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I borrowed my brother's Disney Plus password to watch Pixar's Turning Red earlier tonight because I'm never paying for Disney Plus. I'm glad I watched the movie though because it was really good. As far as movies where the real villain is overbearing grandparents, Turning Red makes Encanto look like a pile of half-baked puke. Turning Red isn't a musical, but I wouldn't call Encanto much of a musical either! DOHOHOHO! I don't want to sound pretentious here but Turning Red and Luca form sort of a coming-of-age diptych with Luca focusing on the masculine experience and Turning Red as the feminine. Yin and Yang. Of the two films, Turning Red is the superior in terms of plotting, humor and artistic style, IMO. I enjoyed Luca but there's no real demand to see it again anytime soon. Mei Lee, the main character, is a 13 year old girl who discovers she's cursed to transform into a giant red panda whenever she feels strong emotion. The Red Panda transformation is treated both explicitly and thematically as a period metaphor. Mei Lee's declaration "I'm a gross red monster!" at first prompts Mei's mother to believe Mei is having her period. The panda transformation is also closely tied to the cycle of the moon. Mei and her mother are very close, and Mei's mother is very protective of Mei to the point of smothering her. The panda curse is triggered when Mei's mother discovers Mei's stash of horny drawings under the bed and goes berserk, publicly humiliating Mei by brandishing the drawings accusingly at the target of Mei's fantasies. The scene is both hilarious and cringe-inducing, especially for those of us who had our own stashes of horny drawings as teens. Mei is thoroughly horn't throughout the movie to a level comparable with and perhaps exceeding Tina Belcher (from Bob's Burgers). (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocGS2zLv-II) So just... be prepared for that as parents. The trailers did not prepare us and while nothing inappropriate is shown on screen it's definitely way more acknowledgement of teenaged sexuality than you'd expect from a Pixar film. The climax of the film involves Mei defeating her kaiju mother by twerking at her. I'm not joking. It's all really funny but heads up it's there. The schism between mother and daughter widens when Mei's mother forbids Mei to attend a boy band concert ("4 Town"), prompting Mei to go behind her mother's back and hatch a secret plan to attend the concert anyway. Mei discovers she can control the panda transformation while in the presence of her three besties, and they embark on a scheme to use the panda to earn money to buy tickets to see 4 Town. Mei's best friends don't get their own arcs, they mostly serve as emotional support for Mei, but the relationship between the girls comes across as genuine and is one of the film's emotional anchors. Themes of the transition to womanhood are extremely prominent throughout, with Mei's mother telling Mei that Mei is a woman now, and Mei and her friends declaring that they will become women by attending the 4 Town concert. At the climax of the movie Mei is forced to decide between sealing away her panda form or attending the 4 Town concert. The visual language of the film is a fusion of western and anime-inspired and the characters frequently shift into animesque expressions. It's a departure from Pixar's more usual subdued Brad Bird vibe. I feel like the critical and commercial success of The Mitchells vs. the Machines opened up a creative door in the CG animation industry and I was glad to see Pixar taking some creative chances with the animation. My wife and daughters all went wild for the movie. The level of engagement and emotional response were noticeably higher than for Encanto and my daughters were rolling with laughter for most of the movie. My wife laughed really hard at all the period jokes. For parents: while my daughters did enjoy this movie immensely, it might be a bit too action-packed and plot-focused to serve as a good babysitting movie. If you're looking to keep your kids quiet for 100 minutes, Frozen is probably still your best bet or Frozen II if you hate yourself. Voice actor spotters keep an ear out for James Hong, who is legally obliged to voice a character in every film centering on Asian culture. Pixar mom butt spotters will be disappointed. There is no mom butt in the movie. 10/10 for themes, animation style/quality, emotional impact, and humor. Will definitely watch again. Applewhite fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Mar 12, 2022 |
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Mar 12, 2022 04:07
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| # ? Jun 11, 2024 04:00 |
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That's really interesting and all but can you tell us a little more about the password you borrowed? Who did it belong to? Did they charge it after the movie? Does this mean they don't trust you?
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Mar 12, 2022 04:20
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Spermanent Record posted:That's really interesting and all but can you tell us a little more about the password you borrowed? Who did it belong to? Did they charge it after the movie? Does this mean they don't trust you? Nice try Disney I'm not a squealer.
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Mar 12, 2022 04:22
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Lol gross go post this in the period thread applewhite
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Mar 12, 2022 04:45
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Nooner posted:Lol gross go post this in the period thread applewhite There's a period thread?
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Mar 12, 2022 04:47
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How am I supposed to enjoy an animated movie without the Dreamworks face or musical numbers?
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Mar 12, 2022 05:00
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its all nice on rice posted:How am I supposed to enjoy an animated movie without the Dreamworks face or musical numbers? 4-Town does a brief boy band interlude but it's not a full song. The girls also do some songs (presumably from 4-Town's album) but any singing the characters do is diagetic.
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Mar 12, 2022 05:02
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if i saw luca as a kid i would literally flip off my mom. oh his ultimate dream is just go to school? wow. oh but you see hes in the closet (hes a monster) but in the end you see the two grandmas turn into monsters just so everyone gets the allegory. great. "monster" people apparently have the most mundane, pedestrian desires imaginable.
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Mar 12, 2022 05:21
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hm as far as applewhite threads go this movie came out way too recently and you basically just described the plot 2/10
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Mar 12, 2022 05:43
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The Walrus posted:hm as far as applewhite threads go this movie came out way too recently and you basically just described the plot 2/10 I also talked about the themes and the animation style!
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Mar 12, 2022 05:44
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Plus I threw in some helpful tips for parents. 
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Mar 12, 2022 05:46
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Y'know... seeing as how we're all fuckin' 40 now.
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Mar 12, 2022 05:46
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Applewhite posted:Turning Red isn't a musical,
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Mar 12, 2022 06:12
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I like musicals because they're my primary source of music. I'm not very good about listening to music on its own so it's kind of like how I don't typically eat salad except when I go out to a restaurant.
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Mar 12, 2022 06:21
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That said it's not like I feel Turning Red would have been improved by being a musical. It's perfectly good exactly as it is.
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Mar 12, 2022 06:24
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In the harsh light of day 10/10 seems like it might be high but I've decided to stand by it. There is a strong impulse to conflate 10/10 with perfection when obviously only Allah is perfect. 10/10 being the highest also would seem to make the logical implication that Turning Red stands equal to other 10/10 films like Schindler's List or something. Obviously Turning Red is no Schindler's List. That's stupid. Instead of visualizing the 10 point scale as a spectrum with the best possible movie at 10 and the worst at 0, think of it like those classes where the professor tells you "everyone starts my class with an A." I start movies off with 10 points and subtract points in areas where I think the movie needs work. I can't find anywhere to take points off so Turning Red remains, to me at least, 10/10.
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Mar 12, 2022 16:27
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Sounds like misogynistic trash that leans heavily into gender stereotypes, OP.
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Mar 12, 2022 16:43
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I like when you do these threads, Applewhite. I will never watch these movies but I appreciate the perspective.
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Mar 12, 2022 16:52
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I'm honestly really happy to see a family animated movie that can be about periods, that seems like a pretty huge step towards more understanding of a thing that affects roughly half the people in the world during their life.
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Mar 12, 2022 16:59
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It was whack and I don’t get why they did Wallace and Gromit mouths. Also wtf kid would have any idea what a tamagotchi is anymore.
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Mar 12, 2022 17:00
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what did you draw op
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Mar 12, 2022 17:06
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no sweet, juicy mom butt in this one? that's it I'm not watching THIS trash
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Mar 12, 2022 17:15
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Bape Culture posted:It was whack and I don’t get why they did Wallace and Gromit mouths. Also wtf kid would have any idea what a tamagotchi is anymore. Movie is set in 2002
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Mar 12, 2022 17:21
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Inexplicable Humblebrag posted:what did you draw op Audrey from Atlantis BE sequences. I hid them all behind my bed and when I came back from Freshman year of college my bed had been moved and I never asked what happened to the pictures.
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Mar 12, 2022 17:22
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Also who doesn't like Wallace and Gromit??
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Mar 12, 2022 17:23
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I thoroughly enjoyed your review, and it was a definite winner in my house. My wife cried because it made her reflect on her own relationship with her mother and the inter generational trauma that we carry around with us and often inadvertently pass on to our offspring. My daughter wanted us to buy her a tamagotchi after seeing the film. On the negative side, the red pandas made my dog bark loudly at the screen. Also, there wasn’t any closure about the loss of life in the climactic scene featuring enormous physical destruction. Clearly, Mei’s mother should be in jail for her deep disregard for human life.
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Mar 12, 2022 17:29
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Kaiju are outside Canadian provincial and federal jurisprudence. Mei's mom could conceivably be tried at the Hague but I'm not sure Canada is signatory to the necessary treaties.
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Mar 12, 2022 17:35
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And yes my wife also cried.
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Mar 12, 2022 17:36
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I was disappointed there was no post-credit scene where Luca approaches Mei, pointing to a shared universe and a future team up to protect the earth from Emperor Zurg.
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Mar 12, 2022 17:39
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EA Sports posted:if i saw luca as a kid i would literally flip off my mom. oh his ultimate dream is just go to school? wow. Considering what some states are currently doing to people they consider "monsters," maybe "going to school" and other "mundane desires" aren't so far fetched.
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Mar 12, 2022 17:42
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Would you say this movie is a... period piece? 
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Mar 12, 2022 17:49
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Legin Noslen posted:Would you say this movie is a... period piece? Haaaa! Yes.
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Mar 12, 2022 17:51
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Bape Culture posted:It was whack and I don’t get why they did Wallace and Gromit mouths. Also wtf kid would have any idea what a tamagotchi is anymore. kids movies have always been plagued by this you think you like phil collins and all this retro poo poo naturally?
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Mar 12, 2022 19:12
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Turning Red was suggested as an option for movie night yesterday but we went with Last Night in Soho. We chose poorly 
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Mar 12, 2022 19:15
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disappointed the movie isnt about a communist super hero
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Mar 12, 2022 20:06
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What's a period?
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Mar 12, 2022 20:21
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Applewhite I didn't agree with your review of Encanto at all but you think good and write good and I'm going to watch this one because you posted about it.
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Mar 12, 2022 20:30
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A Fancy Hat posted:I'm honestly really happy to see a family animated movie that can be about periods, that seems like a pretty huge step towards more understanding of a thing that affects roughly half the people in the world during their life. Except the message falls flat because nowhere does it actually encourage girls to stand up to abusive men, so the implication is if it's your father who goes psycho over you having your first period, you're suppose to just bend over and do whatever he says so as to not hurt his feelings. Also it promotes the stereotype type that girls have toxic relationships with their mothers.
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Mar 12, 2022 20:32
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op could I borrow that disney plus login, I want to watch whatever piece of garbage star wars series is coming out this month
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Mar 12, 2022 20:33
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| # ? Jun 11, 2024 04:00 |
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Why won't you pay for Disney +?
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Mar 12, 2022 20:35
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