Turning Red: We Speak to Director Domee Shi and Producer Lindsey Collins

Turning Red, PIXAR’s brand new animated feature, and the first to be helmed by an Asian American woman, centers on a dorky teenage girl who uncontrollably morphs into a giant red panda. Directed by Domee Shi, the movie picks up and develops the complicated first-generation-immigrant mother-child relationship we saw in her first animated effort, Bao.

We recently got the chance to speak to Domee Shi and Lindsey Collins, the director and producer of Turning Red, and got the lowdown on PIXAR’s animation philosophy, working on a feature film during COVID, and how Domee went from Bao to Turning Red.

Disney and Pixar’s Turning Red introduces Mei Lee, a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming, is never far from her daughter – an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships, and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda!

Directed by Academy Award winner Domee Shi (Pixar short Bao) and produced by Lindsey Collins, Turning Red, features Rosalie Chiang as Mei, Sandra Oh as Ming, James Hong, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Ava Morse, Anne-Marie, Hyein Park, and Ho-Wai Ching.

We also got the chance to speak to the brilliant minds behind this movie. Check out our interviews with production designer Rona Liu, visual effects supervisor Danielle Feinberg, animation supervisors Patty Kihm and Aaron Hartline, and its stars, newcomer Rosalie Chiang and Sandra Oh.

Read our full Turning Red review here.

Turning Red drops on Disney Plus Hotstar on Friday, 11 March.

For more interviews like this one, just head over to the Goggler YouTube page by clicking here.