Written by Daniella Garcia. Photo courtesy of IMDb.
Packed with comedy, heart and oh-so-relatable middle school nostalgia, “Turning Red” spoke to the coming-of-age journey of girls everywhere, painting the incredibly painful and awkward experience of growing up and enduring puberty into a vibrant, real and reassuring one. Following the story of Mei, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl who’s torn between remaining a dutiful daughter to her mom and her ways and following her own path in growing up. Naturally, the themes in the film feel incredibly visceral and authentic to the universal dynamic we face with our own parents, specifically within such a squirmy, uncomfortable and ever-changing time.
Written and directed by the trail-blazing Domee Shi, the audience was privileged with a Q&A following the film. Breaking boundaries, Shi was the first woman to direct a short at Pixar and win the academy award as the first woman of color for her short film “Bao.” She was also the first woman to have sole director’s credit on a feature film. During the panel, Shi gave us insight into her experiences coming up in Pixar, initially starting as a storyboard artist on films such as “Inside Out,” “Incredibles 2,” and “Toy Story 4.”
Shi said, “At Pixar, I was always encouraged to lean into my uniqueness, my point of view, and my weirdness.”
While working on “Inside Out,” Shi worked on “Bao” as a side project, and after its release and success in 2018, gained the confidence to pursue the story of her upbringing in “Turning Red.” Shi explained that she’s always craved the creative process of telling her own stories.
“I’m always trying to find the truth,” said Shi. “And how the truth can be both funny and happy and sad at the same time. That’s what drove me to tell the story about this mother and daughter, and what the truth behind that relationship is. The truth is that it’s messy.”
Wanting to illustrate that further, Shi stated, “I wanted to make something that talked about that experience, of what it’s like to be a girl growing up and dealing with all those emotions and changes within your bodies, and I also wanted to throw in all the things I loved, like cute animals, boy bands, 2000s references. I didn’t know how all of that was going to thread together, but I was going to try somehow, and that’s how “Turning Red” came to be.”
