Domee Shi & Lindsey Collins Interview: Turning Red
Turning Red, premiering through Disney+ on March 11, tackles the trials and tribulations of becoming a young woman through the eyes of protagonist Meilin Lee. Thirteen-year-old Mei (voiced by rising star Rosalie Chiang) is perfectly content with her life until the day she begins transforming into a giant Red Panda every time her emotions get too strong.
Pixar artist Domee Shi, who was responsible for the Oscar-winning short film Bao, takes the reins on the newest Pixar movie and is aided by producer Lindsey Collins (Finding Dory). Aside from discovering the connection between Mei and her fursona, Turning Red also focuses on her dynamic with her three best friends as they navigate puberty together and on how her relationship with her mother Ming (Sandra Oh, Raya and the Last Dragon) changes.
Related: Pixar’s Turning Red Trailer Shows Mei’s Mystical Red Panda Connection
Shi and Collins spoke to Screen Rant about the inspiration for and research that went into Turning Red, and how they each connect to the characters and time period of the red panda-filed adventure.
Screen Rant: Domee, what first inspired you to tell the story? It feels like such a natural evolution from Bao.
Domee Shi: I felt like I had a lot more to unpack and explore in that mother-child relationship, especially between a mom and a daughter. When I was first asked to pitch three ideas as a feature film, I knew all of them were going to be girl coming-of-age stories. I was really passionate and wanting to make a story to help girls Mei's age and guide them through this tumultuous time in their lives.
I really wanted to dive deeper into that mother-daughter relationship, especially from the point of view of an Asian kid, and really explored that nuance of
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