Pixar's 'Turning Red' controversy explained: Here's why the movie is the talk of the town

Disney Pixar recently released its animated film Turning Red. The film follows the story of a teenage girl Mei Lee, who tries to make her way through the challenges of puberty and learns how to handle her emotions. The film is helmed by Domee Shi and is set against the backdrop of the Asian community in Toronto. 

Turning Red's official synopsis reads, "Mei Lee is a 13-year-old girl who is torn between being her mother's obedient daughter and the chaos of her youth. As if that were not enough, when she gets too excited, she turns into a big red panda." Soon after the film was released on March 11, it has attracted controversy due to a single review by CinemaBlend's critic Sean O'Connell. O'Connell criticised the film and mentioned he could not connect and it was not for a global audience. 

Why is Turning Red controversial?

Taking to his Twitter handle, Sean O'Connell penned his review of the film. While he has deleted the tweet now, it read, "I recognized the humour in the film but connected with none of it. By rooting Turning Red very specifically in the Asian community of Toronto, the film legitimately feels like it was made for Domee Shi's friends and immediate family members, which is fine - but also, a tad limiting in its scope." "Some Pixar films are made for universal audiences. 'Turning Red' is not. The target audience for this one feels very specific and very narrow. If you are in it, this might work very well for you. I am not in it. This was exhausting," he added.

The critic's harsh review of the movie came out to attract some controversy. However, viewers do not feel the same as they themselves watched the film and could not agree with O'Connell. The film's cast also responded to the harsh review. 

As per HITC, Rosalie Chiang, who voices the lead character Mei Lee, said, "This is coming of age film, everyone goes through this change... I think different people of different cultures are going to go through it differently, but at the end of the day, the core messiness and change is something everyone can relate to." Never Have I Ever star Miatreyi Ramakrishnan, who is also a part of the film's cast, admitted Turning Red is a "universal" film. "Many people will be able to relate to Meilin's story, regardless of whether you are a young Chinese girl from Canada or not," she added.

In the end, O'Conner apologised for his review of the film. O'Conner accepted he did not engage with the film enough, nor did he explain his point of view well. He wrote, "I'm genuinely sorry for my Turning Red review. Thank you to everyone who has reached out with criticism, no matter how harsh. It is clear that I didn't engage nearly enough with the movie, nor did I explain my point of view well, at all." "I really appreciate your feedback," he added.

Image: Instagram/@pixarturningred