Turning Red: Why 2002 Was The Perfect Setting For Pixar's Latest Movie

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Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Turning Red

Pixar’s latest movie, Turning Red, is set specifically in the year 2002, and that decision was made very intentionally for current fans of Disney’s popular animated movies. The movie follows Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang) as she navigates adolescent life and the challenging though often hilarious emotions that come with the territory. Setting Turning Red in the early 2000s was an excellent choice for a coming-of-age story for a fanbase that can relate all too well to Mei’s situation.

While some Pixar movies and shows are set in particular time periods, seldom does that choice so greatly affect the aesthetic of the work as it has for Turning Red. Whether it’s a carefully placed Tamagotchi or the inclusion of a boy band, the movie feels deeply rooted in 2002, even though it really could take place at any time. The story deals with the coming-of-age process, and that’s a timeless topic.

Related: Turning Red: How Mei’s Grandmother Got Her Scar

Turning Red’s director, Domee Shi, has cited her own childhood during the 1990s and 2000s as an influence for setting the movie in 2002 in a wide-ranging interview with Fandom. Shi, along with millions of other millennials, grew up with the Pixar films and many are now ready to share those same films with their own kids. Turning Red’s setting provides a sense of nostalgia for millennials, while also touching on an important topic that the next generation can relate to.

Included in Turning Red are details large and small that transport the viewer back to the early 2000s. With its Canadian setting, focusing on a Chinese family, with clear influences from anime to guide its way, the movie sounds like it could be very niche, but it is