“Turning Red” may not be hitting the multiplex, but longtime Pixar fans won’t want to miss this movie when it debuts Friday on Disney+, as it represents quite the evolution for the storied animation powerhouse.
The film follows a 13-year-old girl named Mei Lee who turns into a giant red panda every time her emotions get out of control, which as you might guess, happens a lot when you’re a young teenager.
The setup is a thinly-veiled metaphor for puberty, and while themes about the difficulties of growing up are pretty standard fare in Pixar’s film catalog (see “Inside Out,” the “Toy Story” franchise, and even last year’s “Luca”) “Turning Red” approaches the subject differently, focusing on how Mei’s changing worldviews and shifting priorities affect her relationship with her overprotective mother Ming.
