Just bad, what a shame.
Looks like a Sony picture: trying too hard. To be funny, to be cool, to be relatable.
Filling every second, hectic, never slowing pace nor allowing to feel for the characters' struggles or joys, with them. Feels like director/producers/writers/animators just said "welp, it's the _5sec attention span generation_ , let's put a dance, scream, awkward sitch.. every 5sec". Even the nice message gets not lost but sort of trivialized by all that circus.
It's like when adults talk to children as if they're not capable of understanding: I so much more prefer an Encanto, or Soul, approach - passing important messages in an animated movie without feeling the need to sugarcoat it with all of **that** stuff.
Sugarcoat feels right: as you mask veggies with shinier stuff to mask the important part.
The mother was just cringe, "overacted" (if one could say that about an animated person), "a constant manipulation of feelings, an absolute surrender to the cliché".
Encanto has a similar backstory and message but it was passed with grace and sensibility, you could immerse in the culture and traditions, as well as Mirabel's journey. I'd have loved to do it here as well, with the cultural richness present.
[spoiler] the final scene in the forest was the only one where the rhythm slowed down and got more insightful - not weirdly the most touching moment in the pic [/spoiler]

I get that there are different targets and you can be more high RPM, but I don't usually expect it from Pixar.
This movie works - maybe - just if you're under 15

Although it belongs to the Disney juggernaut, Pixar has always allowed itself to tell different stories, stories far removed from the world of princesses and dragons that made the mouse factory so famous. It proves it year after year (Luca and Soul are clear proof of this), and in 2022 it has done it again by focusing on something so important for young people: the arrival of adolescence and the changes they undergo in their bodies, added to how a family with such traditional dyes as the Chinese live through it all.
Red is hilarious. Not only is the script excellent (although it becomes less and less funny with each passing minute, turning the story into something more serious) and will make you laugh all the time, but Mei Lee's character is a real sweetheart. She's a real girl, with real problems, and all excellently portrayed.

Moreover, it focuses on the quality of the script, leaving the technical needs of the animation aside. Where other films seek to faithfully represent elements of fire and water, Red seeks fluidity of animation and elegance. Though kudos must be given for those few seconds of mouth-watering kitchen animation.

Musically it's not memorable, but that hasn't been Pixar's hallmark, so it's nothing new. The Spanish dubbing is also very good, but I'm curious to hear the original voices.

Ideal for family viewing, no doubt about it.

The digital animation geniuses at Pixar are back with “Turning Red” and it marks a departure for the studio known for the “Toy Story” and “Cars”, franchises.

Set in 1990s Toronto, the film centers around 8th grader Mei (Rosalie Chiang), who considers herself an adult at 13 and eagerly applies herself to school when she is not helping her family tour business at a local Temple or hanging with her friends.

Life comes crashing to a halt when after a traumatic day of embarrassment; Mei awakens in the form of a large Red Panda. In a panic, Mei attempts to hide her situation which causes her over-protective mother to assume it is Puberty related and that her hormones are kicking in.

Mei desperately wants to get her life back to normal and learns that as long as she is calm her Panda is under control. However, this proves to be harder than expected and soon Mei learns that the Panda is the result of a family bloodline but there is a way to end it during a Lunar ceremony in a couple of weeks.

Chaos soon follows as Mei struggles with her situation and must find a way to cope with the changes that are going on and make some very important decisions about her life and her future.

The film is a difficult one to review for me as never having been a teenage girl dealing with puberty, raging estrogen, and the issues that go with it. That being said the film struggles to find a balance as it tacks on the capers of Mei in Panda form without being overly funny or charming and keeps the focus on Teen Angst, puberty-related issues and becoming an adult.

The film lacks the interesting characters, charm, and appeal that have set the foundation for so many Pixar films and it is surprising that a company that can elicit a range of emotions in an animated short fail to really connect with their latest feature. There were some amusing parts but the film as a whole was rather dull and lacked much in the way of humor and was very predictable.

The decision to put the film directly on Disney+ as the studio’s recent “Soul” and “Luca” was raised some controversy but in the end, I do believe it was the right decision as “Turning Red” is not likely to be a film that draws people to the cinema beyond the opening weekend.

It is a film that is a bold step for the company, but one that lacks the charm and humor of previous films as not everyone is going to want to sit through a feature-length film on teenage angst and dealing with changing bodies and the emotional turmoil that follows. However, the target audience is likely to connect with the characters and it will be interesting to see what the reaction to the film is long-term.

3 stars out of 5

“Turning Red” will debut on Disney+ on March 11th

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/turning-red-spoiler-free-review

"Turning Red is undoubtedly the riskiest, possibly the most divisive work in Pixar history. Without any remorse or restraint, Domee Shi and Julia Cho unapologetically approach the sensitive topic of (female) puberty in a quite shocking, positively impactful manner.

A narrative that unquestionably explores the hormonal, emotional, and sexual developments of its characters, conveying a message of self-acceptance and understanding of human evolution through its metaphors loaded with youthful excitement.

With the well-known technical attributes from the successful studio, this film will serve as an essential companion for all pre-teens who will deal with or are going through this inevitable and "inconvenient" phase of life.

One of the best movies of the year until this day."

Rating: A-

A beautifully animated movie that touches on real issues like parental pressure, coming of age, friendships, and most importantly...learning who you truly are and accepting all of you. The good and the bad.