But clearly, we need more stories like this one. Art doesn’t need to be universally understood to have value - just look at our countless male-centered myths. (Also, “releasing the red panda” needs to be the new go-to euphemism for menstrual cycle.) But it has been remarkable to see white male critics flounder to relate. Of course, it is a Disney production, and we’re dealing with a teenager whose pubescent feelings turn her into an oversized snugglebug. Ming is no evil stepmother, for all her inability to see that Mei is no longer a child.Įven more remarkable: This is a story about teen female sexuality that never once feels prurient, exploitative or in any way hypersexualized. “Turning Red” is all about girls who like each other - and remarkably, for a Disney product, a mother-daughter pairing who genuinely love and respect each other even as they struggle with conflicting desires. Merida sitting with her mother, Queen Elinor, and her father, King Fergus. They had triplet sons and one daughter, the beautiful Princess Merida. In “Brave,” Merida and her mother are at odds in “Inside Out,” Sadness, Joy and Disgust often are, too. King Fergus and Queen Elinor ruled the kingdom of DunBroch in Scotland. Should she be a dutiful daughter and complete the magic ritual, or should she discover herself - wherever that leads?Īlso, female characters aren’t usually that supportive of each other. Instead, they embrace their sometimes-a-panda bud, and Mei finds herself stuck. (After all, one cannot go see their favorite boy band in person if it’s going to cause a bear attack.) But when Mei’s friends find out about her secret, they don’t shun her. Mei’s mother kindly but sternly tells her daughter these feeling can be contained and tamed with a magic ritual, which the girl agrees to. As Mei learns, every woman in her family goes through sudden explosions of red fuzzies whenever they’re emotional. Thankfully, unlike Kafka, this is a temporary situation - with a genetic solution. Torn between contradictory emotions and bonds, Mei literally swore off having feelings ever again. Of course, it’s not actually inexplicable - the night before, her mother Ming (Sandra Oh), unable to handle her daughter’s burgeoning hormones, thoughtlessly humiliated her in front of her classmates. In what feels like a Lisa Frank-meets-Kafka moment, she wakes up one morning to find herself inexplicably transformed into a huge but cuddly red panda. The film centers on middle schooler Mei (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old Chinese Canadian living in Toronto in the early 2000s.
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