Disney and Pixar have hit our hearts again with the release of their latest animation, Turning Red. The movie is another addition to the animation films they’ve released in the past two years. Out of the iconic films in their bracket, their latest films have impacted us emotionally with their messages.
Turning Red tells the story of 13-year-old Meilin Lee entering the stages of puberty. Though she has her boyband obsessed friend group and typical crush on the older corner store boy, one of the most significant factors in her life is her parents, specifically her overbearing mother. With the desire to please her parents and live up to their expectations, Meilin discovers her family’s history of becoming giant red pandas. This movie opens the door for conversation about puberty and generational trauma. The main message of this movie is not to try to honor your parents so much that you forget to honor yourself.
Before Turning Red came and stole our hearts, Disney and Pixar had previously given us heart-filled movies like Encanto, Luca, and Soul.
You can’t forget the Oscar-winning animation with the song that dominated Frozen’s “Let it Go.” Encanto was the most recent Disney and Pixar animation before Turning Red. This movie follows the big Columbian Madrigal family who lives in a magical house and has supernatural abilities that range from communicating with animals to being super strong. Encanto has several messages in the film, with one of the main ones being that a family cannot hold on its own if the people within it are dysfunctional.
Luca truly deserved the praise because it was adorable, fun, and tells a great story of two friends on an outrageous adventure while being different. Luca embodies the idea of acceptance in a society where you are noticeably different. If you find people who accept you for who you are, those who do won’t matter as much. You see the characters go from being ashamed or fearful for being sea monsters in a human-dominated society to fully accepting who they are and what comes with that. This film also shows how turning off your negative thinking can help you overcome any fears, concerns, or anxiety that may follow (Silencio Bruno!!).
One of the deepest animations that Disney and Pixar have ever created has to be Soul.