Insulting, stereotyping, ugly red pandas? Why does it become more and more angry the more it is cursed?

Rotten Tomatoes Media scored 95%, Douban 8.2 points, and Pixar's new work "Youth Metamorphosis" exploded as soon as it was launched.

Directed by Chinese director Shi Zhiyu, the work has even been hailed as Pixar's best animation after "Mind Agents".

However, in the overwhelming praise, there was also a noise, and some viewers felt that the film was stereotypical and suspected of insulting China. (Strange, why did Benhua say it again?) ）

Whether it is good or bad, or follow the flowers together to see, and then judge!

(This article has a slight spoiler, if you mind, you can directly pull to the comment area to get the juice source)

01

The 2002 Red Panda Disaster

In the hearts of many people, the red panda is the world's first cute -

They resemble big brown leather balls with a particularly fluffy, furry tail.

When threatened or provoked, they will stand up and raise their small paws to make themselves taller and more cute.

And when this little guy came to the animation world created by Pixar, its size became larger, and its cuteness increased unabated.

It will shake its head and twist its ass, and it will sell cute and funny and sullen:

The same paragraph raises its hand

Look at it, who wouldn't want to be held by this fluffy, soft guy?

Who wouldn't want to shake hands with it and take a picture and then willingly buy its various peripherals?

But this red panda is not always docile and cute -

It rampaged through the streets in a destructive and destructive manner, causing riots and panic;

It can also burst out suddenly, revealing its animalistic nature and uncontrollably committing hurtful behavior.

At a concert where teenagers gathered, there was even another red panda like Godzilla.

Extremely grumpy, it easily destroyed the stage and dispersed the crowd.

Then, two red pandas with huge differences in size kept chasing and arguing...

What exactly do they want to do?

How will the panda catastrophe that occurred in 2002 end?

02

It turned out that the well-behaved woman had reached the rebellious period

Although some narcissism and energy are excellent, Meimei is an obedient and perfect child in the eyes of parents.

Excellent academic performance, blowing, singing and dancing, at home is also a caring little cotton jacket, but also to help the mother manage the ancestral hall...

"Today will be a good student, tomorrow will be the Secretary-General of the United Nations."

The strict requirements and high expectations from her mother make Meimei learn and live like a perfectionist.

But after all, it is a 13-year-old girl, and she will also play with her dead friends and discuss the boys and bands she likes...

Even one day, Meimei hid from her mother and secretly drew the appearance of a boy in her secret diary.

After being seen by my mom like this, things started to get worse.

She did not listen to Meimei's explanation at all, and directly "killed" the boy, causing Meimei to be ugly in public and ridiculed by her classmates.

At night, Meimei, who feels remorse and shame, has a strange nightmare.

When she woke up, she found that she had turned into a giant red panda with a fluffy body and a soft belly!

It turns out that Meimei's maternal family has always had a mysterious "curse" from the ancestor Xinyi, who will become a red panda in adulthood.

Only by overcoming strong emotional ups and downs can you change back into human form.

In order to lift the curse and heal completely, it is also necessary to hold a ceremony to dissolve it on the night of the red moon.

But fate tricked, on the day of the ceremony, Meimei's favorite band will come to Toronto for a concert.

On the one hand, there is the expectation from the mother to change back to the original appearance and be a well-behaved daughter.

On the other side are the agreements with friends and the experience of making your own decisions.

This multiple choice question is much more difficult for Meimei than the exam.

The film's name "Turning Red" literally translates to "turn red", which contains physiological changes, such as reddening of the face, redness of hair and eyebrows, the transformation of the body into a red panda (the English literal translation is red panda), the onset of menarche, and so on.

In this special stage of life, there are both physiological changes from children to adults, as well as the psychological switching of adolescent love sinuses, idolatry, and shame for outdated parents...

Endless troubles test the wisdom of Meimei and her parents.

And in front of the screen, when we see this, I believe we will have a sense of déjà vu.

03

"This is not a Chinese movie"

The Metamorphosis of Youth is set in the Canadian city of Toronto in 2002.

Although the city was a little far away, the young girls at that time were no different from us.

They will also play Takuma Songs, keep electronic pets, and stick small stickers on button phones;

Pass notes in class, watch handsome guys after class, chase stars like crazy...

All of this makes people dream back to the millennium, back to that earthy and beautiful youth time.

What's even more surprising is that there are the Chinese elements presented with great care in the film -

Red lanterns on Chinatown, Chinese-style architecture, mom's cheongsam outfit, dad's food, TVB Cantonese eight o'clock stalls...

At this time, perhaps some nitpicking viewers can't wait to pick up the magnifying glass to see where it is not restored enough, where it offends whom, and is ready to criticize it.

But wait, the director said, "This is not a Chinese movie, it just happens that the protagonist happens to be a Chinese girl." ”

Elements of Chinese culture are only some of the many embellishments of this "Metamorphosis of Youth". As many critics have said, although this is a Pixar film, it is also full of the director's personal label.

Director Shi Zhiyu was born in Chongqing in 1989 and later immigrated to Canada with his family.

Since childhood, she has been deeply influenced by Japanese anime culture.

Bright and soft colors, exaggerated facial features and character reactions, more or less can see some of the shadows of the day.

Ishiyuki also used transformation rules and mechanics similar to those in Horse Rush 1/2 and Fruit Basket in The Metamorphosis of Youth, where adolescents can switch between human and animal forms with specific triggers.

In addition to these, the fictional boy band 4*Town in the film was inspired by real-world Asian idol groups such as Da-ice and Bigbang.

There are many more Easter eggs and homages to pop culture like this one, all derived from the creator's real life experience.

Therefore, when the audience sees these familiar elements, they do not feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, but will have a sense of belonging, like reuniting with some old friends.

04

A Chinese-American director and her female colleagues

For years, whether it was content creation or personnel management, Pixar has been controlled by men, focusing on the types of stories that men prefer, using adventure as a metaphor for growth, mostly conquering the external environment rather than exploring inward.

The production of "The Metamorphosis of Youth" is somewhat different. It is the 25th film of Pixar Animation and the first to be directed entirely by women.

Director Ishiyuki came to Pixar as an intern in 2011 and has since worked on films such as Mind Agents and Agents Superman 2.

When she became the first woman to direct a short film for Pixar, it caused a stir, but she punched the skeptics in the face with "Baby Bag," which won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film.

This time, along with other female colleagues, she told a moving story full of feminine charm.

"Most of the work is done with women — women at the helm, women writing, women making."

Even in 2022, this is groundbreaking for a large animated film.

Ishiyuki said, "This is the girlish side you will never see, and we, like any boy, will be embarrassed, sweaty, energetic and excited." ”

Watching "The Metamorphosis of Youth" feels like flipping through a girl's diary -

It involves not only the chaos of adolescence or the sanctity of student-age friendships, but also the way family relationships fluctuate over time.

Such a delicate and true expression is inseparable from the painstaking efforts that Shi Zhiyu has poured into them.

During the production of the film, the sudden epidemic brought many inconveniences and uncertainties.

But Shi Zhiyu and her team have always maintained a unique rhythm, and they have gradually adapted to working online. Whenever you have the opportunity, you will also gather in the conference hall and café to brainstorm.

For the communication and exchange of the film, it has never been broken.

And in the long process of preparation, some people got engaged, some became mothers.

The changes in life have made many people have new thoughts about "family and relatives", and these feelings are also reflected in the film.

With the most repressed and heartfelt memories of twelve or thirteen years old, but also the gentleness of mature women, "The Metamorphosis of Youth" presented to people is an allegorical fairy tale about adolescence and one of the most personal films produced by Pixar.

05

Would you rather be a giant red panda?

Family affection is the clue of the whole film.

Like many parents in reality, in the heart of the beautiful mother, there is a correct way for her daughter to grow up and an ideal life path.

She always guides herself and demands her daughter with such guidelines.

But she did not expect that her care would become a shackle, a shackle, and even a fuse for the great changes in the relationship between mother and daughter.

When Mimi said out loud, "I'm sorry, I'm not perfect. I'm sorry, I'll never be like you! ”

The mother's heart began to shake, reflect, and eventually, she finally learned to let go:

"I'm sorry, but the farther you go, the more proud I get."

The love and tolerance between relatives is touching, but at the same time, "The Metamorphosis of Youth" is a story about growing up.

Isn't the physical changes, emotional ups and downs, self-doubt, alternative vision, and generation gap (contradiction) with her parents that come with it a physical change into a red panda, and are not exactly metaphors for adolescence?

The problem of life in front of her is whether to continue to be a obedient and obedient girl, or to release the beast that represents the self.

Such a choice is so real because each of us has experienced a similar youth.

Those troubles, doubts, entanglements, like a monster suddenly intruding into our lives.

Whether active or passive, we will always conflict with the expectations in the eyes of some adults, and will not match some labels given by the outside world.

The true self is not always perfect and satisfactory, it can be flawed, ugly, dark,

But don't be afraid, what we should do is be brave enough to embrace it, isn't it?

At the end of the story of "The Metamorphosis of Youth", Meimei rejects the seal and chooses to keep her red panda appearance and coexist with it.

What about you? Where is the monster in your heart now?