad.

Recommended

Animation that makes me feel alive!! Right up there with Monsters Inc. for the funniest Pixar movie. It balances its tone well, the characters and world it builds are so much fun while still managing to hit emotional beats with ease. Films exploring generational trauma and emotional/personal repression are apparently my jam? Top-tier.

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

It is great!!

Recommended

This has quite a fun premiss but I guess I'm just the wrong demographic because I really struggled to get through it. "Meilin" is a thirteen year old girl going through the usual teenage angst sort of stuff - only, when she gets agitated she morphs into a giant panda. A red one. Her mother "Ming" is a bit over-protective and when her daughter announces that she wants to go and see a boy-band concert with her frien...

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

Really going to put people on blast for somehow not being able to relate to a movie with themes of controlling parents, puberty emotions, and body image just because it’s in the coat of 13 year old tween Asian angst, shouldn’t the fact that it’s more specific actually be more relatable if you have empathy? Broke down at the theme of "never being good enough for parents", them having their ideas of my future vs. m...

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

Full Analysis at Spotamovie.com - **Intro** - Pixar’s movies usually have great insights, and even with Turning Red, they provided us with meaningful messages to help our children and us grow our personalities and mindset. - **The Story** - Meilin is an energetic teenager ready to walk into the grown-up world. However, she needs to wear a mask when she is with her parents and another one when she is at school and ...

Not recommended

Kinda boring

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

Well worth a watch, this. <em>'Turning Red'</em> is a very good flick from Disney/Pixar. It's different in a way, I wasn't sure how it was going to turn out based on the first few minutes but by the end it provides the required and expected amount of entertainment and meaning. The voice cast are excellent, I have no faults with them. Rosalie Chiang gives a performance full of energy in the lead role, while S...

Recommended

The digital animation geniuses at Pixar are back with “Turning Red” and it marks a departure for the studio known for the “Toy Story” and “Cars”, franchises. Set in 1990s Toronto, the film centers around 8th grader Mei (Rosalie Chiang), who considers herself an adult at 13 and eagerly applies herself to school when she is not helping her family tour business at a local Temple or hanging with her friends. Lif...

RecommendedTrusted family reviewers

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/turning-red-spoiler-free-review "Turning Red is undoubtedly the riskiest, possibly the most divisive work in Pixar history. Without any remorse or restraint, Domee Shi and Julia Cho unapologetically approach the sensitive topic of (female) puberty in a quite shocking, positively impactful manner. A narrative that unquestionably explores the ...

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