Turning Red delivers a timely message as it tackles a timeless topic
Charming animated allegory expands Pixar's boundaries and offers a welcome respite from anti-Asian hate
Film Reviews Turning Red
Puberty can get a little, um, hairy. In Turning Red, it transforms 13-year-old Meilin (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) into a giant red panda, which effectively doubles as a not-so-subtle metaphor for puberty in this Pixar allegory. The animated tale serves as handy story-time fodder seemingly meant to help parents of very young children explain in the abstract the physical and emotional changes one undergoes during this rite of passage.
Circa 2002, Meilin is a Chinese Canadian girl: bespectacled, opinionated, overachieving, and musical-instrument playing. She’s reared in a traditional (i.e. unassimilated) Chinese household inside a temple complete with winged roofs, cherry blossom trees adorning the courtyard, and a pond teeming with lotus flowers and carps – a little sanctuary tucked away in Toronto’s Chinatown.
While her archetypal domineering tiger mom Ming (voiced by Sandra Oh) frets over minor disruptions to Meilin’s schedule, her father Jin (voiced by Orion Lee) does the cooking and keeps the family on an even keel. At school, Meilin has her squad of besties, who share her enthusiasm for the boyband 4*Town.
When Meilin wakes up one morning to discover that she’s transformed into a huge red panda, Ming rushes in with a large corrugated box containing ibuprofen, vitamins, a hot water bottle, and a wide selection of sanitary pads, assuming Meilin’s meltdown is caused by the arrival of her menstrual cycle.
Meilin discovers in the short term that she can return to her normal self via deep breathing and inner zen, but eventually learns that the transformation is symptomatic of a hereditary condition among the women in her family that requires a ritual in order to exorcise.
Unfortunately, her family schedules the ritual on the night of 4*Town’s performance at storied Canadian venue SkyDome (now known as Rogers Centre), presenting Meilin with quite a dilemma.
Unlike Up, which offers only limited details about its pint-sized Asian-American protagonist Russell, this latest Pixar feature is unabashedly Asian. During the opening sequence, Meilin sprints past a bake shop, a roast duck restaurant and a produce vendor in Chinatown.
She and Ming watch a Hong Kong soap opera on TV. Turning Red isn’t just posturing Orientalism, like Netflix’s Over the Moon; it’s actual lived experience of the Chinese diaspora. The film not only aces the Bechdel test, it also scores high on the Harold & Kumar test. (Asians and tests! A match made in heaven!)
Meanwhile, the SkyDome is hardly the film’s only bit of loving Canuckian detail. Loonies. French class. TTC Metropass. Lester B. Pearson Middle School uniforms. Carlton the Bear, mascot of the Maple Leafs, sitting on the math teacher’s bookshelf. Never have Canadians been this seen in a Hollywood movie; it almost feels fan-servicey. Director and cowriter Domee Shi, who also made Pixar’s Oscar-winning short Bao, is unmistakably a Canuck, and she’ll have you know it.
Meilin’s besties include Priya (voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), an Indo Canadian, and Abby (voiced by Hyein Park), a Korean Canadian. The film doesn’t present them as monolithic, ethnically or personality-wise. Their school resource officer wears a turban, a nod to the Punjabi Sikhs living in Canada. A few women in the background are wearing headscarves. Although the film doesn’t exactly surface a South Asian character as beloved as Anupam Tripathi’s Ali Abdul in Squid Game, it’s far from the full erasure committed by Crazy Rich Asians.
In a time when Asian women in North America have endured so much hate and trauma, Turning Red is a little respite that celebrates them and their culture, resilience, intelligence, perfectionism, insecurities, anxieties, quirkiness, feistiness, ingenuity, sisterhood, love of food, etc. We all need a little reassurance once in a while to stay true to ourselves, and Turning Red is speaking directly to generations of Asian women in the diaspora when they need to hear this the most.
279 Comments
Get it? Turning red, because, y’know, she bleeds now!Subtle Pixar, real subtle.
This felt like a discussion of the cast rather than the film.
I think that topic is important but I needed a little more discussion of the film itself, agreed. Is the pacing and plot good, how are the visuals, etc. I still feel I know nothing about the movie. Also, 2002 is a weird setting.
Domee Shi would have been 13 in 2002. So there you go.
I would’ve been around the same age. It feels like a lifetime ago. I don’t really remember it.
I haven’t seen the movie, but 2002 puts it in a time when teens generally didn’t have cell phones, and the general public didn’t have phone with cameras on them (for, say, when you see a giant red panda on the street). I wonder if that turns out to be important, since cell phones make a lot of common movie plot devices kind of weird.
And apparently tamagotchi was still a thing?
If you’ve been neglecting your tamagotchi, instead a building a loving, decades-long relationship with your digital pet, well, that’s on you, buddy.
Digital cameras were popular, but not pho e cameras.
It’s part of the Ladybird Cinematic Universe! 2002 seemed a weird setting there, but believe it or not, that wasn’t yesterday but twenty years ago! For some reason unlike in the 20th century we stopped having decades with distinct cultures in the 21st.
I heard from a friend that the early 2000s is sufficiently long ago that college students nowadays are having throwback theme parties set in that era. *cries*
I wonder what they do at them — I mean, I get the traditional 50s through 90s themes — there are obvious costumes you can wear that evoke the decades. But what evokes 2002 vs now? The lack of smartphones? So everyone at the party carries around a flip-phone?
Low rise flare jeans, baggy/boot cut jeans, chunky shoes, tiny tinted sunglasses, pooka shell necklaces, weird denim wear (I’m thinking that infamous Britney and Justin look), trucker hats, visors, big striped polo shirts come to mind. I dunno, I guess there is a mix of styles (preppy, hip hop, alt, etc) but plenty has changed since then. I rewatched Veronica Mars a few years ago and was aghast at the fashion, though that is like 2004 at the earliest. You can get a good sense of it from the style in Pen15 too. Although to make it more confusing, seems like some of it is coming back among Gen Z so the line between kitschy throwback and current fashion is blurred.
I saw one of those low-rise, flouncy, pleated miniskirts that Marissa Cooper always wore on The OC in real life out at a bar last weekend for the first time in over 15 years. Apparently they’re also coming back.
It’s farther back now than Happy Days was when the show started.
I agree, when Aggretsuko debuted in 2016 she was portrayed as a 25 year old, so was only 11 in 2002.
Making Meilin a 13 year old in 2002 is clearly one of those ‘Hedley-Lamarr-you-can-sue-her’-type gambits.
That’s Hedl–oh, right. Never mind.
Yeah, who’s nostalgic for the days of post-9/11, standard-def TV, Britney Spears and N*Sync (I mean, that’s pretty obvious what they must be going for with the boy band here, but it’s not like boy bands are an early-’00s specific thing)?
My guess would be people who went through puberty in 2002? 28-40 seems like a pretty significant demographic
The late 90’s/early 2000s definitely had a blip in boy bands (not just N*Sync, but Backstreet Boys, 98 Degrees, just a whole tonne of bands that you’d expect to see on TRL, or whatever the MuchMusic equivalent was).
Even weirder to mention the 2002 timeframe in the review and not explain the significance. 2002 is not one of those years that instantly captures an association with an important world event or cultural milestone. I mean, I know what I was doing in 2002, but without looking it up, I couldn’t name what movies/TV shows/music were popular that year. Was that a big year for Canada or Toronto?
Meilin is preparing to invade Iraq.
Or maybe she came home from one of the early Afghanistan deployments, and turning into a red panda is her way of coping with the trauma.
Canada sat that one out
SARS started in 2002 and really did affect the Asian community in toronto pretty badly. Not to say thats the reason for the choice.
I wonder if The A.V Club will have a 2002 Week this year.
I concur, and accordingly I give this review a C+.
This is West Coast AV Club now. How dare you think you should be allowed to see films and judge them based on whether or not they’re “entertaining” or “good”. No, you see Turning Red so next time your Caucasian butt meets an Asian, you can loudly proclaim “I SAW TURNING RED LOOK HOW COOL I AM TO YOUR RACE”.
It’s funny, and I get the “everyone comes into a movie with their own biases, and you need to accept and recognize that”, but I was also wondering if it’s an A based on the movie itself, or an A based on the cast and zeitgeist. Like…I’ve been looking forward to this movie. Is it as good if you’re not Canadian or of Asian descent?
The “A” stands for “Asian representation”!
Well we learn early on that the girl sometimes turns into a giant red panda, and that to fix it she’ll have to skip a concert by her favorite band. So far it sounds like a slightly heightened Brady Bunch episode. So yeah, some color on the actual movie would be great.
There might not be much to the plot beyond the basic “it’s a puberty metaphor, she’s Chinese-Canadian, hilarity ensues”.
Really? I don’t see anything about the cast at all, other than a few of their names, as is normal.
…From the one paragraph that talked about the ethnicity/nationality of the characters and a mention of the director being Canadian? I do agree (as others have pointed out) that the writer could’ve gone a lot deeper into aspects of the film besides the basic premise and specificity of the setting and characters, though. It’s like there’s several paragraphs missing. Can’t decide if it’s ironic or fitting that a superficial review gets a superficial complaint against it.
I assume the writer went with 2002, because 2003 Toronto would’ve been all SARS all the time and who needs more pandemic right now?
Even then, the discussion of the cast only lasts about 1/3 of the article, whereas the other 2/3 are a summary of the opening plot details. Not good for a super short review.
Just what we need right now, more right wing propaganda telling us how oppressed white people are.
Is this film going to ruthlessly manipulate emotions and bring the audience to tears like so many Pixar productions?Asking for a friend…
I was today years old when I found out Russell from Up was supposed to be Asian-American.
And you couldn’t tell this by… looking at him for a few seconds?
I mean, honestly no. Nothing about his clothing points to anything other than “Boy Scout”. His voice is “generic kid voice”, no trace of accent. His facial design looks like most other kid animation faces.
Really?
His mother didn’t read as Asian-American to you either?
I actually forgot there was a scene with the mom.
See I’d let him off on the mother, as she’s pretty much a forgettable one scene character with no impact on the film.
They just look like they have Down Syndrome honestly.
My impression is that Russel is Asian if you want him to be.
My impression is that he’s Asian full stop.
Oh yes definitely, he needed to wear a bamboo hat and do Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I’ve never seen an Asian boy in a Scout uniform, and everyone knows Asian mouths are unable to produce a western accent. Jesus Christ dude, read what you wrote for a second do some fuckin’ reflection.
Wow
Yeah dude. Somebody actually typed that because Russell didn’t have a special costume and accent they didn’t know he was Asian. Legit shocking.
This would be a fair critique of what somebody actually typed if somebody had actually typed it.
Bit of an overreaction. I said that nothing about the character’s appearance or voice indicated Asian to me; not that in order to do so, he would have to display exaggerated racist stereotypes.
This is… worse. You can’t recognize people are Asian unless they wear traditionally Asian clothes or speak with an accent? Are you faceblind? I hear that’s a thing.
Yes, I can recognize Asian people are Asian without the aid of “traditionally Asian clothing” or Asian accents. Still, nothing about Russell reads as Asian to me. It’s the face? Is it the eyes I’m supposed to base it on? If I had to go with an ethnicity based on the eyes alone I’d probably go with Innu or Inuit.
Yes, it’s the face, hair and skin tone. So, basically everything you’d normally notice about a person.Also, Inuits are Asian.
“Also, Inuits are Asian.”I’m like 60% sure that the Arctic regions of Alaska and Canada aren’t in Asia.
So “Asian-American” and “Boy Scout” are mutually exclusive? And you expect Asian-Americans to have accents? WTF
Nope, not what I wrote. If I showed you a Boy Scout uniform and asked you the ethnicity of the character who wears it, you’d answer “I don’t know. All it tells me is he’s a Boy Scout.” If I then came back with “what? He’s Asian. You think Asians can’t be Boy Scouts? WTF?”, well, I’d be reading something into your response that isn’t there.Similarly, if I were to play for you a character’s voice – a generic voice, no accent, speaking English dialogue – and then ask you what the ethnicity of the character was, and you answered “I don’t know. It doesn’t really indicate any particular ethnicity”, I’d be pretty silly if I made the leap from that to “WTF you think all Asian people have accents? HATECRIME!”.Clarity?
His exaggerated kid design makes it kind of less obvious but his mom, seen at the end, pretty clearly has Asian features.
This’ll teach you for not immediately putting a person in a box based on their appearance! How dare you!
Now why exactly is the main girl character such a spitting image of Lucy from “Peanuts”?
As Meilin awoke one morning from uneasy dreams she found herself transformed in her bed into a gigantic red panda. She was lying on her
fluffy, as it were lined with fur, back and when she lifted her head a
little she could see her furry black belly on top of which the bed quilt
could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely.
Her numerous whiskers, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of her bulk, waved helplessly before her eyes.
I guess I shouldn’t just books by their covers, but I would have never expected a Kafka reference from the Jigglypuff avatar. Well done!
That’s Clefairy bro.
It’s a CLEFAIRY you monster.
The word is vermin, jeez
Thanks! Don’t be surprised, though – ain’t nothing more Kafkaesque than being captured, miniaturized, trapped inside a sphere, and let out only so that you can fight against your own kind for reasons beyond your comprehension. And for all that to somehow be the dominant sport, social organizer and economic driver in the society you live in.
Solid point! And sorry for getting your species wrong! I suspect I’ll be hearing about that for some time to come. Is it Poke-specieist to suggest that a lot of them look alike?
Not at all, some of us really do look alike. On the other hand, our names are literally the only sounds we’re capable of making, so on that count you really should’ve known better. Forshame!
Not at all, some of us really do look alike. On the other hand, our names are literally the only sounds we’re capable of making, so on that count you really should’ve known better. Forshame!, I choose you!
Will college kids go around calling everything “Pixar-esque” without knowing what it means now?
Will the father hurl apples at her? And will she finally realize that she is unwanted by her family and starve herself to death?
I know this is Pixar rather than Disney, but I could definitely see a moment where the family realizes they no longer have to carry the burden of dealing with her, and that her sister is way better than her anyway, and then the movie ends with them singing a joyful musical number
How do I finish reading a review of a movie and still have no true view of what the movie is about?
It’s about a girl struggling with transforming to a monster, and the ritual to cure her is scheduled at the same time as her favorite band’s concert. All of which stands in as a puberty allegory. Seems pretty obvious.
You can get that from the trailer. This review didn’t really add anything to that.
“What is this movie about?” isn’t that complex a question.
The problem is that the review ALSO doesn’t get to the main purpose of most film reviews – was the movie actually good, and for what reasons did the reviewer like/dislike it?This “review” simply states the premise, and then talks about how the movie has a lot of Chinese and Canadian cultural elements. Which is certainly worth mentioning!But other than mentioning the positive aspects of the representation in the movie, there’s not much of a sense of whether the reviewer, y’know, actually LIKED the movie. Was the story good? Competently told? Paced well? How was the animation/design? Was it funny? Will it make the kids laugh while having enough to keep adults invested? These are things typically discussed in a film review about a new animated feature.
So you already know what it’s about, then?
So…“I’m turning red panda” is the new “I’m on the rag?”
Is the cure to sit down with some Tim Horton’s and watch Hockey Night in Canada? I’m assuming that’s the cure for anything in Canada.
The impression I got was that it’s Teen Wolf, but Canadian, and female.
but Michael J Fox is canadian
Poutine Wolf
And bloody. So very, very bloody.
Menarche: The Movie
I joked with my wife when we saw this trailer that its the first Disney movie dealing with menstruation via red panda transformation metaphor. And apperently my joke was right?!
Only a few decades ago writers like Judy Blume were considered shocking when they mentioned that girls in puberty menstruated. Now it’s Disney fare!
It was Disney fare 76 years ago:
Just finished watching this with my kids. I can confirm. it’s barely an allegory, he mom literally chases her down to give her tampons. it couldn’t be more in your face unless they said “ahh she’s a big bleeding teddy bear that eill kill us all with her unreasonable mood swings!)
This kid falls into Spring of Drowned Red Panda, long ago a red panda drowned there and now anyone who falls in transforms into Red Panda it’s pretty straightforward honestly
Panda-Girl: No Way Home
What the fuck is this? This is barely even a review, it’s just pointing out that there’s Chinese and Canadian elements in it – which would be one thing if it wasn’t so poorly written! Didn’t an A mean something once?
Turns out movie reviews are following the same trend so much of Hollywood is chasing atm. Cram you social justice message into the content regardless of how well it fits to the detriment of any other focus or intent.
“A” should mean one of the best movies of the year. I have no idea what the storyline even is here. Does she go to the concert or not?!
Go see the movie and find out!
Why would you want to know the whole plot of the movie? It’s probably more interesting if you don’t know all the details before you go, which is why movie trailers suck now
I don’t need the whole plot (and frankly hate that in trailers or reviews) but c’mon, give me something to indicate whether this might be of interest and why. All I have is teen girl turns into red panda (it’s a metaphor!) when she gets upset and loves boy bands.
If that doesn’t interest you, perhaps you are simply not the target audience for this children’s movie.
I’m confused about how the resolution of the conflict that already didn’t grab you is going to get you more interested.
I got a pretty rich picture of what the setting and characters are like, as well as a hint of the type of humor as well as the idea of the plot. Really confused what else someone could need
This really is getting me. People are so used to reviews being plot summaries that when a critic focuses on what they actually got from the movie, they’re completely thrown off. “But why didn’t you tell me what *I* might get from it, like a list of sequential events???”
I don’t need to know the whole plot, but this review seems to give more space to how background extras are dressed than, well, the story the main character gets involved in. Like, it’s great that Asian-Canadians will be able to see themselves and their community represented in this, don’t get me wrong, but I’m assuming it’s not aimed just at them; what might the rest of us think? Heck, what might they think beyond issues of representation? Does it tell a good story? Is it emotionally engaging? How does it compare to other movies in terms of how effectively it tells a story? Is the narrative arc sustained all the way through or does it falter in the third act? How does the reviewer think it compares to other Pixar movies in broader terms, beyond Russell’s racial identity? In short, what are some of the other reasons to watch it beyond how accurately detailed the depiction of Toronto’s Chinatown district is?
SPOILER ALERT!
I’m confused, people are now mad that a review doesn’t tell them the entire movie?
The review may not be satisfactory for you, but having watched the film this weekend, I do agree with the “A” rating. I’d have to say this is one of the top 5 Pixar movies for me.
When they canned Dowd, they stole all his A’s and now are just handing them out everywhereSeriously, this review does kinda sucks. Its not up the AVClub standard really. I come here because, more often then not, the reviewers here are more honest and harsher on a film then the rest of the internet.
weird, the AV Club is like, not good anymore. Almost like they managed to suck all the joy out of the place, fire and/or force out all the talented writers, and leave us with a derivative pile of crap with a web address.Huh. Who coulda seen that coming…
Now he’s just:
. . Dowd
The review reads a little like a bad parody of a Kotaku review (and I write this as someone who likes most of the Kotaku content).
After that aside on Asians’ love of tests, I figured the reviewer was just doing the movie a solid so that its tiger mom wouldn’t get all up on its case.
“This is barely even a review, it’s just pointing out that there’s Chinese and Canadian elements in it”Hey, apparently it has better Asian representation than Crazy Rich Asians, and that is all that matters!
I agree with but I also kind of feel bad for people that have to review these long running brands. Everybody already knows if they like it and they rarely go off script, so they have to talk about the social media aspect.
But if you’re going to do that, at least WRITE it well. This is rambling and almost incoherent.
I understood it just fine but OK.
I think perhaps it didn’t focus on element that you, personally, are interested in, and you may be mistaking that for “incoherence.”
What does “social media” mean in your post?
It means the controversy/id pol that people will talk about for 15 minutes on twitter/the internet before everyone will forget about it.
This is the reviewer’s first-ever review for the site. My guess is this is what AV Club reviews will be like from now on, post-writer-exodus.I don’t fault him, I’m sure he’s just following what G/O Media told him to write: Everything gets an “A” and a fluffy literal description of the movie directly from the studio’s press release. In other words, advertorials.
Apparently, now an A means that a movie has enough Asian and Canadian elements to be deemed acceptable. Or something.
Yes, but is it War Horse good?
I don’t mind the use of “is this movie morally good/good for the representation of X” as a critical standard, but it’s weird when it’s the exclusive critical standard.
Oh wow. Low key I haven’t enjoyed an animated film since Moana. All those critically acclaimed films that came since (TS4, HTTYD 3, Coco, Raya, Encanto, Luca, Onward, etc) felt too been there done that in terms of story telling and offered nothing fresh for the adult audience(yea yea.. not the target, I know).
This isn’t a review, it’s the celebration of an Asian-themed movie. Which is fine and all, but a review would be nice too.
I have no problem praising Asian theme movies, but I will not have Canadian praising here!!!!
Worse! It’s Toronto praising! I can stand Montreal or Vancouver praising — those are cool, fun, cities.
Toronto is the most multicultural city in the world and the third largest in North America. It’s the ideal movie setting. Montreal is cool, but Vancouver is a supremely overrated snooze fest
Eh maybe. I’ve seen similar “most multicultural” claims touted for NYC and LA. Vancouver is certainly overpriced these days (I couldn’t live there on my salary — it’s NYC/SF pricey), but its Chinese scene is way better than Toronto’s because of more recent immigration.
There’s a lot more going on in Toronto than just the Chinese population… Indian, Pakistani, Ukrainian, Greek, Polish, Korean, Japanese, Caribbean, Brazilian, Russian, Italian, Hungarian, Iranian, Arab, Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews, French-Canadian and other French, Romanian, etc. I’m married to a German immigrant who settled in the region.
‘Eh maybe. I’ve seen similar “most multicultural” claims touted for NYC and LA.’
were those claims made by Americans who are unaware other countries exist?
They can claim what they like, Toronto is recognized by the UN as the most culturally diverse city in the world. That includes a far more diverse Asian community than Vancouver. BC is a beautiful province but Vancouver specifically kinda sucks.
Toronto’s part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, but that’s it. UNESCO doesn’t grade the cultural diversity of cities.The claim about Toronto’s multiculturalism has been repeated for years, but no source is ever provided. It’s a claim the city makes about itself as far as I can tell.
Have you been to Toronto? Do you really need a “source” for what is almost instantly noticable?
Yes, of course you need a source when claiming the UN is grading multiculturalism. (It isn’t.)I’ve been to Toronto, and also other cities that claim the same about themselves. It’s just puffery, like all those restaurants insisting they have the world’s best pizza.
I have been to Toronto and I absolutely need a source, because that cultural diversity is not immediately apparent.
It’s apparently (I’ve been told) instantly noticeable that it’s multicultural; it can’t be “instantly noticeable” that it’s more multicultural than New York or London (the other two cities often considered the most multicultural). It’s certainly not “instantly noticeable” that the UN has graded all cities on their multiculturality and declared Toronto the most. That sort of needs a citation.Just going with the one I know personally: London is home to over 300 languages (around 180 ‘languages and dialects’ in Toronto); there are over 50 different ethnic communities with over 10k residents (fewer than 20 in Toronto); 57% of the population belong to ethnic minorities; 37% are immigrants (which is a lower as a percentage than in Toronto, but equates the second-largest immigrant population of any city in the world, after New York); over 25% of the population follow a non-Christian religion (around 15% in Toronto).
My impression is that in general Toronto has higher percentages of specifically non-White and immigrant residents, but that London (and New York) have much more diversity within the minority populations, and higher populations in absolute terms (eg, immigrants from China alone make up over 10% of the population in Toronto, whereas no single country of origin contributes over 3.5% of the population of London).
Cite the actual source, please. I have lived in London and spent time in Toronto, NYC, Paris, and LA. I can pretty much guarantee that Toronto is not the most culturally diverse city.
i have no knowledge of the UN declaration but the BBC did a report saying Toronto was the most diverse city in the world.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03v1r1p
i have no idea what you saw in toronto, or if this report is the end all be all but it is a very diverse city. How many cities have a little Malta and little tibet?
I believe it is fifth largest after Mexico City, NYC, LA, and Chicago.
We’re both wrong. It’s the fourth largest by population.
I think that depends on what geographical region you’re measuring – I personally find the metropolitan area (where Chicago’s population is much higher than Toronto’s, I believe) to be a more valuable measurement of a community’s population / demographics than the City proper (of which, as you posted, Toronto’s population is larger than Chicago’s). Though, I suppose that can vary from place to place.
Sincerely,
Someone who wastes too much time thinking about this shit.
Actually its 10th in city pop and 7th in metro pop. US cities are huge.
I was using this sitehttps://worldpopulationreview.com/continents/cities/north-america
I spent a weekend in Toronto’s Chinatown a couple years ago. It was pretty great.
This has been my review of Turning Red.
Guelph praising. Guelph.
I was a postdoc at Waterloo about twenty years ago and we would sometimes go to Guelph for fun on weekends. I think that says more about Waterloo (then at least; I went back for a talk shortly before the pandemic and there seemed to be more stuff) than about Guelph though.
WHY THOSE LOUSY, STINKING, FRANCOPHONIC, BACON-LOVING BASTARDS!**On a personal note, I don’t mind that they gave us Rush, but they can take back Bryan Adams any day now*
Canadian praise is done in metric, so it’s just a bunch of jibberish to my U.S. ears. Now come on, fellow patriots, let’s bankrupt more sick people then push them onto the street to die!
What are you on aboot, eh?
Get out.
With their beady little eyes and flappy little heads…
Yeah! Just run two articles! Do one that’s an actual review, and one that’s a celebration of what they’re doing with the movie! I’ll read them both!
Yeah, this was barely a “For Our Consideration” piece about representation, calling it a review is insane, and assigning it an A grade is even more insane.
Yeah, usually when a critic gives a movie a top score, they explain why in the review. Here, the reasons appears to be “There’s Asians in it and I like that”.
I feel like maybe when you saw “Asian” you blocked out everything else. Is that possible?
This is the “For Our Consideration: Turning Red is the Antidote to Asian Hate We Needed Right Now” companion article. Now give us the review.
It is a review, they gave it an A.
remember when this website was cool and used to give us non slideshow inventoriesfeel like fictional boy bands from cartoons ranked would be a good oneYou got4 scoreBoyz 4 nowThe oldboys The list is actually pritty long
And the greatest of them all, how many times am I going to love you?Sev’ral Timez!
Correct answer right there
The Party Possewhatever the hell the name of the boy band was in that South Park episode where their big hit is the song “Fingerbang.”
The band name was also Fingerbang. South Park also gave us Faith + 1.Yvan eht Nioj!
Best I could do was looking up the Wikipedia entry for that episode, and it didn’t mention the name of the band, although the song title did link to their page on whatever the technical term for fingerbanging is called.
Fingering (sexual act)
(Redirected from Fingerbang)
“Knuckling” redirects here. For the massage technique, see Petrissage.Definitely a top-tier wikipedia redirect.
Excellent illustration to make the article NSFW, too!
Boys 12 and their rivals, Boys 13
Crazy Ex-Girlfriend isn’t a cartoon but I’m still going to mention Room Temperature
I mean, it’s not un-cartoon-like.
I was thinking of A Boy Band Made Up Of Four Joshes. They’re not just a boy band made up of four Joshes. They’re also a team of nationally recognized mental health professionals trained in cognitive behavioral therapy with specialties in personality and sleep disorders.And love.
Dujour and their platinum hit Backdoor Lover!
You can’t forget Love Sentence.
Party Posse
Boyz 12 from American Dad.
Honestly, the way you put that reminds me of when Cracked devolved into just lists of links to articles from 7 or 8 years ago.
Some really uninspiring animation
I haven’t seen this movie or crazy Rich Asians or over the moon but thanks to this review I now know more about their plot than I do about the movie turning red
I’m not sure what the “erasure” was supposed to be in Crazy Rich Asians – it was about a bunch of hyper-wealthy Chinese people, and starred a bunch of Chinese actors. ???
I think he was referring to erasure of South Asians, i.e. Indians, Pakistanis, etc.
Almost definitely, but did you get the impression the characters in that movie would run with anyone other than their own absolute upper class Chinese? Part of the film’s point is laughing at the snobbishness of the parent generation.
Singapore is fundamentally a multicultural society and even has 4 official languages, but yes, the upper class is a clique that is overwhelmingly Chinese.
Still, it wouldn’t have been at all hard to give Golding’s character a South Asian schoolfriend. A disproportionate amount of Singapore’s political and professional classes (lawyers, diplomats, civil service) are Indian and they also send their kids to Raffles Institution.
Given the character is meant to be less snobbish than his parents, it’s weird that he mixes exclusively with Chinese.
It’s a really recent use (at least in the US) to start considering Indians and Pakistanis “Asians”. And one that doesn’t really make much sense. While all geographical classifications are somewhat arbitrary, East Asians do have some common cultural characteristics (majority Buddhist, influence of Confucianism through Chinese influence/imperialism, etc.) “South Asians” have no real connection to any of that (even if ironically the Buddha was Indian himself even though it wasn’t so successful there).
It’s not recent, not at all.
I’d think the various cultures involved would find being lumped together across multiple billions of people and close to 50 countries a bit reductive. Reminds me a bit of the old Simpsons gag (because of course it does) when Rev. Lovejoy is calling out various religions as Christian, Jewish or (looking at Apu)…”Miscellaneous.” Apu: “There are 700 million of us!”Lovejoy: “Isn’t that super.”
We used to have the term “Oriental” that distinguished between the Eastern part of Asia versus the rest of Asia, but that term was decided to be racist, so now we have to come up with variations of “Asian”.
FWIW, it’s reversed in the UK, where ‘Asian’ as a generic term generally means Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshi (which is over 70% of the Asian population) with the rest more often referred to as ‘East Asian.’ I’m not sure how it is in Toronto, but the East Asian and South Asian populations are about evenly sized there, whereas in the US, East and Southeastern Asians immigrants outnumber South Asians more than 2:1.
Conversely, over here “Asian” almost universally means South Asian (and specifically Subcontinental), and it’s a bit awkward to know how to refer to Chinese (etc) – it used to be “Asian” vs “Oriental”, but the latter is now deprecated. The use of “Asian” for Chinese I think is spreading, presumably due to American cultural influence, and I’d be happy referring to a Chinese person as ‘Asian’ as an individual, in the sense of being from Asia, but I wouldn’t be comfortable seeing her as part of “the Asian community” or the like. “East Asian” is used, but is a bit of a mouthful and sounds a bit Orwellian.[the official statistical position is that, as of the 2011 census, Chinese are now Asian; previously, ‘Chinese’ was its own category. (just as ‘Arab’ remains its own category, neither African nor Asian)]
I think erasure here is referring to there not being any south Asian characters in CRA. Which is still weird, like the reviewer wanted the movie to be a box ticking exercise.
yeah that seems like a really odd complaint. Im not sure why a movie about a specific family needs to be multicultural. Did the film Slumdog Millionaire need more East Asian characters?
I remember the criticism moreso being the fact it was marketed (and subsequently celebrated after release) as a win for Asian representation while it ultimately was only a win for Chinese representation with China already being over represented in comparison to other Asian groups (particularly other groups I’m Singapore such as people of Indian and Malay descent).https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vox.com/platform/amp/first-person/2018/8/17/17715124/crazy-rich-asians-movie-singaporeI do find some of that criticism unfair considering the fact that one movie could never manage to provide all Asian folks with the representation they desire. However, I think it’s important that the movie (and the sequel that’s supposed to come out at some time) isn’t the extent that our society is willing to celebrate Asian culture in popular bfilm (i.e. as a non-consequential, B+ rom-com).
By this logic, Bollywood films are nothing but Chinese erasure.
Is there more Canadian fan-service in this movie than in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World? I feel like that was the previous champion.
That one was all Toronto.And specifically the Annex, which is just North of Chinatown.
If you ask a Torontonian, they’ll entirely conflate “Toronto” and “Canada” anyhow. (Hell, my comment fell into that trap despite the fact that I was born in Winnipeg…)
I was born in Winnipeg…
When I attended a performance of Second City in Toronto, it seemed more than a few of the jokes dealt with how much it sucks to live in Winnipeg. From a very Torontonian perspective.
People from Winnipeg don’t totally love Winnipeg, what chance do the rest of us have?
Exactly. More broadly this is true of Ontarians. You’ll see things on Youtube where somebody who has probably never left the province say things like “In Canada, we buy milk in bags rather than jugs or cartons!” and half the comments will be people from other provinces saying “No we don’t! That’s just an Ontario thing!”
To be fair, go on Google maps and look at the drive times for how long it actually takes to reach another province from the GTA. It’s more than 5 hours to Montreal and about 22 hours driving straight to Winnipeg. From where I live in the US, I can drive to 5 different Canadian provinces much quicker than someone from southern Ontario could.
Can’t wait until the mom gets upset and eats the daughter.
Seriously the most fucked up thing my 4 year old saw in a movie theater up to that point. I get what Bao was going for but that shit ain’t right. Also its kinda hard as someone in a mixed marriage not read the mothers upset reactions being partially because her son is dating a non-asian girl. Its like “Oh she is sad that she has to let go of her son so he can become his own man….Oh wait, his girlfriend is a white girl. Is Mom just a racist?”
Probably meant to be a bit of both
It’s a real thing though. It’s not just about race but about culture. A lot of parents of immigrants/first generation don’t want to see their children marry outside of their group — they feel (probably correctly) that their grandkids will become fully assimilated and have no interest in their ancestral language and culture. The message of Bao is that even being outside the culture, the white girl has an interest in learning the traditions of her future mother in law and so maybe it won’t be that way in her case.
this is 100% why my parents want me to marry someone that is part of our Chinese minority cultural subset, but as I’ve gotten older, I think they just want me to marry anyone at this point LOL
That stereotype’s alway been hilarious to me, since my mum’s upbringing was completely the opposite. Her dad didn’t teach her Chinese because he didn’t want her to become one of those kids that just hangs out in the Chinese community. Hell, dude coached a Japanese baseball team despite being Australian, Chinese, and them threatening to execute him in 1937.Hence why she sounds more ocker than most white people.
That’s an extremely bizarre takeaway, considering that almost the entire short up until that point was about how the mom was extremely overprotective and a little possessive.
Well, yes. Of course the mom was upset because the GF was white. I figured that was the point. (I am also in a mixed marriage.)
I am skeptical of this one. I thought Bao was interesting as an adult but my youngest son totally did not understand it and having the Mom eat her dumpling baby just fucked up his little head.I hope this one does not have any parents consuming their children
Would the ensuing fart from the mother eating her son mean that was his ghost? Would the poop be him as a sort of zombie?
My kid was high school age when she saw Bao, and she sent it to me because she knew I would love it (and it would make me cry). I can see how a little kid would be disturbed, though.
Any discussion of “Anti-Asian hate” should include who the people are who are attacking Asian folks.
What does an unassimilated/traditional family mean?
Um, I don’t know whether I should go see this. I’d like a bit more of an explanation as to why it received an A. Is this as good as, say, Inside Out?
“she’s transformed into and a huge red panda” good to see that the new guard is carrying on the old traditions
I’m not even going to bother with this guy
I feel like we’re buying the lede here that James Hong is still alive. What is this guy, cursed with incorporeality by Emperor Qin Shi Huang or some shit?
Not just still alive, but still ACTIVELY working. He has two roles in 2022 releases, and 2 more upcoming projects in post production. The man is in his 90s!
You were not put on this earth to “get it,” Mr. mumbles!
Besides it being very Canadien and asian, is it any good?Reviews for media no longer tell you if the media is actually worth seeing but rather who is/isn’t represented. I do want proper respectful representation but can you at least tell us if its worth our time?
Thank goodness!!! As a mom, I’m sooo sick of so-called children’s movies that feature long, drawn out and NEEDLESS sequences of Asian people being violently attacked!! (Looking at you, Boss Baby 2!!) This movie sounds like a welcome change!!!
Wat
I think it was Boss Baby 2. Might have been Paddington.
There was definitely a lot of it in Disney Presents: The Life of Marky Mark
Obvious joke is obvious
So, not animated by the team behind Wallace and Gromit?
After Luca, I wonder if that’s the new Pixar house style, to differentiate themselves from the Disney Feature Animation division.
> Has lots of Asians and is set in Canada, 10/10, A
Come on man. I’m not saying it wasn’t that good, I haven’t seen it, but quality and quantity of representation isn’t *literally* everything
This is going to be one of those movies that garners automatic praise and is insulated from any criticism due to the race of the cast, isn’t it?
That girl’s got some Ardmann teeth.
Ya’ll don’t even bother writing reviews anymore? Just slap an “A”on there and print the spiel pixar’s marketers wrote for ya
My two observations: I wish this were more of an actual review (I’m into the social commentary, but I’d like to read two articles from you—one about commentary on film rep, and one that’s more of a review of the craft of the movie, maybe? I might be splitting hairs needlessly.)
Also, Jesus with the casual racism in these comments! We don’t look at anti-Asian racism as an issue as prevalent as anti-black systemic racism, so it doesn’t get as much attention, but my god I can’t believe some of these comments. And this in a comment section that tends to be more progressive than a lot of sites. Unbelievable.
You should see the sub-set of people claiming Disney put this film on streaming because of how Asian it is, ignoring Luca and Soul. I have seen a lot of people reveal their anti-Asian racism when comparing this film to Pixar’s prior two releases.
I thought the scene where she accidentally wandered into a Furry convention took a dark turn.
Something something Calarts woke feminism make moar Toy Story something somethingFart
This review isn’t one… it’s just gushing about representation, but provides zero critical analysis or reasons for why someone who isn’t an Asian-Canadian looking for representation might enjoy the film.What about the designs? The pacing? The dialogues? The animation?
This is a terrible piece, i feel like i am reading a 13-year-old tumblr post or a twitter thread. Representation is good and all, but movies are supposed to be pieces of art, not just tracts.
Who cares about the plot? It passes the Bechdel test! Background extras wear headscarves! What more do you need
Also the Harold & Kumar test, which is where the movie stops in its tracks and replays the entire Harold & Kumar trilogy which is impressive considering its runtime.
Jesus people, cut the new reviewer some slack. The movie looks delightful, the previews are giving away enough that we don’t need anymore spoilers here, and I’m happy to read a review that comes in from an authenticity-angle rather than a plot regurgitation.
Liking things makes you vulnerable and open to mocking and criticism. I am only negative and hate everything sight unseen, so no one can hurt me.
But I don’t think it’s just about plot. In fact as far as the plot goes, I think the review gave me enough. In fact I wouldn’t have minded the review at all… if it included an analysis or just indication about what makes this film worth watching beyond the representation issue. I think the representation issue is awesome and it’s nice to have a review highlight it, but it seems sort of crazy that it’s literally the only thing highlighted about the film. I don’t know if the movie made the reviewer laugh, or cry. I don’t know how it made them feel at all. I don’t know if the animation is different than other pixar efforts. I don’t know how it compares to the rest of their legacy or recent family films. I think people are just surprised that some pretty basic information about how the reviewer responded to the film aren’t included in this review. It’s frankly stunning. I don’t need an essay. Maybe two more paragraphs at the end detailing those things. But since it lacks the most basic components of a review, the above is just baffling.
The bigger problem is that because reviewers have a habit of doing this, they give the impression that films (TV shows, etc) can be divided into two kinds: those that have emotions and excitement and solid plots and themes and dialogue and pacing and relations to other films and character development and so on, and those that have minority representation. And then act surprised or outraged when people show more interest in the former. If we want people to watch films with minority representation (and we should!) we ought to emphasis even MORE than usual how good the film is at doing the things that people primarily want films to do (plot, characters, action, emotion, etc). Not gloss over all that to concentrate on the presence of minority representation as though that were the only virtue the film had.
In this case, I’m sure this film has virtues, and probably flaws as well, but although there’s five paragraphs on the minority representation, literally the only assessment given of any other aspect of the film is that it is “handy”, whatever that means.
“Hey do you want to see XYZ? Reviews say it’s thrilling, deeply moving, totally original, hilariously funny, brilliantly acted and with spectacular cinematography.” – “nah, we should watch ‘Turning Red’, AV Club said it was set in Canada and was kind of ‘handy’.
Theories on why this was dumped onto Disney+?1) Too Canadian2) Too 2002, modern kids are going to be confused.3) Too many menstruation references; the movie works better if you pause it and have a frank chat with your tween daughter before resuming viewing.
Maybe they can play it in grade school health classes. Do they still have those?
Oddly enough, Disney made a whole series of health education films.
4) Because it’s Pixar. They did the same thing with Soul and Luca.
An uncharitable interpretation is that some white male executive at Disney (let’s give him some generic name like Bob) decided that the movie is too “ethnic” for a general audience so they dumped it to video. As a result, this movie, which was supposed to represent Pixar’s rebirth after a Me-Too era cleaning with its first female director, has instead turned into a parable about how white men rule everything. But that’s an uncharitable take. Like, a Pixar movie about playing D&D is obviously more appealing to general audiences than a movie about moms being embarrassing. Officially, the reason is Omicron.
1), That might be a legit reason. I once read that American audiences only respond to foreign films if they’re different/exotic.
We can’t handle Canadian-set entertainments. It’s like the uncanny-valley version of Eagletopia.
Did I miss when we decided Crazy Rich Asians was offensive to Asians? As I recall, the whole community loved it when it came out and said it’s the kind of movie that was long overdue.
It doesn’t take long for everyone to eat their own.
To be fair, I remember reading criticisms that the movie presented a picture of Singaporeans as ONLY being of Chinese descent (no Malays or Indians, for example) and that this was problematic. I haven’t seen the movie and don’t have any strong opinions, but the conversation definitely happened by some writers at Vox and other outlet.
It’s a very complicated issue for a number of reasons. Chinese-descent in Southeast Asia are a minority in numbers, but generally represent the economic upper strata of their home countries. In certain groups in certain countries, there’s a long history of Chinese-descent erasure to the highest degree, and it’s a long-standing racism issue that’s still inherited by the current generation. For Chinese-descent people(and not just in Singapore), the movie was a huge win for their representation after decades of being ignored.I think a lot of the criticism against the movie neglected this vital part of the issue, which the cynic in me believe was in part due to how much us Asians are still reduced to simple talking points for western opinions, with little to no regard of our history and heritage other than what’s on the surface level.
“Asian-American” and other diasporas tend to lump together ethnic groups that would otherwise not make sense to. When you move outside of the diaspora, things start to get messy! Indian-Americans and Chinese-Americans probably have a lot in common in dealing with racism, assimilation, and generational trauma, but the same can’t be said for Indians and Chinese in general.In particular, the issue with Crazy Rich Asians was it’s portrayal of Indian-Singaporeans. Singapore is a very multi-ethnic nation with it’s own racial issues that just aren’t familiar to western audiences – which includes it’s diasporas.
That criticism started from the moment the movie hit theaters, that for something celebrated for Asian representation, it sort of ignored Singapore’s genuine diversity.
Exactly, plus some people being put off by the characters’ crazy wealth.
From what I hear, people who actually live IN those parts of Asia weren’t impressed. They don’t care about Hollywood having all-Asian casts since they already get plenty of that from their homegrown movies, and many of them weren’t interested in a tale about rich people falling in love with each other and staying rich.
Here’s the thing. Singapore’s upper elite, as depicted in the movie, is majorly Chinese-descent, and in Southeast Asia, Chinese-descent people are somewhat considered as an outsider in their home countries. Be it Singapore, Malaysia, or Indonesia, there’s a prejudice against Chinese-descent people, who in general numbered fewer in comparison to those from other subraces, yet for the most part more economically successful. So if you ask the majority of SEAsians, yeah, they have next to no love for Chinese-descent as depicted in Crazy Rich Asians.
What the heck is the “Harold & Kumar test”? That sounds like something you wouldn’t want a family-friendly film to pass!
I remember when AV Club reviewed films.Bummer that overall this site has adopted the Facebook model of seeking controversial stories and pushing divisive naratives authored by biased, self-obsessed children. Everything is a sociopolitical statement, and we’re all just being marketed to. This place sucks.
So leave.
Well this guy sucks
Honestly, this review is so weird I’m left wondering if this is real. Does this movie actually exist, or is it a time-shifted April Fools’ Day gag? Why on Earth does anyone make an animated movie that’s a period piece set in 2002? Why does Martin Tsai’s bio read that he was an AV Club New York Intern from 2006 to 2007…and that’s it? Seems like a long gap for anyone to have on their resume.Then again, this is a review of what’s supposed to be a Pixar movie in 2022, and the references are to 2009’s Up and Harold and Kumar, and the image at the top makes Meilin look like an Aardman character circa Chicken Run. The only thing keeping me from the conclusion that we’ve entered a time warp, and are now getting a do-over on the 2010s, is a mention of a 2020 Netflix animation movie I’ve never heard of, and which doesn’t even seem to have been reviewed here.
The film not only aces the Bechdel test, it also scores high on the Harold & Kumar test. (Asians and tests! A match made in heaven!)Seriously though wtf
WTH is the Harold & Kumar test?
Presumably having two AsiansWho talk to each other at some point in the movieAbout something other than a white person.
Are there even any editors left to screen for this kind of thing here?
Sandra Oh is also Korean Canadian. And what was the movie about again?
This is easily the worst movie review this site has ever published
I definitely disagree with the comments saying the review doesn’t talk about the film itself or what it’s about — it absolutely does (well, unless you only skim it). And its Asianness should be discussed because it’s a fundamental part of the movie.
(What I do have a problem with is the fleeting but very, very wrong comparison to Up. Russell’s Asian-Americanness is not emphasized or explored in Up because Russell is, in no way, shape or form, the protagonist: the story is unmistakably about Mr. Fredericksen.)
So, your “A” review of the movie consists entirely of “they nailed the culture of the character and her hometown”? That’s all you need to get an A?Is the story any good? How about the animation? Are there songs? Is it funny? If I’m not an Asian woman from Canada can I still enjoy it?
Never saw it, but what was the issue with Crazy Rich Asians?“it’s far from the full erasure committed by Crazy Rich Asians”
“It’s alright if Dowd leaves; there are still other capable reviewers on the site.”
Ok, so there are giant pandas and there are red pandas, but giant pandas are not red and red pandas are not giant, so why does she turn into a giant red panda?
I live in Toronto. There’s so few films set here compared to say, New York or Chicago. In this “every once in awhile” instant, of course a bunch of americans would be outraged and feel alienated that it’s set in Toronto, woof.
literally no one is outraged about it being set in toronto
yes black people getting into a fancy san francisco school is anti asian hate (ha, i didn’t read this! now i feel like i may be in trouble)
This is the first time I have ever commented on an article anywhere on the internet in my entire life. For close to 15 years, I’ve turned to the AV Club as the best source of movie reviews out there. They’re like super entertaining grad school essays. I usually read each twice, both before and after seeing the movie. This review wasn’t a review at all. One of the paragraphs is literally an inventory of the ethnicities of each character. I am sure Martin Tsai is a good writer and film critic and I don’t mean them any offense. I just hope this is not the new normal here – I can’t imagine a world where this isn’t the first site I check every Thursday for movie analysis.
But if you’re going to do that, at least WRITE it well. This is rambling and almost incoherent. https://www.accountscomparison.com/
Sigh, another Pixar movie where a body swap is a key plot point. It’s getting old, fellas…
This is a list of every single thing Martin Tsai says about the movie besides basic descriptions of the plot or characters:You got your basic facts: “animated tale” “handy story-time fodder”And the rest is, sorry to say, mostly bullshit:“aces the Bechdel test” (are there many animated films these days that fail it?) “loving Canuckian detail” / “Never have Canadians been this seen” (k)(an entire paragraph picking apart the ethnic representation down to the most minor character)“unabashedly Asian”“speaking directly to generations of Asian women”“lived experience of the Chinese diaspora”“a little respite that celebrates them and their culture, resilience, intelligence, perfectionism, insecurities, anxieties, quirkiness, feistiness, ingenuity, sisterhood, love of food, etc.” (this is a list of ELEVEN things, and it ends in “etc”. And it repeats itself 3 or 4 times. And it’s not really describing the movie.) This is a movie review only in the sense that it is a series of signals to people of a certain type of politics whether they’ll like the movie. I can’t imagine someone using this review to decide whether the movie is worth watch. Literally no thought was given to the filmmaking.“A”
General consensus is that you haven’t, you know, reviewed the movie. Two more paragraphs, please. Or no recess.
This review is really rough, like a sophomore learning to stitch paragraphs together but without the grace to connect them with any style. I wish we still had AA, Jesse, and Ignatiy around here.