Turning Red

 I have switched colors as you see, but will also use this opportunity to critique the new Disney film Turning Red.  Spoiler alert, I loved the movie.  I don't know what is going on at Disney, but this movie is a good one.  I thought it was a really good representation of what it is like to be a 13 year old girl and my biggest complaint is that I thought it was too violent--something I never see any one else complaining about.  The plot: 13 year old lives in Toronto, she is smart and funny and confident, lives with her mom and dad who give tours of their family temple, which celebrates their ancestor who saved her village by turning in to a giant red Panda and fighting off enemies.  She has 3 best friends and they are crazy about a pop band 4 Town, and their main objective is to attend a concert which their parents will not buy tickets for them to go.  Unbeknownst to Mei, all the women in her family turn in to red pandas when they come of age and undergo a ritual to trap this unruly angry, sometimes crazy and happy part of themselves in an amulet.  Adolescence comes to Mei and her absolute confidence turns into a mess of embarrassment, uncontrollable emotions and hopeless crushes, and the panda makes its entrance.  The rest of the movie is her learning to deal with this side of herself, how her family deals with it and ultimately, all the women in the family come to perform the ritual, which she rejects.  Lots of violence here as her mom lets her panda out (that part I did not like), but it ends happily.  I think most girls would like this movie, guessing the violence is to keep the boys happy.

In the meantime, red is in the building!