a review of 青春变形记

[Beware: some possible spoilers ahead...] The ADHD start of Turning Red made me seriously doubt whether the film was going to work out for me. But soon the pace got bearable, and the narrative improved. It took a little while for me to realize that the story took place around the late 1990s, but elements like the Tamagotchi, the early mobile phones and the boyband made that clear.  The Red Panda allegory for a girl's period was a nice touch, and I guess you could interpret the mother's panda appearance as a reflection of the menopause. 😅 I also liked the (apparent) winks to Ghostbusters (1984), in the shape of the panda gargoyles on either side of the temple gate, and of course the… let’s call her the ‘Marshmallow Woman’. 🙂 As a 3D creator I can never view a Pixar film without analyzing the 3D imagery, realized using their versatile Renderman renderer. I loved the fur and the subsurface scattering of the teeth, among other things, though I wasn’t convinced by the slightly pale, pastel-styled outdoor scenery. I get the intention, but I thought the contrast between that anime-like look and the Pixar-style foreground caused a slight visual discrepancy. But that’s about my only minor nitpick. I enjoyed Turning Red.