Turning Red has become one of my favourite films of 2022, and I think it might now be my favourite Pixar film of all time. There’s just so much to love, from the visuals, to the soundtrack, to the diversity, to the 2000’s nostalgia, to the overall message, to the kaiju red panda third act... I’m in love.
So I couldn’t not make a zine about it. It took me bloody ages, but I just had to, because it inspired me so much, and has given me so much joy.
I really appreciate that the film never made fun of the girls for their love for 4*Town. These days it’s so easy for people to look down on teen girls especially for the things they like, Which is why it was also such a fun twist that the boy they’d clashed with so much throughout the film also turned out to be a Townie.
Ming and Mei’s relationship is just so damn good. It’s so refreshing to see a mother-daughter relationship that’s positive but still complex. They clearly have a great dynamic but still butt heads because of their own personal reasons. It’s a perfect represenation of what it’s like to suddenly clash with your mum as you get older and become your own person outside of the family unit.
One detail that I saw analysed on TikTok is that Ming and Mei are colour coded, with Ming wearing green and Mei wearing red for most of the film. Mei also always wears a green pin in her hair, representing how she always carries her mum’s values with her. I also noticed during her 4*Town presentation she borrowed Ming’s blazer, making her appear more grown-up and responsible like her mum.
And the only thing more embarassing than indulging in making this kind of art in the first place, is someone else then discovering it! I don’t know how Mei handled not just her mum but also her crush seeing the drawings, if that were me I would simply have died. Movie over. Roll credits. But you can’t have a movie about the many emotions teens go through without having a little bit of public humiliation. No one leaves high-school totally unscathed.
I love that Mei draws her crush, in the anime art style no less. Anyone her age with any artistic interests has done this, I’m 100% sure of it!
A R T
I made my fair share of art of my crush in high school, hell, even when I met my first boyfriend during uni I still drew pictures of him. But at least in that situation we were actively seeing each other so it was significantly less weird. Cause that’s the thing, it’s so weird! And you know while making it that it’s weird, but you can’t help it, because you’re infatuated with this person, and teenagers are just weird regardless of if they have a crush or not.
The director of ‘Turning Red’ Domee Shi actually showed her high-school drawings in the documentary about the film, and while I’m not nearly as brave as her, it is a pretty funny idea. So here are two cringy drawings that high-school me swore to never share...
The first response to the movie that I saw online was someone tweeting about its representation of period products. I assumed from the picture that that was the extent of it, just the products sitting in the background of a shot. But oh boy was I wrong... Not only were the products acknowledged, but so were periods in general, in DETAIL. They were still somewhat coy about the subject but they talked about symptoms and how it’s totally normal, which isIamazing!would’ve loved seeing this representation as a kid, but I reckon the fun facts we get on pad packaging was the closest I got to making periods less of a big deal.
Mei’s friends are SO GOOD. I just love seeing a young female friendship group celebrated like this in a children’s film. And the only ‘drama’ the group goes through is when Mei genuinely disrespects them in order to stay on her Mum’s good side, rather than something petty unreasonable.or They’re just best mates with their own unique personalities and they support each other so much. My favourite of the gang would have to be Priya Mangal. Her facial expressions and overall mannerisms are fantastic, and I love the theory that she thinks she’s a vampire. Every scene with her has a whole knew vibe once it’s on your mind and I love it.
There’s so much I could say about this film but not all of it would be interesting or sensical. so here’s a list of honorable mentions that didn’t make it into the zine: - All the nods to the 2000s - The FOOD VISUALS - Praise for Mei’s dad, Jin Lee - The representation of female rage - How this film approached generational trauma better than Encanto ever could - The ‘adult’ humor and language - The initial criticism of this film not being “relatable enough” (*eye-roll*) - All the personal details the director added - The fact that DEVON WAS ALSO A TOWNIE - The focus on crushes without having an actual love interest/romance plot I could go on forever if I wasn’t restricted to 24 pages...
“The farther you go, the prouder I’ll be.”
