Turning Red: The Story Behind the Story
This spring, Disney will release Pixar’s 25th movie, Turning Red.
The new story is about a tween girl named Mei who becomes a giant red panda when she feels a strong emotion because of her family history. While the film is a fantasy, it still tells something very personal.
It all starts with non-other than Domee Shi. Just as Mei in the film, Domee was an only child and grew up in Toronto. When she was young, she would spend every moment with her mother. But by the time she was about to become a teen, her interests started taking more of her time.
Her biggest interest was art since her father was an art teacher. Then she would become a fan of both anime and Disney animation.
After teaching cartooning classes, Domee took an intern job at Pixar in 2011. While working as a story artist on Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4, she would direct the Academy Award-winning short subject, Bao. A year before its release is when she pitched Turning Red.
Voices
While the script was being written, they auditioned a 16-year-old girl named Rosalie Chiang for the lead part of Mei. What they found appealing about her voice is that it sounded authentic and very dorky that was perfect for Mei.
Sandra Oh, who was a voice in Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon, is the voice of Mei’s mother, Ming.
At first, Sandra was nervous about being a voice again for an animated film but soon was more confident about it. What made Sandra right for the part was she can be both tough and nice.
Art Direction
For the look of the project, Domee recruited production designer Rona Liu after working together on Boa. The style chosen for the film had to be fun and caricatured to a point that the crew would call it chunky adorable.
For the characters, Rona decided to give them distinct colors. Mei for instance is in red because it keeps her adorable but also gives her a wildness. Mei’s friends have their own color palette that matches their different personalities.
Music
The music for the film is composed by Oscar-winning composer Ludwig Goransson, which makes this his first composition for an animated film. But what really makes the film stand out is the creation of a fictitious band called 4*Town.
The songs for the band were written by famed musicians Billie Eilish and FINNEAS. The latter also provides one of the band member’s voices. This was something Domee wanted to put into the film because not only is it accurate to the time the film takes place but also because it reflects her obsession when she was a tween.
Release
While the film won’t get the wide theatrical release as planned, Turning Red will no doubt connect with audiences of all ages as Pixar has done before. So the new story of the changes that come with growing up will soon be released on March 11 on Disney+.