The Magical World Of Disney #338: Top 100 Disney Movies, Part 8

86. Turning Red (2022)

Turning Red is a 2022 American computer-animated fantasy comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Domee Shi, in her feature directorial debut, and written by Shi and Julia Cho. The film stars the voices of Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Hyein Park, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen and James Hong.

Set in Toronto, Ontario in 2002, Turning Red follows Meilin “Mei” Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who transforms into a giant Red Panda when she gets into a state of strong emotion. Inspired by Shi’s experiences in Toronto, the film began development in 2018 after she pitched it to Pixar in October 2017. It is the first Pixar film solely directed by a woman and the second to feature an Asian lead character after Up (2009).

After a special screening that took place in London at Everyman Borough Yards on February 21, 2022, Turning Red had its world premiere on March 1, and was released on the Disney+ streaming service on March 11, along with simultaneous limited runs at the El Capitan Theatre and AMC Empire 25. It was released theatrically in most countries without Disney+, and received critical acclaim for its story, humor, animation, vocal performances, and use of culture.

Mei Lee (voice of Rosalie Chiang) is a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (voice of Sandra Oh), is never far from her daughter – an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda.

From that first trailer that came out earlier in the summer, I was sold, I loved the concept, I loved the animation, I loved the character designs especially on the panda, I loved the incorporation of early 2000s boy band music, Backstreet Boys (and later in trailer 2 N*Sync), the movie just looked like it was right up my alley and sure enough, the moment the movie threw in a Simpsons reference with the two panda statues outside of Mei Lee’s house named Bart and Lisa….I knew I was going to love this movie and sure enough, I did.

This movie is pretty fucking amazing, I had an absolute blast watching this movie, this is the most fun I’ve had watching a Pixar movie in a while, not that I have hated what Pixar’s done in the past but this was just a good fun time all around.

The animation is great, very vibrant, very colorful and I love how just chaotic and over the top it can get, it’s like the film has no boundaries to it and they just went nuts and went for it and god bless em for it, it makes for a damn good movie.

I really loved how the characters were represented, a majority of them were all great, they had these colorful and unique personalities they work with and at the same time, they are pretty relatable like it doesn’t really matter how old you are or which character you’re close to, you can relate to the situations that they come across throughout the course of the movie…that is of course turning into a giant red panda when you release strong emotions but you get the idea.

The voice work is great, Rosalie Chiang is great as Mei, she’s got a lot of charisma, character, and personality to work with and it works on screen. Sandra Oh playing her mom was really good, I love the wide assortment in the voice cast, they did a great job casting the picture without resorting to big names, Oh is the biggest name in this movie as well as James Hong and I liked that they went that route instead of just going for the big names to fill these roles.

I like how the storytelling is nicely done, the writing is really sharp, really clever, and not afraid to take some chances, like the animation, there’s dialogue and elements that I saw and I thought “wow, they really put that in there, I didn’t think they could do that but they did it.”

There’s a lot of great comedy in the movie and mixed in with the fantastic visuals leads to some of the best moments of the movie, I laughed long and hard at this…

That image of Mei alone with that look on her face is just fantastic, that’s meme potential in the making right there. And there’s stuff like that all throughout the movie and it’s glorious.

Despite all the over the top insanity, the movie also allows for quieter and more emotional moments to shine through, when it needs to take a break, it allows itself to take that break and those moments never feel forced, they feel genuine, it is Pixar doing what Pixar does best.

Turning Red really is not only high up on my favorite movies of the year but it really is probably my favorite Pixar movie since Coco, it’s that good, I enjoyed so much about this movie from the writing to the characters to the comedy to the animation, this is an all around winner. I just wish it didn’t get dumped to Disney+ so I could experience it on a big screen, this would’ve been impressive to see on a big screen. I highly recommend Turning Red.

85. Ponyo (2009)

Ponyo (Japanese: 崖の上のポニョ, Hepburn: Gake no Ue no Ponyo, literally “Ponyo on the Cliff”) is a 2008 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for the Nippon Television Network, Dentsu, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi, and distributed by Toho. The film stars Yuria Nara, Hiroki Doi, Tomoko Yamaguchi, Kazushige Nagashima, Yūki Amami, George Tokoro, Rumi Hiiragi, Akiko Yano, Kazuko Yoshiyuki and Tomoko Naraoka. It is the eighth film Miyazaki directed for Studio Ghibli, and his tenth overall. The film tells the story of Ponyo, a goldfish who escapes from the ocean and is rescued by a five-year-old human boy, Sōsuke after she is washed ashore while trapped in a glass jar. As they bond with each other, the story deals with resolving Ponyo’s desire to become a human girl, against the devastating circumstances brought about by her acquisition and use of magic.

The film was originally released in Japan on July 19, 2008 by distributor Toho. It was a major commercial success, grossing over $204 million worldwide and becoming the fifth-highest-grossing anime film of all time. It received critical acclaim for its uplifting themes, visual design, and simultaneous appeal towards young children and all audiences.

An English-language version of the film was released on August 15, 2009, releasing to 927 theatres across the U.S., the widest opening for a Studio Ghibli film across the U.S. It was produced by The Kennedy/Marshall Company and released by Walt Disney Pictures.

From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro, and Academy Award®-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes a heartwarming adventure. When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.

Such a visually gorgeous movie with that great classic Studio Ghibili animation we’ve come to know and love, a really fun story that’s both heartwarming and also kind of intense and a bit dark at times but in a good way, it gives it more of an edge than most of Miyazaki’s works. It’s also very funny, a brilliant voice cast, good music, it’s a winner on so many levels, I love it.

#100 & #99

#98 & #97

#96 & #95

#94 & #93

#92 & #91

#90 & #89

#88 & #87

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