Why Turning Red Looks So Different From Other Pixar Movies

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Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for Turning Red.

While watching Pixar's latest, Turning Red, audiences may notice that it looks quite different from other Pixar animated movies. Directed by Domee Shi from a screenplay by her and Julia Cho, Turning Red has a unique look and feel that is unlike previous Pixar films, including Luca and Soul. While each of Pixar’s films are distinct from one another, Turning Red draws inspiration from a very specific animation style and era, while also mixing it with a very familiar aesthetic that is well-known to fans of the animation studio.

Turning Red follows the growing pains of Mei (Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old Chinese Canadian teen who begins transforming into a giant, fluffy red panda following a heightened (and embarrassing) emotional incident. Mei is already an overly excited person, but the age of adolescence means she’s also experiencing a lot of other different emotions. Her transformation causes a lot of chaos, but the changes are most stressful for Mei because she’s afraid of disappointing her overprotective, overbearing mother Ming (Sandra Oh), whose approval she seeks most of all.

Related: Turning Red Ending Explained (In Detail)

Turning Red may be a Pixar film, but its animation style is unique to its story. The film is bright, full of pastel colors, and the characters have so much energy, reacting in extremes with detailed and extremely expressive faces. Their eyes shine bright when they’re bursting with joy and, in the case of Mei’s mother Ming, can transform her rage into an oversized red panda on the prowl. All of these things work within the film itself, with the animation style and tone of Turning Red taking inspiration from anime like Pokémon and other well-known