Turning Red Movie Review

Pixar has the best track record of any animation studio to date. Yes, I may be biased and yes there are great films in the catalogs of Dreamworks, BlueSky, Illumination, and of course Studio Ghibli (which serves as a major inspiration for the film I will be talking about today), but the level of consistency from Pixar is far superior to any other studio out there. 2022s 'Turning Red' is no exception. 'Turning Red' follows Mei Lee, a 13-year-old girl who essentially turns into a giant red panda. On a surface level that's the plot, but the film goes much, much, mushc deeper. I had such a great time with Turning Red.

'Turning Red' ranks among one of Pixar's best in recent years. The film is filled with dazzling visuals which is a given now with modern animated films from the animation studio powerhouse. The film's unique setting of Toronto, Canada was incredibly refreshing. I loved the way that the location was used, it felt incredibly unique and different from other animated films. The film was technically flawless. 

One of the film's biggest strengths is the use of its themes. We have a coming of age story that uses its themes of growing up, family and the power of friendship through adversity. Turning Reds emphasis on these themes really does set it apart from a lot of other family films out there at the moment. I loved how the film portrays the relationship between our protagonist Melin (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) and her mother Ming (voiced by Sandra Oh). We get a real look at the conflicts that you can have with family during puberty and through growing up. Melin wants to please her mother, but she is also battling wanting to become her own woman. This is all handled very tastefully and maturely. In the hands of another studio, it may not have hit as hard as what it did here. The resolution to this conflict is also one of the more satisfying elements of the film. 

'Turning Red' is one of my favourite films of 2022 so far. Filled with grogeous animation, heavily inspired by anime. I loved this flick and recommend anyone looking for something fun, but with a little heart sprinkled through out, check this out. Head to your local Sanity or online today to pick up a copy of 'Turning Red' on DVD, Blu-Ray or 4K UHD today.

Buy Turning Red on DVD, Blu-ray & 4K UHD here!

Christopher Pattison wrote this blog post for Sanity. See more from Chris here