Variety Reviewer Courtney Howard Praises Pixar’s Turning Red As “Unapologetically Horny”
Spencer Baculi
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According to Variety reviewer Courtney Howard, one of the highlights of Pixar’s upcoming Turning Red is the fact that it is “unapologetically horny.”
RED ALERT – In Disney and Pixar’s all-new original feature film “Turning Red,” 13-year-old Mei Lee “poofs” into a giant panda when she gets too excited (which for a teenager is practically ALWAYS). This unfortunate new reality for the teenager lands her in a multitude of awkward situations. Featuring Rosalie Chiang as the voice of Mei Lee, “Turning Red” will debut exclusively on Disney+ (where Disney+ is available) on March 11, 2022. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
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Set to hit Disney Plus on March 11th, Turning Red follows the story of Meilin “Mei” Lee, a young Chinese-Canadian girl who finds herself – in a not-so-subtle metaphor for female puberty – turning into a giant red panda anytime she finds herself overwhelmed with emotion.
“The red panda is a metaphor not just for puberty, but also what we inherit from our moms, and how we deal with the things that we inherit from them,” the film’s director and co-writer, Domee Shi, told Polygon on February 7th.
She explained, “[Mei is] growing up caught between two worlds, East and West, but [she’s] also at this time in her life where she’s blossoming into adulthood, and all of these changes are happening not just to her body, but to her relationship with her mom and her friends.”
MIDDLE SCHOOL MAYHEM – In Disney and Pixar’s all-new original feature film “Turning Red,” 13-year-old Mei Lee, a confident-but-dorky teenager, is surviving the mayhem of middle school with a little help from her tightknit group of friends. Featuring the voices of (from left to right) Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Priya, Rosalie Chiang as Mei, Ava Morse as Miriam, and Hyein Park as Abby, “Turning Red” will debut exclusively on Disney+ (where Disney+ is available) on March 11, 2022. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Howard offered her questionable commentary on February 21st, taking to her personal Twitter to praise Turning Red following an early viewing of the film, “Turing Red is hilarious, heartfelt & unapologetically horny.”
“A sentimental story about parental problems, puberty & pandas that’s endearingly oddball & off-kilter in the best way,” she added. “Good world building & teen bops. Sandra Oh & newcomer Rosalie Chiang are splendid”.
Archive Link Source: Courtney Howard Twitter
Expanding on her description to a puzzled reader, Howard elaborated, “Yup. They lean all the way on teen girls’ hormone-driven expressions (like boy/boy band crushes. etc).
Archive Link Source: Courtney Howard Twitter
“Just you wait till you set it,” she told another Twitter user. “It’s a delightful surprise how much they honor teen girls’ raging hormones.”
Archive Link Source: Courtney Howard Twitter
It should be noted that this approximation of the film’s content was merely Howard’s description of the film, and not an official marketing line offered by Disney.
While trailers show Mei and her friends’ fawning over a boy band named 4*Town as a central plot element, they offer no indication that the film goes any further than showing the girls having excited celebrity crushes on the group’s members.
Source: Turning Red | Official Trailer (2021), Pixar, YouTube
Further, rather than offer a more elaborative explanation for her choice of words, Howard responded to widespread questioning of her tweet by immediately making her account private – a state in which it remains as of this article’s writing.
As such, it’s currently unclear whether Turning Red actually contains any such overt sexual content or if Howard was reading too far into the children’s film’s coming-of-age themes.
WE’VE GOT YOUR (FLUFFY) BACK – In Disney and Pixar’s all-new original feature film “Turning Red,” everything is going great for 13-year-old Mei—until she begins to “poof” into a giant panda when she gets too excited. Fortunately, her tightknit group of friends have her fantastically fluffy red panda back. Featuring the voices of Rosalie Chiang, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan and Hyein Park as Mei, Miriam, Priya and Abby, “Turning Red” will debut exclusively on Disney+ (where Disney+ is available) on March 11, 2022. © 2022 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
What do you make of Howard’s description of Turning Red as “unapologetically horny”? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!
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