Parents' Guide to

Turning Red

By Sandie Angulo Chen, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Pixar coming-of-age tale explores puberty and parent issues.

Movie PG 2022 100 minutes
Turning Red Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you willā€”and won'tā€”find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 10+

Based on 281 parent reviews

age 9+

Donā€™t be misled by over-critical reviews

First of all, Iā€™ll say this: any reviewer who talks about 4 boys in a band did not pay attention to the movie and Iā€™d have a hard time trusting their review when they get such an easy detail wrong. That being said, I didnā€™t love this movie. I watched with my kids, a 7 y.o. daughter and 11 y.o. son. Yes, they had questions about what ā€œpadsā€ are. Yes, I thought the scene of her drawing pictures of the cute boy wasā€”somewhat uncomfortable? Probably because the animators hid what she was drawing from us at first. The pictures were weird but I expected them to be moreā€¦explicit? So, no big deal. The confrontation between the mom and aforementioned cute boy was awkward to watch because that felt like a very grown-up, very serious issue. But honestly, everything after that was fine. We learned that yes, we can put too much pressure on our kids. We learned that kids are kids and will experience peer pressure, will disobey, will lieā€”guys, come on. We are not raising perfect angels, and if you think you are, YOU ARE THE MOM IN THIS MOVIE. The movie examines the relationship between mother and child, and between friends. It shows how damaged relationships can be repaired. It shows that we as parents need to give our kids freedoms; if we are overbearing, it will cause more rebellion. It shows kids how to manage their emotions. Are there are weird parts to this movie? Sure. But the weirdest thing is seeing the straight up fear-mongering ā€œthis movie teaches your kid to disobeyā€ reviews. Kids know how to disobey; this movie shows the grace required to repair a relationship after that happens.
age 12+

Too Heavy Handed for its Intended Audience

Watched this movie last night with my family, and honestly found it disheartening. There are lots of fun bits in this movie, and the animation is gorgeous, but I feel that the message is questionable and heavy-handed for its intended audience. Mei Mei is a 13-year-old with an overbearing mother. Throughout the movie, she finds ways to cope with this by being dishonest and disobeying her parents behind their backs. Now, there's nothing intrinsically unbelievable about this as a plot point, as growing up I've had several friends do the same thing. However, instead of eventually humanizing the mother character and bringing communication and reconciliation between the characters, the mother remains the antagonist; Mei Mei chooses to live her own life, which takes her away from her relationship from her mother (which she admits herself during a crucial scene in the movie). This all seems extremely unrealistic for a 13-year-old. Fantastical rituals aside, every 13-year-old will feel like their parents are overbearing; that's just a part of growing up. However, this movie pushes a theme that it's okay to disregard your parents rules and advice because you need to follow your own heart. Again, I can see what they're trying to say here, but it's not a great message to be telling such a young audience. In my mind, when you are living in your parent's household, you need to respect them and obey their rules. But, Mei Mei calling to her mom "my panda, my choice" in order to completely shut down a concern her mom has...that's just flipping the script and putting her mom in a place of having no say. It's not showing a relationship with open communication or reconciliation, just a power shift. Another thing, kids are very prone to imitate catchphrases and play out scenes in movies. If a young kid sees that a beloved movie character is rewarded for disobedience and complete disregard of her parents advice and concerns, that's going to set up a toxic mindset for how they approach relationships and conflict with their parents. Instead of working it out with open communication and understanding, the "my panda, my choice" mentality completely shuts down a healthy relationship. I also just find it disheartening that the overall message was "in order to be yourself you have to completely break away from your parents." Again, especially for a 13-year-old to be saying this is extremely concerning as always following your prepubescent heart with complete disregard to the rules of your elders will eventually get you into some sticky and regretful situations. Bottom line: I find it hard to imagine a young audience being able to understand and enjoy such a heavy-handed movie. Although it has several fun moments and characters, its message is something that would be more applicable to a character turning 19, not 13.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (281 ):
Kids say (269 ):

Delightful, funny, unapologetically girl-centered, and a surprisingly touching allegory for adolescence, this is Pixar's most teen-friendly film. It's also a gift for anyone who remembers the onset of puberty, pining over musicians (in this case, a shout-out to millennials who crushed on O-Town, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, and the like), and struggling to balance meeting parental expectations with friendships and newfound interests. Chiang does a lovely job conveying Mei's emotional and physical changes -- how she genuinely wants to obey her parents, take care of their family temple, and be a good girl but also enjoys her BFFs, loud music, and, yes, boys (even if they are of the unattainable pop-heartthrob variety). And Oh, who's also Canadian, is ideally cast as Mei's mom, who's more complex than the fussy helicopter mom she initially seems to be. Although dad Jin is a kind and loving presence, Turning Red is at heart a story about mothers and daughters. Mei and Ming's dynamic is in some ways universal: the bittersweet and at times outright confrontational push-and-pull of surviving teen rebellion (whatever that looks like).

Visually, Turning Red, like all Pixar movies, is phenomenal. Director Domee Shi (who herself is Chinese Canadian and was 13 in 2002), is clearly drawing on her own lived experiences of Toronto, its Chinatown, and being a teen in the early '00s. The movie, like her short film Bao, is also an emotional reminder of the tender joy and turbulent angst of growing up -- particularly with a demanding but loving mother who has sky-high expectations. But audiences don't need to be Canadian, Chinese, women, girls, or millennials to relate to and enjoy this story, because its themes and central metaphor work for everyone who has or will experience the awkward excitement of transforming from child to teen. Like Inside Out or The Mitchells vs. the Machines, Turning Red is a standout addition to animated movies that capture the overwhelming feelings of coming-of-age.

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