Turning Red |OT| As Long As You Love Me (LGBTQA Lives Matter)

[Rated-G]

All the parents being upset at a movie depicting a 13 year old girl being a 13 year old girl just makes me wonder what these people must have been, or believe they were like as 13 year olds. "I was an agreeable child who was seen but not heard, and occasionally my parents took me to see the sailships and let me listen to the song box before bedtime!"

I loved this movie. I've been thinking about it for the last couple days. The palette is pleasant and beautiful, the anime and influences were used effectively, and the score is awesome. I saw so much of the girls I was friends with as a kid in this movie, and related to the art and awakening parts. Damn, I need the art book, stat.

 

[Soulsis]

This was so incredible, honestly wasn't expecting it to be.

 

[Prax]

Pure speculation on my part but I'd guess (ending spoilers)

Spoiler

the mom's panda is huge to make it less practical for the mom to keep her power. The ending felt kind of odd, to me at least. Why does only Mei get to keep her power? After they had the bonding moment where they realized they both struggled living up to their mom's expectations, it kind of felt like the mom should have kept her power too. It seemed like keeping the panda symbolized Mei being her own person. Why can't her mom also stop being weighed down by the grandma's expectations? I guess she's just too old, the relationship is too set in stone or something?

Anyway, the fact that the mom's panda is enormous means she can't use it as easily as Mei can, and all of this can be handwaved away with practical concerns. Like Mei might mess up her room if she suddenly transforms, but the mom would level the entire house.

That's my read anyway.

It's also possible it's just solely for the spectacle of it.

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I didn't read the rest of the thread but I wantrd to add:

Spoiler

I think the mom was huge to show she has a REALLY bad and destructive temper. I think it's implied she physically attacked gramma as a teen (the scar!), possibly by going out of control and throwing objects at her etc irl (as a panda metaphor, maybe causing roofing to fall on her).

She probably honestly felt that wasn't a part of her she could be proud of or safely control, so the life she chose now is one she has made peace with. I mean, she is bad enough even without being a giant panda lol. I think that makes sense as a metaphor. A lot of our parents have made those kinds of sacrifices of their own personalities and personal freedoms only to allow us to be more free and be proud of our own choices.

 

[Seesaw15]

Watched this with my kids and I'll have to give it a rewatch but definitely thought it was lackluster. Jokes didn't stick for me or my wife or the characters. Pixar latest slate of movies (Luca, Onward, Soul, Turning Red) have all just been mediocre to me. I think Coco was the last Pixar movie that really stuck out to me. I've actually enjoyed Disney's Animation movies lately over theirs.

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Pixars just in a transition period. They're not interested in just being the studio that produces "prestige existential tearjerkers". Now that a new generation of Pixar directors is rising up they want the flexibility to play with tone/genre a bit more. Turning Red isn't really the most ground breaking movie but its cool that Pixar was able to put a very solid comedic film.

 

[P-Bo]

The more I think about this movie, the more I kinda wish Pixar just splits off from Disney, to pursue collaborations with Japanese studios.

 

[Deleted member 3208]

Just finished. Haven't had so much fun watching a movie since a long time. Loved every second of it.

 

[Deleted member 8750]

I related to this movie on a deeply personal level. This is one of rare films where I feel like my life and my experiences were represented.

I saw the red panda as a metaphor for cultural identity. I'm a second generation immigrant and my mom taught me very little about her cultural heritage but I've been trying to explore that side my family more. This post explains it well.

turning red is such a thinly veiled metaphor for the immigrant/diaspora experience of losing touch with your heritage. it's all those stories of immigrant parents not teaching their children their native language in the hopes that they will assimilate easier into society. it hit me in such a particular way when the aunties all started singing in cantonese, and mei asked what they were saying.

the red panda means a lot of things in turning red, and i think one interpretation is the family's relationship with their cultural roots. it's spelled out in the movie already: when their family moved to a 'new world', and the blessing became a curse. as much as the red panda is a metaphor for self-expression in general, a message that's easier to empathize with too, cultural identity still plays into it. the fact that they had to cut themselves off from it is so telling.

and! they literally tokenized themselves. ming and her family literally packaged and contained this huge part of their identity into something small and palatable for the society they want to exist in, a shallow connection to their culture that they can wear as an accessory. it's exotic enough to be interesting but ultimately not impactful or disruptive to their current setting. i cannot stress enough how obsessed i am with this detail. they made little tokens to contain their pandas. they actually tokenized themselves.

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[adj_noun]

My favorite Pixar movie since Coco.

 

[Veelk]

I related to this movie on a deeply personal level. This is one of rare films where I feel like my life and my experiences were represented.

I saw the red panda as a metaphor for cultural identity. I'm a second generation immigrant and my mom taught me very little about her cultural heritage but I've been trying to explore that side my family more. This post explains it well.

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That's a very awesome interpretation I haven't considered. Thank you for sharing it.

 

[Alfredo]

It's cool how far we've come with this movie from Disney refusing to distribute Ghibli's "Only Yesterday" because it briefly mentions periods.

 

[SpankyDoodle]

I watched it again today with my girlfriend and spent more time picking apart little visual things, and realized that there are several sequences of intense action where the visuals go black and white 2D manga style for like a single frame. So fucking cool I love this movieeee

Wait is it actually a real discourse?

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There are people in this thread talking about how ridiculous/unbelievable it is that a giant monster attacked a concert in a major city and the Canadian army didn't show up immediately given that 9/11 had only happened like five months before the film takes place.

Maybe it's the fact I haven't seen as much recent Pixar as I should (the last one I saw was Soul and I loved it), but I was begging for animation to be more... animated. Even CGI production falls under that qualm sometimes.

And this film is not only that, it's also very expressive, incredibly colorful... it's just a down right gorgeous film at times. There were far too many points in its visual storytelling that I could gush over, but I'm glad that I dove in, and just watched it for myself, because it's a visual treat that's also not afraid to metaphorically pounce whenever it reaches its conflicting & emotional crossroads.

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Check out Trolls World Tour. It has some of the best 3D animation of any movie from any studio I've ever seen, it's absolutely mind blowing how good the animation is. Like so far beyond anything else Dreamworks or even Disney has done with the use of weight and fluid movement, the dancing and choreography, the timing, and rhythm of the way characters walk and jump and dance, and it's also probably the most colorful movie made in the last 10 years.

My top 3 cg movies as far as purely animation goes are probably Spider-verse, Trolls World Tour, and Turning Red. Animators have had 20+ years to get used to these new tools and they're finally starting to be able to push the shit out of what can be done with them. I can't fucking wait to see what animated movies look like over the next ten years.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

Just got back from watching this in a theater screening at the El Capitan. I'm really upset they confined this to streaming, because that climax was meant to be seen on the big screen.

The movie was fantastic. I wouldn't say top 5 Pixar, but it still hits extremely high marks for me.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

Anyone ever had a parent do that to them, going that far over journal sketches?

 

[Mesoian]

Anyone ever had a parent do that to them, going that far over journal sketches?

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Journal sketches SPECIFICALLY? No.

I have seen parents go THAT ballistic over finding a porno mag under a friend's bed though. And I vaguely brought it up early, but I had a second generation friend who's mother went nuclear after school for a dresscode related reason.

 

[ElBoxy]

Yusss asolutely. When they first see Panda Mei at her house and she just goes "she.. is a red pAHnduh.. you're so fluffy.. YOURE SO FLUFFEHHHH!!!!" while burying her face in the fur had me in stitches.

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"C'mon Mei! Just a little hit! It'll clear my mind!"

Like, Pixar, I see what you did there and it's both hilarious and messed up you went there. lol

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

Journal sketches SPECIFICALLY? No.

I have seen parents go THAT ballistic over finding a porno mag under a friend's bed though. And I vaguely brought it up early, but I had a second generation friend who's mother went nuclear after school for a dresscode related reason.

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Super awkward, but I guess that's the point. The mother is terrifying to the point where they do the inevitable scene explaining why, it still didn't quite work for me. I did like that it was one of the few movies where the characters get to be their own people and not retire a unique part of their self just because coming of age story. It did weirdly feel like it could have been a short film though.

 

[J2C]

One of my favorites in recent years. I thought Meilin's character was so specific and funny, in a way that separated her from what I felt was a more cloying protagonist in Coco (still like that movie well enough). The animation was a blast, lots of fun ideas and nice aesthetics, best looking visually since Inside Out. And felt emotionally honest, which gets me away from any concerns of "predictability" when it was much more importantly, earnest. Simplicity can let you tap in more and there's not many simple straightforward stories in animation, there's usually a contrived Zootopia twist

I can see some of the critiques of certain grating elements, her support crew and that they serve this certain purpose, some editing choices. I think Mei and her Mom's conflicts early on were not incredibly funny or pointed, more broadly caricatured.

Spoiler

Like Mei's drawing lewd stuff sequence, but the Mom accusing Devon of being a pedo in public essentially, was cringe in not a way I enjoyed. Felt awkwardly staged, not funny enough, not real or dramatic.

But aside from early bumps thought it becomes really engaging and emotional and appealing

 

[Khanimus]

Anyone ever had a parent do that to them, going that far over journal sketches?

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I mean... By the inherent nature of my professional and personal circles, and there's no shortage of artists that can hyper-relate to that moment of her drawing that shit into her journal.



It may not specifically result like that parental freakout, or there may amillion permutations and variants on what that journal ends up looking like, but at some point, every young artist is going to hit that cross-section of knowing how to draw and their sexual awakening. It's just going to happen.


That scene in the convenience store 100% had me going "oh... someone is venting some very specific shit right now, and the director, writer, boards artists and animators all know exactly what that shit is"

 

[345]

best pixar movie since... man, ratatouille? i absolutely loved it. just straight-up hilarious and gorgeous and moving from start to finish.

 

[lvl 99 Pixel]

I mean... By the inherent nature of my professional and personal circles, and there's no shortage of artists that can hyper-relate to that moment of her drawing that shit into her journal.

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Oh I get that part. Used to draw a lot (poorly of course). Unfortunately, just like Inside Out its just a bit too far removed from my own 13 y/o experience of being bullied, abused and returning to a broken home. Didn't have that kind of tight friend group either.

 

[boontobias]

Very surprising film in a lot of ways. I didnt think Encanto would be topped quality wise so quick. I didnt think this would have an epic fight scene. And I didnt think a Disney movie would be so risque and authentic with its subject matter. You cant say the s-word in a disney movie!? Must be the Pixar difference.

 

[J2C]

Oh I get that part. Used to draw a lot (poorly of course). Unfortunately, just like Inside Out its just a bit too far removed from my own 13 y/o experience of being bullied, abused and returning to a broken home. Didn't have that kind of tight friend group either.

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I did feel like that was a barrier some in entry to the story. The given that she has this uber supportive friend group turns the message into "indulge your close knit group of friends, and find yourself" when many youth don't have that luxury

 

[Landy828]

I said the other day that this movie was made for my daughter, haha. Also mentioned how I absolutely LOVED it. The whole family did. Kids have watched it 3 times now.

Here are sketches from an actual 13 year old's sketch book (my own kid's). Haha. She has another sketch book, not sure where it's at, but if she'll share it...it's more in line with the "lovey" stuff from the movie 😆 .

Movie was spot on for us.

13 Year Old Daughter's Sketches

 

[AliceAmber]

I said the other day that this movie was made for my daughter, haha. Also mentioned how I absolutely LOVED it. The whole family did. Kids have watched it 3 times now.

Here are sketches from an actual 13 year old's sketch book (my own kid's). Haha. She has another sketch book, not sure where it's at, but if she'll share it...it's more in line with the "lovey" stuff from the movie 😆 .

Movie was spot on for us.

13 Year Old Daughter's Sketches

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Wow! She's really talented!!! Already has a great sense of anatomy.

 

[KillstealWolf]

I said the other day that this movie was made for my daughter, haha. Also mentioned how I absolutely LOVED it. The whole family did. Kids have watched it 3 times now.

Here are sketches from an actual 13 year old's sketch book (my own kid's). Haha. She has another sketch book, not sure where it's at, but if she'll share it...it's more in line with the "lovey" stuff from the movie 😆 .

Movie was spot on for us.

13 Year Old Daughter's Sketches

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Heh, I hope you asked their permission first to show this, otherwise they'll be going through their own Daisy Mart moment right now!

 

[CaptNink]

We watched it on the weekend and absolutely loved it! It was so good!

 

[Landy828]

Wow! She's really talented!!! Already has a great sense of anatomy.

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Thanks, and these are just quick sketches. She does some great anime stuff if she takes her time and works on a project.

Heh, I hope you asked their permission first to show this, otherwise they'll be going through their own Daisy Mart moment right now!

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Haha, she was ok with these. I encourage her to express herself any way she wants. There's nothing she has to hide from me. She can get a little embarrassed when I ask to see some of her art (never make her), but I'm ALWAYS positive with my responses.

 

[Vulcano's Assistant]

Was drawing merboys (mermen?) A thing or it is it still a thing?

I used to spend a decent amount of time on DeviantArt back in the day and I never saw much of that. The classics like furry art, anime OC characters, etc were aplenty, but mermaid and merboys I can't recall.

I seen at least two animated production that makes the joke of drawing merboys,band being embarrassed about it, but I am wondering if they actually mean furry art but don't dare go the whole way.

 

[Nappuccino]

Was drawing merboys (mermen?) A thing or it is it still a thing?

I used to spend a decent amount of time on DeviantArt back in the day and I never saw much of that. The classics like furry art, anime OC characters, etc were aplenty, but mermaid and merboys I can't recall.

I seen at least two animated production that makes the joke of drawing merboys,band being embarrassed about it, but I am wondering if they actually mean furry art but don't dare go the whole way.

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Mermen are always a thing

 

[DrForester]

This was great. Enjoyed it a lot.

 

[Nightwing123]

Nobody like U by 4*Town is so good 😭

My boy Jordan Fisher killed it in those songs.

 

[Daysean]

Went into this movie blind and for some reason due to her facial expressions and people posting her on social media, i really thought Abby was a joking foil type character or would be a villain then friend situation like Tyler
Really glad to see i was obviously wrong

 

[Daysean]

I said the other day that this movie was made for my daughter, haha. Also mentioned how I absolutely LOVED it. The whole family did. Kids have watched it 3 times now.

Here are sketches from an actual 13 year old's sketch book (my own kid's). Haha. She has another sketch book, not sure where it's at, but if she'll share it...it's more in line with the "lovey" stuff from the movie 😆 .

Movie was spot on for us.

13 Year Old Daughter's Sketches

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Amazing sense of anatomy and taste in characters

 

[Montresor]

Does the movie have any LGBT characters? I kept expecting that due to the title of this thread (I was thinking maybe Priya but nothing materialized, as far as I can tell).

This was movie was good - but not amazing. I liked it. I liked that it was set in Toronto, and some of the character's movements/mannerisms were really funny. Especially Abby.

Edit: I read the very beginning of the OP more closely and now I get it. The title is the way it is because of the Florida bill - not because of the movies plot or characters. I was worried I missed something obvious while watching the movie. Whoops!

 

[Khanimus]

Was drawing merboys (mermen?) A thing or it is it still a thing?

I used to spend a decent amount of time on DeviantArt back in the day and I never saw much of that. The classics like furry art, anime OC characters, etc were aplenty, but mermaid and merboys I can't recall.

I seen at least two animated production that makes the joke of drawing merboys,band being embarrassed about it, but I am wondering if they actually mean furry art but don't dare go the whole way.

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my partner gave a very specific "oh no" reaction when the merboy thing started popping up. It struck a note...

 

[Nappuccino]

Does the movie have any LGBT characters? I kept expecting that due to the title of this thread (I was thinking maybe Priya but nothing materialized, as far as I can tell).

This was movie was good - but not amazing. I liked it. I liked that it was set in Toronto, and some of the character's movements/mannerisms were really funny. Especially Abby.

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The title is in reference to Disney funding politicians who are putting forth anti lgbtq+ policies and claiming that their meaningful creative work helps counter that.

 

[Montresor]

The title is in reference to Disney funding politicians who are putting forth anti lgbtq+ policies and claiming that their meaningful work helps counter that.

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Thank you.

 

[Daysean]

Does the movie have any LGBT characters? I kept expecting that due to the title of this thread (I was thinking maybe Priya but nothing materialized, as far as I can tell).

This was movie was good - but not amazing. I liked it. I liked that it was set in Toronto, and some of the character's movements/mannerisms were really funny. Especially Abby.

Edit: I read the very beginning of the OP more closely and now I get it. The title is the way it is because of the Florida bill - not because of the movies plot or characters. I was worried I missed something obvious while watching the movie. Whoops!

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I feel like people would say/put a good argument for Tyler being queer coded

 

[Khanimus]

Does the movie have any LGBT characters? I kept expecting that due to the title of this thread (I was thinking maybe Priya but nothing materialized, as far as I can tell).

This was movie was good - but not amazing. I liked it. I liked that it was set in Toronto, and some of the character's movements/mannerisms were really funny. Especially Abby.

Edit: I read the very beginning of the OP more closely and now I get it. The title is the way it is because of the Florida bill - not because of the movies plot or characters. I was worried I missed something obvious while watching the movie. Whoops!

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Aside from the reference to Disney's ties to the Florida bill, the film points at Priya as a non-committal bit of inclusion, with people speculating about Tyler as well

 

[SpankyDoodle]

Was drawing merboys (mermen?) A thing or it is it still a thing?

I used to spend a decent amount of time on DeviantArt back in the day and I never saw much of that. The classics like furry art, anime OC characters, etc were aplenty, but mermaid and merboys I can't recall.

I seen at least two animated production that makes the joke of drawing merboys,band being embarrassed about it, but I am wondering if they actually mean furry art but don't dare go the whole way.

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100% a thing. They also do a merman and a boy band in Gravity Falls too and that was like 10 years ago. Every May the art community on Twitter and Instagram does a month-long drawing challenge called MerMay where every day you get a prompt with a different word to take inspiration from and draw something mermaid related with. I don't know if they're a gateway drug into furry stuff like cat girls are but it's definitely it's own thing too hehe

 

[HotsauceDragon]

Went into this movie blind and for some reason due to her facial expressions and people posting her on social media, i really thought Abby was a foil or would be a villain
Really glad to see i was obviously wrong

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Abby is totally a villain.

Who accidentally mistakes Toronto, ON for Toledo, OH? They're totally different, I mean really

Seriously though, Abby's got real gremlin energy and she's fantastic

 

[Birdie]

I wouldn't consider this a furry gateway movie...until the end when she mixes the human and red panda form together. Then I was like "this is going to awaken people".

 

[MegaRockEXE]

Does the movie have any LGBT characters? I kept expecting that due to the title of this thread (I was thinking maybe Priya but nothing materialized, as far as I can tell).

This was movie was good - but not amazing. I liked it. I liked that it was set in Toronto, and some of the character's movements/mannerisms were really funny. Especially Abby.

Edit: I read the very beginning of the OP more closely and now I get it. The title is the way it is because of the Florida bill - not because of the movies plot or characters. I was worried I missed something obvious while watching the movie. Whoops!

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I totally see Tyler as gay. Of course, they'll never say it, but just look at that passion for Aaron Z. He even dressed similarly to him.

 

[Elliott]

Was drawing merboys (mermen?) A thing or it is it still a thing?

I used to spend a decent amount of time on DeviantArt back in the day and I never saw much of that. The classics like furry art, anime OC characters, etc were aplenty, but mermaid and merboys I can't recall.

I seen at least two animated production that makes the joke of drawing merboys,band being embarrassed about it, but I am wondering if they actually mean furry art but don't dare go the whole way.

Click to shrink...

 

[Kyuuji]

 

[Alavard]

I totally see Tyler as gay. Of course, they'll never say it, but just look at that passion for Aaron Z. He even dressed similarly to him.

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Also...

 

[scottbeowulf]

All the parents being upset at a movie depicting a 13 year old girl being a 13 year old girl just makes me wonder what these people must have been, or believe they were like as 13 year olds. "I was an agreeable child who was seen but not heard, and occasionally my parents took me to see the sailships and let me listen to the song box before bedtime!"

I loved this movie. I've been thinking about it for the last couple days. The palette is pleasant and beautiful, the anime and influences were used effectively, and the score is awesome. I saw so much of the girls I was friends with as a kid in this movie, and related to the art and awakening parts. Damn, I need the art book, stat.

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I wonder the same thing. Seeing those kinda of reviews... it's almost like some kind of joke, but I know it's not. Like that's the story! Same group of wackos that got that assistant principal fired for reading a book with the word butt in it.

 

[ultracal31]

All the parents being upset at a movie depicting a 13 year old girl being a 13 year old girl just makes me wonder what these people must have been, or believe they were like as 13 year olds. "I was an agreeable child who was seen but not heard, and occasionally my parents took me to see the sailships and let me listen to the song box before bedtime!"

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As twitter pointed out to me, I am pretty sure none of these parents were remotely upset when Inside Out had Riley steal her mother's credit card to buy a one way ticket across the country

 

[Sec0nd]

I'm just going to say that the behind the scenes of this lovely movie is absolutely worthless, lol. Had to turn it off at some point because I had learned the entirety of multiple crew member their life and absolutely nothing about the creative process.

 

[Kyuuji]

Spoiler: Ending spoilers

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It's my final smash.