In Disney and Pixar’s Turning Red, confident, dorky 13-year-old Mei must balance being a dutiful daughter with the chaos of adolescence. Her slightly overbearing mom is never far from her daughter. And, as if changes to Mei’s interests, relationships and body aren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited, she “poofs” into a giant red panda!
For in-depth thoughts on Turning Red, please see my colleague Devin McGrath-Conwell’s review from its original Disney+ release here.
Video Quality
Turning Red comes to 4K UHD Blu-Ray with a stunning and vibrant 2160p HDR transfer. One of the areas where this film excels is the detail and fluidity of the anime-inspired character designs. With each feature, Pixar seems to find exciting new ways to make their animation stand out as some of the most sumptuous in the business. The level of detail these animators put into each environment shines through here. While the feature may be more narrative focused, you learn a lot about the characters outside of the main story just from the environmental details. Just take one look at Mei walking down the sidewalk and you are greeted with a visually brilliant world that you could pause and explore for fun world-building purposes.
When it comes to the characters, all of the individual strands of hair of the red panda are unique and flowing in a subtly natural way. The colors present in this transfer are out of this world and practically leap off the screen with the wide range of hues permeating every inch of the frame. Black levels are incredibly strong with no hint of compression artifacts or digital anomalies of the sort. The textures, from the character designs to the environments, are extremely impressive and give the film a real sense of depth. The easiest thing you can say about this presentation is that it is visual perfection. Disney has once again knocked it out of the park with the animated offerings.
Audio Quality
This 4K UHD Blu-Ray utilizes a Dolby Atmos track that gives this immersive film a pretty strong shot in the arm. There is an emphasis on the front channels for many of the sounds, but activity kicks in to the surrounds and rears during the more kinetic and action-oriented bits, as well as when the boy band 4*TOWN are on screen. Lookout for the implementation of the height channels that truly transport you to a teenage dream of live music. The film really satisfies when it comes to the music, and this track fills the room in a really satisfying, enveloping way. The vibrant score from Ludwig Göransson is a real crowd pleaser. Dialogue is crisp and clear without ever getting lost amongst the music or sound effects. The low end effects from the subwoofer give certain moments a bit of extra weight, although it does feel like it could be a bit more substantial at times. Atmospheric sound effects are rendered appropriately within the mix so that directionality is never an issue. Turning Red has been gifted with a track that is not lacking for nuance. Fans of the film should be very pleased with this presentation.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Domee Shi, producer Lindsey Collins, and director of photography Mahyar Abousaeedi provide a very fun and informative commentary track in which they discuss the evolution of the friend group, the backstories of side characters that were ultimately not in the film, the musical stylings of Ludwig Göransson, the aesthetic of the feature and inspirations, subtle elements they included in the background, the themes that were so important to them, and so much more that is worth a listen if you dig the film.
- Life of a Shot: A 15-minute look at the intricate process and artistry involved in creating the memorable Red Peony scene with insights from the creative team. The subjects discuss starting out production with this scene, observing red pandas in a zoo to create a storyboard, what each department added to the creation of this moment, finalizing the animation and background lighting, and so much more that provides a great deal of insight into how much work it takes to make a movie a reality.
- Build Your Own Boy Band: A nine-minute look at the ten-step creative process to bring 4*TOWN to animated life including writing and producing the songs, creating each band member’s persona, fine-tuning the details of their stadium performance and more which reveals how the team designed the ultimate boy band.
- Ani-Mei-Tion: A 10-minute piece which looks at the heightened emotionality of the story and how it was important that Mei’s look and movement reflect that energy. You get a sense of how Domee Shi led the animation team to incorporate elements of expressive anime to create Mei’s dynamic character.
- Deleted Scenes: Six unused scenes with introductions from Domee Shi all totaling 24 minutes are provided here which shows an alternate opening with Ming and young Mei taking a holiday photo, attempts to control the transformation, a debate for class president and more. Not only are the scenes pretty entertaining, the insights provided by Shi help put things into perspective even more.
- Trailers: There is a Poof- Global Teaser In English (1:56), a Mei – Global Trailer In German (2:26) and a Cherish Yourself – Japanese Payoff Trailer (1:47) provided on this disc.
Final Thoughts
Turning Red is a terrific addition to the long-running canon of Pixar as it tackles universal themes through a specific perspective that touches you on a deep, emotional level. Director Domee Shi imbues this narrative with an energetic, anime-inspired style that never betrays the tender heart that is at the forefront of the journey. The film is incredibly funny throughout without ever dragging out the story too much. While most Pixar efforts are pretty wonderful, this one does stand out as something special. Disney has provided this one with a 4K UHD Blu-Ray that is stunning on all accounts from the lovely A/V presentation to the engaging special features. This coming-of-age narrative is one that adults will find just as rewarding as the younger viewers in the audience. Highly Recommended
Turning Red will be available to purchase on 4K UHD Blu-Ray, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital on May 3, 2022.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the 4K UHD Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Disney Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
