Given all the negative reviews Turning Red's been receiving as of late, I thought I'd make my point very clear: Please, for the love of God, WATCH the movie before you drop your review. I've seen countless reviews of Turning Red on the internet, and I'm tired of hearing the exact same thing over and over again that hardly even relates to the movie itself.
With that out of the way, here are my thoughts: As a 14-year old teenager who already loves animated films, I really enjoyed this one (and not just because Red Pandas are my favorite animals)! I will admit, it's not a perfect film ("gasp! So shocking coming from me who's supposed to be defending the movie!"), but I would at least give it a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. Why? Because, like I said, I enjoyed it. It's not my favorite Disney film, but it's definitely not my worst. Far from it, actually. Why did I like it so much? Because it provided a main character I could FINALLY really see myself in, a mom that my real-life mom could see herself in, and a touching story that made BOTH my mom and I emotional, especially towards the end. It's very, and I mean VERY rare, that I find movies nowadays where I can see myself in the protagonist. Not that I can't enjoy movies where I can't see myself, because as much as I absolutely adored Encanto, I really can't see that much of myself as the epicly heroic and courageous Mirabel, who's willing to travel to the ends of the Earth (if she had to) for what she thinks is right. I know what it's like to feel left out from my family, absolutely, but aside from that I couldn't see myself.
That being said, I know this movie isn't gonna "click" for everyone, I 100% get that, actually, but there's been so much hate centered around this film (even before it even released, with people bashing it because they "didn't like the artstyle" which is a flat-out ridiculous reason to hate an entire film in my opinion), I really couldn't sit idly by and not say SOMETHING. Yes, I get it. I'm technically the "target demographic" for this film, so of course I would enjoy it. But, I really think there's something so much more universal about this movie.
I've seen several very positive reviews on YouTube with ACTUAL ADULT MEN praising how much they enjoyed the movie. They're not young, teenage girls! They're not moms! They're men. Actual. Adult. Men. So I quite frankly do not understand in the slightest why some people think it's alright to say that this movie is for a "specific target audience," when really, it's not. Remember what I said about Encanto? I said I couldn't see much of myself in the protagonist, Mirabel, but I did relate to what she went through in the story. Which I think is the case for most of the people watching Turning Red. There's no doubt a lot of us have been under an immense amount of pressure, anger, and that feeling of wanting to be perfect at one point in our life (I know I sure have), and a lot of us know what it's like to be 13 years old.
Being 13 is a point in our life that we try to black-out for a reason. The experience 13 years old is a crazy, emotional trainwreck (for the majority of us, at least) that we would love to forget about. This movie is about embracing another side of yourself (quite literally, actually), you don't have to be a "goody-goody two shoes" to be good enough. You're already perfect, whether you see that or not. And you don't have to be a "mama's girl" to be a good person. This movie encourages young girls to become their own person, which I think is a very important theme, especially in kids films. (And before you even THINK to mention, "Oh yeah? Well this movie encourages kids to run off and disobey their parents and go party!" there have been SEVERAL Disney flicks that have encouraged the same thing, and I don't see anyone complaining how a young teenage girl literally was about to hitch a bus and run away from her parents, even stealing their money to do so.) And yes, I know the main character twerks in this movie. But do you know what? That's reality for you. You can take it or leave it, I don't really give a d*mn for all I care.
So go ahead. Ignore my review if you want to. I don't care anymore, life is too short. But, if you chose to read all the way down to here, I thank you immensely. You don't have to agree with my opinion, I'm not about to come over to your house and attack you, but I hope you at least realize that I enjoyed this movie. My mom enjoyed this movie. My friends enjoyed this movie. People online (including people outside the supposed "target demographic") enjoyed this movie. Heck, my DAD enjoyed this movie. Our opinions can't speak for everyone, but I think it's important to know that regardless of what negative thoughts you might have about this movie, we are still gonna like it. There are still people out there who were able to see themselves in the characters, and the story, no matter what age or gender they are.
Take it from Mei Lee, the main character in Turning Red: "We've all got a messy, loud part of ourselves hidden away. And some of us never choose to let it out...but I did. How about you?"
With that out of the way, here are my thoughts: As a 14-year old teenager who already loves animated films, I really enjoyed this one (and not just because Red Pandas are my favorite animals)! I will admit, it's not a perfect film ("gasp! So shocking coming from me who's supposed to be defending the movie!"), but I would at least give it a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars. Why? Because, like I said, I enjoyed it. It's not my favorite Disney film, but it's definitely not my worst. Far from it, actually. Why did I like it so much? Because it provided a main character I could FINALLY really see myself in, a mom that my real-life mom could see herself in, and a touching story that made BOTH my mom and I emotional, especially towards the end. It's very, and I mean VERY rare, that I find movies nowadays where I can see myself in the protagonist. Not that I can't enjoy movies where I can't see myself, because as much as I absolutely adored Encanto, I really can't see that much of myself as the epicly heroic and courageous Mirabel, who's willing to travel to the ends of the Earth (if she had to) for what she thinks is right. I know what it's like to feel left out from my family, absolutely, but aside from that I couldn't see myself.
That being said, I know this movie isn't gonna "click" for everyone, I 100% get that, actually, but there's been so much hate centered around this film (even before it even released, with people bashing it because they "didn't like the artstyle" which is a flat-out ridiculous reason to hate an entire film in my opinion), I really couldn't sit idly by and not say SOMETHING. Yes, I get it. I'm technically the "target demographic" for this film, so of course I would enjoy it. But, I really think there's something so much more universal about this movie.
I've seen several very positive reviews on YouTube with ACTUAL ADULT MEN praising how much they enjoyed the movie. They're not young, teenage girls! They're not moms! They're men. Actual. Adult. Men. So I quite frankly do not understand in the slightest why some people think it's alright to say that this movie is for a "specific target audience," when really, it's not. Remember what I said about Encanto? I said I couldn't see much of myself in the protagonist, Mirabel, but I did relate to what she went through in the story. Which I think is the case for most of the people watching Turning Red. There's no doubt a lot of us have been under an immense amount of pressure, anger, and that feeling of wanting to be perfect at one point in our life (I know I sure have), and a lot of us know what it's like to be 13 years old.
Being 13 is a point in our life that we try to black-out for a reason. The experience 13 years old is a crazy, emotional trainwreck (for the majority of us, at least) that we would love to forget about. This movie is about embracing another side of yourself (quite literally, actually), you don't have to be a "goody-goody two shoes" to be good enough. You're already perfect, whether you see that or not. And you don't have to be a "mama's girl" to be a good person. This movie encourages young girls to become their own person, which I think is a very important theme, especially in kids films. (And before you even THINK to mention, "Oh yeah? Well this movie encourages kids to run off and disobey their parents and go party!" there have been SEVERAL Disney flicks that have encouraged the same thing, and I don't see anyone complaining how a young teenage girl literally was about to hitch a bus and run away from her parents, even stealing their money to do so.) And yes, I know the main character twerks in this movie. But do you know what? That's reality for you. You can take it or leave it, I don't really give a d*mn for all I care.
So go ahead. Ignore my review if you want to. I don't care anymore, life is too short. But, if you chose to read all the way down to here, I thank you immensely. You don't have to agree with my opinion, I'm not about to come over to your house and attack you, but I hope you at least realize that I enjoyed this movie. My mom enjoyed this movie. My friends enjoyed this movie. People online (including people outside the supposed "target demographic") enjoyed this movie. Heck, my DAD enjoyed this movie. Our opinions can't speak for everyone, but I think it's important to know that regardless of what negative thoughts you might have about this movie, we are still gonna like it. There are still people out there who were able to see themselves in the characters, and the story, no matter what age or gender they are.
Take it from Mei Lee, the main character in Turning Red: "We've all got a messy, loud part of ourselves hidden away. And some of us never choose to let it out...but I did. How about you?"