Turning Red Is A Hit On Rotten Tomatoes

Turning Red is officially a hit on Rotten Tomatoes, which is some good news for everyone who’s been waiting for Disney Pixar’s latest film to arrive on Disney+. At the time of writing this, Turning Red has earned a score of 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, with 21 reviews having been submitted. Check out a sampling of what critics are saying about the film, below – or watch our ComicBook.com interview with the director and writer above!

In “Turning Red”, Mei Lee is a confident, dorky thirteen-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. And as if changes to her interests, relationships, and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which for a teenager is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda!

The cast of Turning Red includes Sandra Oh, Rosalie Chiang, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, James Hong, Jordan Fisher, Lily Sanfelippo, Finneas O’Connell, Wai Ching Ho and more. It is directed by Domee Shi, with a script by July Cho and Domee Shi. 

Turning Red will be streaming exclusively on Disney+ starting on March 11th. 

The Next Animated Obsession

ComicBook.com’s Jenna Anderson calls Turning Red a “natural evolution” for Pixar that is destined to become the “world’s next animated obsession.” 

All at once, Turning Red feels like a natural evolution for the realm of Pixar films, and also something absolutely revolutionary. I never would have expected to see an animated film of this caliber that is so focused on the teen-aged girl experience of embracing messiness and being true to yourself  — much less one that is wrapped in such a brilliant exterior. With endlessly impressive animation, an inspired approach to nostalgia, and a plot that is clever in all the right ways, Turning Red is about to (deservedly) be the world’s next animated obsession.

READ FULL REVIEW

Graduation Day

THR Thinks director Domee Shi has graduated from making shorts to wonderfully navigating a full-llength feature: 

Director Domee Shi, who brought a dumpling to life in her Oscar-winning short, Bao, graduates to features with flying colors — literally — in this charmer from Pixar.

Re-Watchable If Not Powerful

The LA Times says that Turning Red is a good fun watch – even if it doesn’t hit the deeper emotional notes of other Pixar classics: 

“Turning Red” is a delight and, I suspect, an endlessly replayable one, though in its eagerness to clean up its own impressively messy emotions in the final stretch, it falls short of the catharsis it’s aiming for.

Second-Tier Best

Variety doesn’t mince words, calling Turning Red a Pixar B-Movie, which still ranks as one of the better movies out there, in general. 

Irresistibly cute and thoroughly unashamed of its own silliness, “Turning Red” may be second-tier Pixar, but the emotions run every bit as deep as in the studio’s best.

Good Growing Up Story

EW appreciates the coming-of-age tale that Turning Red tells. 

In the tricky world of tween-dom, it captures something sweetly universal: Growing up is messy, no matter how you bear it.

Can’t Believe They Made It

Daily Telegraph (UK) Can’t believe Pixar had the moxie to make such a wonderfully novel kind of film: 

It’s hard to know what’s more impressive about the latest Pixar film: its boundless artistry, ingenuity and loopy comic verve, or the mere fact that the studio got away with making it.

Growing Up, Not Apart

Nerdist appreciates the specific them that Turning Red tries to convey to its young viewers: 

Turning Red is a sweet and relatable story about what it means to grow up, but not apart.

Not Impressed

Guardian wasn’t impressed with this Pixar flick, but is keeping hopes up for the next one:

The journey is slick and diverting, and at times incisive, but Turning Red is yet another Pixar film that coasts rather than glides. Hopefully its next offering can turn into something more.