MOVIE REVIEW – Turning Red is one of the movie that inspired by Chinese philosophy. Remember Kung Fu Panda 3, where they hid animal spirits in amulets? That film also rhymes well with the big red dog: Clifford, but I wouldn’t see any red fur story in the near future. As usual for Pixar, we get the satirical depiction of characters, which does not spare the Chinese minority (majority?) or Korean pop culture. The over-hyped infatuation with the latter is being displayed very sweet and funny way on the canvas: all through the glasses of a 13-year-old girl.

 

Mei Lee seems to have a big mouth, but she is not the only one who makes the rules, rather she takes them, because she needs to apply to plenty.

Emotional isolation forbids her to truly love. And her mother, like a Huawei phone, tries to act as a bad spy in her life. In the ancient Chinese battlefields, turning red was a blessing, not a curse, but the reality of nowadays is different. It’s like Venom in Spider-Man or a mask on Jim Carrey: it can bring out your worst self: if you’re lucky, you won’t turn green as Hulk did. After all, who want to live with a Wreck-it Ralph. Is there any home insurance which covers those ‘domestic’ damages?

 

Tastes and slaps: Let’s kick it!

 

There’s no way around it, the 4 besties must go to their dream concert to see the pop-idols they are loving. Of course, neither calendar entries, nor pocket money, nor parental permission are suitable for this ‘planned’ event.

But that’s what superpowers are for. Since Shazam we know that transformation can be triggered quickly, just you need to figure it how. There is always a rooftop sequence to test your outfit-change while running J. Remember, just stay yourself whatever you do: unless you can turn into Panda, because then let’s be a big red one. If others find you boring, expand (expanda) your character profile, but nice way: never be threatening! That’s a balance we all have to find because great power can make you aggressive, not assertive.

 

Turning red bull gives you wings?

Don’t fear, we will heal you – this type of phrase has bad consequences in Spiderman: No Way Home. Mei Lee takes on a new persona: she’s no longer the nerdy, rule-following, aloof girl. Chinese control is no longer leads (or not necessarily leads) to happy teenage life, and the movie shows this well. School bullying and teasing can happen on daily basis, unfortunately, there is no real escape from it (only meeting with teachers). Tears can remain, and drawing in the maths notebook. If a child is unhappy, it should be noticed by parents quickly. It’s not worth being too prude with your children, because eventually they will grow up, and they want to cross the red line (in case of too much restriction). At the beginning of the story, the protagonist is cheekily arrogant; but we soon discover that the Chinese family business is a challenging and often soulless task. The lives of the Stakhanovists cannot be fulfilled with happiness – some aspects will always be missing.

 

Want a paw print on the face?

 

In the case of Mei Lee, it’s not always clear whether she’s following in the footsteps of others or just following in her panda-foot steps. Although she wants to pursue her dream along with her friends, this is coupled with willpower: and will cause many matches with people around. It’s worth explaining to children that they shouldn’t fall in love with starry-eyed Korean blonde pop princes. The character voices and music ‘cutscenes’ are great and imposant.

The aspect ratio of the film may be projection dependent, but when I watched in cinema, the popped up 4-5 subtitles were out of the picture. The story is deep enough for even the young to understand, or for a weary parent to easily explain what happened.

 

Take care, it’s an Epic Pandamic!

 

It’s a good thing the trailer for Turning Red is pretty spoiler-free, but let’s adopt this concept. Domme Shi‘s film is light-hearted, but still educative, which brings you painful but useful lessons. I appreciate that they’ve taken the work on a popular song for the sake of the film, and the slow-motion scenes are cute and funny. Legends are mentioned in the story, but this title is unlikely to be a legendary piece. It’s a slightly clichéd story, but Disney gives us fresh spins on it.

 

It also teaches the parents as well, so I wouldn’t keep anyone home for a good Sunday family movie. And if your daughter is in love, don’t worry too much, but you can still talk to her about things around. If she’s in love with people her own age (and not pets), it’s already all right.

 

 

Prohibition can lead to frustration, which can lead to rebellion. Violence is not the answer to anything. OK: you can use some force if someone starts turning red.  Just don’t make it ‘Furry road’. The story has a good moral, putting a big red exclamation mark for young and old ones. The question is, will your soul survive without scratch? Probably yes, and I think you won’t cry on the movie. It’s deep some way, but not ‘deep purple’, it brings you Korean pop-parody too with red lines. Do you dare to look into orange eyes?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           JayP.Sonix