Disney and Pixar have unveiled a teaser trailer for Turning Red, the highly anticipated debut feature film by Bao creator Domee Shi. It’s about a preteen girl who transforms into an enormous red panda when her emotions run high, particularly when she gets too excited. Watch the video for it below.
The official synopsis for Turning Red reads, “Young actress Rosalie Chiang lends her voice to Mei Lee, a 13-year-old who suddenly ‘poofs’ into a giant red panda when she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS). Sandra Oh voices Mei Lee’s protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming, who is never far from her daughter — an unfortunate reality for the teenager.”
Our first glimpse of the Turning Red world opens on a shot of Mei Lee nervously entering the doors to middle school. While trying to focus in math class, a student points out that Lee’s mother is hiding behind a tree to spy on her daughter. One by one, her classmates gather around the window to watch her mom fight with a security guard, causing Lee to cower in embarrassment — that is, until a cloud of pink dust explodes around her and she morphs into an adorable red panda. Lee sees her opportunity to bolt out of school and goes for it. Meanwhile, Backstreet Boys’ “Larger Than Life” cheekily plays in the background.
Shi has been riding high ever since she pitched her beloved animated short Bao to Pixar several years ago. After it got the greenlight, much to her surprise, Bao went on to charm viewers around the world and take home the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film in 2018. By the look of the teaser trailer alone, Turning Red could have a similar path.
Turning Red is scheduled to hit theaters on March 11th, 2022. If you’re itching to see Shi’s debut movie but need to pass the time until then, you may want to consult our list ranking every Disney song in the meantime and get some classic tunes stuck in your head.
