Turning Red Parent Guide

“We’ve all got an inner beast, a messy, loud part of ourselves hidden away.” So says Meilin (known as MeiMei and voiced by Rosalie Chiang). MeiMei is 13 years old and her statement aptly sums up the emotional turbulence of early adolescence. But MeiMei’s inner beast is scarier than most – when she feels intense emotion, the young girl transforms into a giant red panda.

MeiMei’s transformation alerts her to a hidden part of her family history. This gift is apparently a legacy from a brave ancestor who used her powers to protect her village in wartime, but, as MeiMie’s mother, Ming (Sandra Oh), points out, in a new country, the “blessing” is now an “inconvenience”. Fortunately, there is a ritual that will trap MeiMei’s panda inside an object, allowing her to live a normal life.

Frankly, a “normal” life would be a refreshing change for MeiMei. She is the stereotypically perfect Asian student, achieving high grades and twisting herself into a pretzel to please her supercharged helicopter mother. The cracks are starting to show. MeiMei still wants to make her mother happy, but she also wants to have fun with her friends. And now that she’s aware of boys – and obsessed with a boy band – the seeds of rebellion are sprouting. Having a giant red panda in the mix isn’t going to make this adolescent upheaval any easier…

Turning Red is an enormously fun movie. It’s original, heartfelt, comic, and completely relatable. If you experienced adolescent conflict with your parents – or are on the other side of the coin – you know what it’s like to both love and hate the same person with guilty intensity. The messy relationship between MeiMei and Ming is the movie’s great strength, bringing it bone-deep authenticity. Unfortunately, it’s also the film’s weak spot because the movie explicitly endorses MeiMei’s rebellion, even when that includes lying to her mother and sneaking out of the house at night. We might sympathize with her, but most parents aren’t going to want their kids to assume that MeiMei’s behavior is an appropriate response to conflict with a parent, however unreasonable that parent might be.

Parents will also want to consider the level of violence in the film. It isn’t excessive or gory and is sometimes funny, but the panda battles will certainly scare preschoolers. Another factor to keep in mind is that menstruation is an ongoing subject in the film, and it’s always played for laughs. A miscommunication between mother and daughter has Ming believing that her daughter is hiding in the bathroom because she has started her period. Hilarious conversations ensue, as do plenty of jokes involving feminine hygiene products. They aren’t tasteless, and I laughed out loud, but unless you want the movie to trigger a facts-of-life discussion with your little one, this movie is best suited to kids who already know the basics of the birds and the bees.

Minor negative content aside, Turning Red can serve as a useful catalyst for discussions with tweens about the challenges they face with puberty, friendships, setting goals, and managing volatile emotions. It’s also a celebration of racial diversity. The movie is set in Toronto – for a change it’s not Toronto pretending to be another city as it is in so many films. This is the real Toronto, a bustling multicultural city, with a “majority minority” population, which is fully represented in the movie. Parents of any race who want their kids to see a world they identify with will find this movie helpful. And Canadians will have a ton of fun finding all the national easter eggs that director Domee Shi has hidden in plain sight.

Best of all, Turning Red is a reassuring story for young viewers who feel like they don’t fit in. MeiMei’s struggle to accept herself and to claim her place in her family and peer group will resonate with viewers of any age. That these valuable messages are delivered with such warmth, empathy, and humor, is a bonus for family audiences.