Anger. Emotion. Sinister periods. These are the villains of the endearing Pixar movie Turning Red, an entertaining and oft-manic romp through a teen girl’s puberty-driven rampage.
A Pixar movie seemingly less interested in award glory and deep thoughtfulness than most of its fare, Turning Red thrives on its humor and goofiness. The movie follows an over-achieving Chinese-Canadian girl with a straight laced Tiger Mom who discovers that the women in her family has something peculiar happen to them once the blood begins to floweth: they turn into giant red pandas.
As Meilin (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) begins to grapple with her newfound curse/abilities, Turning Red accelerates to a nonstop barrage of laughs and amusing moments that do a fine job representing the emotional and chaotic mind of a teenage girl (well, really, a group of teenage girls). The panda-a-period metaphor may be a bit too on the muzzle for some, as well as it implications that teen girls (or perhaps women) have uncontrollable, raging emotions, but Turning Red is a funny, fast-paced adventure that will appeal to small kids, resonate with teens, and land well with adults.
To that end, while it may not reach the typical dramatic highs of some Pixar movies, it is still very much a Pixar movie. One worth watching.

Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.