“Turning Red” is the first full-length Pixar directed by an Asian-American, Domee Shi, a cause worth celebrating. Shi also directed the rather excellent Pixar short “Bao” just a few years ago.
However, it doesn’t look as though “Turning Red” is impressing audiences as much as it did critics. The latest Pixar has a 65% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a fairly low score for a film that has a 95% rating among critics. It’s IMDb rating is also fairly low for a Pixar movie.
I’m siding with audiences on this one.
This past week I mentioned that the film was getting overpraised by critics. If you read some of the rave reviews for the film then you’d think it’s more about its socio-cultural important than any sort of artistic triumph. There’s a lot of virtue signaling going on with this one.
Contrary to what the critics might be saying, “Turning Red” is another Pixar film, much like “Onward” and “Luca,” that just coasts along without much ambition, safe for its aim to deliver safe entertainment . It’s a fine-as-it-goes movie, but feels rather disposable in nature.