Turning Red Director Explains Why Bootylicious Was Perfect For The Movie
Turning Red director Domee Shi explains why Destiny's Child's «Bootylicious» was the perfect song choice for the Pixar movie. Following her work on Pixar's Bao, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2019, the Chinese-Canadian animator has returned to the animation studio to helm the coming-of-age tale in her feature directorial debut. Shi leads an all-female creative leadership team that also includes screenwriters Julia Cho and Sarah Stretcher, as well as producer Lindsey Collins.
Turning Red's voice cast is also predominantly female, led by newcomer Rosalie Chiang as Meilin «Mei» Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl who suddenly transforms into a giant red panda whenever she experiences any strong emotion due to her ancestor's mystic connection with the animals. Sandra Oh voices Mei's overprotective mother, Ming, while Never Have I Ever's Maitreyi Ramakrishnan serves as Mei's friend, Priya. Once planned for a theatrical release, Turning Red is the latest Pixar movie after Luca and Soul to be sent straight to Disney+ for no extra cost, streaming on March 11.
Related: Will Lightyear Also Release On Disney+ Since Turning Red Is?
During a discussion with Variety, Shi explained one of the movie's more unconventional song choices – Destiny's Child's 2001 hit “Bootylicious.” According to the Turning Red director, the song was the perfect choice to score a transformative moment in Mei's journey, representing the moment she finally feels comfortable in her own body. Read what Shi had to say below:
She’s finally getting comfortable with her body and celebrating it. It’s about confidence. It was also funny to see a giant red panda dancing to that song.
Like many of Pixar's films, music plays a pivotal
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