LONG (AND OVERDUE) POST ALERT:
Not even Post-Booster sickness could keep me from a new Pixar movie; we were up early (or late, depending on how messed up YOUR sleep schedule is...) and pressed play at 3 AM when 'Turning Red' was released exclusively on Disney+!
In short, I thoroughly and completely enjoyed the movie; the story feels unique, the character designs are super interesting, and the 2000s nostalgia hit all the right notes. You'll hear no complaints out of me, other than my missing John Ratzenberger's usual Pixar cameo...
But of course, the internet has cooked up a controversy, deeming this movie "inappropriate" for Pixar's usual audience, claiming this female coming-of-age story is "too mature" for DARING to mention puberty...
But despite what you may have read, and other than a few BRIEF (and usually comedic) references, 'Turning Red' is no more explicitly "about periods" than it is about a Tamagotchi.
On the surface 'Turning Red' is a story about a quirky group of 13-year-olds, one who can transform into a giant red panda, and her relationship with her mom. There are themes of community and breaking generational trauma, but VERY little of that has to do with menstruation.
That is, of course, open to individual interpretation... Members of the LGBTQ+ community identified with 'Luca', despite the director basing the story on his own childhood, with no intention of making it a queer story. And one doesn't invalidate the other, stories are what we make them.
I am, unfortunately, a man; so there are subtleties to Mei's story that I may not be privy to, but there's nothing inherently "girly" about this movie.
As much as I love sequels and revisiting old Pixar friends, this recent batch of original stories from the studio have been special, and with 'Lightyear' coming this summer (which somehow checks both boxes) as far as I'm concerned Pixar can do no wrong, and their 27-year success streak continues with 'Turning Red'.
Period.
