Turning Red Trivia | 55 facts about the new Pixar film

Turning Red is the 25th Pixar film and it was released on March 11 on Disney+.

So let’s find out some trivia and facts about the new film.

1. Turning Red is a 2022 American computer-animated coming-of-age fantasy comedy film
2. The film is produced by Pixar Animation Studios
3. It is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
4. It is directed by Domee Shi
5. Turning Red is her feature directorial debut
6. From a screenplay written by Shi and Julia Cho
7. The film stars the voices of Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Ava Morse, Hyein Park, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Orion Lee, Wai Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen, and James Hong
8. It is the first Pixar film to be solely directed by a woman
9. The first to take place in Canada
10. And the second to feature an Asian lead character after Up
11. The film is set in Toronto in 2002
12. It follows Meilin “Mei” Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian student who is horrified to discover her newfound ability to transform into a giant red panda whenever she gets into a state of strong emotion
13. The film is inspired by Shi’s experiences in Toronto
14. The film began development in 2018 after she pitched it to Pixar in October 2017
15. A special screening took place in London at Everyman Borough Yards on February 21, 2022
16. The film had its world premiere on March 1, 2022
17. It was released on Disney+ in countries where the service is available on March 11, 2022
18. Turning Red has a simultaneous limited run at the El Capitan Theatre
19. It was released theatrically in countries without the streaming service
20. Originally intended to be released in theatres worldwide, further disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic and the rapid spread of the Omicron variant resulted in the change being made
21. The film received critical acclaim with praise for its story, humour, animation, and use of culture
22. Shi first pitched Turning Red to Pixar on October 31, 2017
23. That same year, Pixar hired Chiang to provide scratch vocals to support the development of the film
24. Chiang, then only 12 years old, was selected in part because she was a local child actor conveniently based in nearby Fremont, which is only about 35 miles (56 km) from Pixar’s Emeryville headquarters
25. On May 8, 2018, it was reported that Shi, who wrote and directed the Academy Award-winning Pixar short Bao that same year, was writing and directing a full-length feature film at the studio
26. Thus making her the second woman to direct a Pixar film after Brenda Chapman who co-directed Brave
27. As well as the first solo Pixar director for a feature film
28. On November 26, 2018, Shi confirmed that she was working on a film at the studio
29. Shi also said that the film was in early stages of development, with the story still being worked on, and that “[she is] really excited to play in this new 90-minute film format”
30. On January 1, 2019, Shi said that she planned for the film to be “entertaining and emotional”
31. After two years of development, Shi and producer Lindsey Collins reached the point where the film was “solid” enough to start casting professional voice actors
32. After listening to various auditions, they realized they had already fallen in love with Chiang’s scratch vocals and could not envision anyone else playing Mei
33. They escalated the issue to Pixar chief creative officer Pete Docter, who personally approved casting Chiang in the film’s lead role
34. During a 2020 recording session, Shi suddenly surprised Chiang with an additional script page, in which Shi, reading in character as Ming, offered Chiang the role
35. On December 10, 2020, Shi’s film was announced with the title Turning Red, with the plot also being unveiled.
36. The film takes place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during the early 2000s, specifically through 2002 to 2003, as indicated through scenes in the teaser trailer and on Mei’s student ID in the teaser poster, as well as confirmation by a production designer in February 2021
37. At least two minor characters, who are visible in the trailer, have type 1 diabetes, as glucose sensors and insulin pumps are visible
38. This is the first time that diabetes has been depicted in a Disney/Pixar film
39. The film also deals with aspects of puberty, though the film does not directly talk of biological changes
40. For example, Mei’s mother first mistakes Mei’s reaction to her transformation as if she was having her first menstruation
41. Shi said they were “unapologetic” about the discussion of these topics in the film
42. The title Turning Red itself an allegory for this time in a young woman’s life
43. Shi and her staff had feared that studio executives would want these scenes removed, but the scenes were accepted into the film
44. Rona Liu served as production designer in the film, after previously doing so for Bao
45. Liu said that working on a feature film was “a dream come true” for her
46. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes,the film holds a 95% rating
47. Based on 177 critics
48. With an average rating of 8.00/10
49. The website’s consensus reads, “Heartwarming, humorous, beautifully animated, and culturally expansive, Turning Red extends Pixar’s long list of family-friendly triumphs”
50. Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100
51. Based on 47 critics
52. Indicating “universal acclaim”
53. Domee Shi has expressed interest in a follow-up stating, “We are open, but we haven’t talked about it, but yeah, it’s an invitation at the end for more stories”
54. Ludwig Göransson composed the film’s score, making it his first animated film composition
55. Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell wrote three original songs performed in the film by the fictional boy band 4*Town, “U Know What’s Up”, “1 True Love”, and “Nobody Like U”