The Trailer Of “Turning Red” With A Sikh Character Has Us All Stoked!
Pixar recently released the trailer of “Turning Red,” their first feature written and directed by a woman of Asian descent, and it has actually been turning heads with the abundant diversity that it has shown. We were just too excited to see a proper Sikh character in the trailer, a first for Pixar, and a first for us to see such a well-detailed animated Sardar for sure!
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Chinese-born Canadian director Domee Shi is best known for her Oscar-winning animated short film “Bao.” She has worked at Pixar since 2011 and has contributed to classics like “Inside Out” and “Toy Story 4.” “Turning Red” is produced by Lindsey Collins, and stars Rosalie Chiang and Sandra Oh.
In “Turning Red” Shi has shown her hometown, Toronto, as the backdrop of the film, which aptly reveals its diversity. While the main characters of the film are deemed to be of Chinese descent, the most stand-out character in the trailer – except of course the giant red panda – is the Sikh school guard. Animated with so much finesse, the character shows a typical Sikh man wearing a Kada and a bright purple turban. Social media was abuzz with the care that the makers have shown to cover small details like the Kada, giving the character a very realistic feel.
We also peeked a little hijabi student in the classroom and the comments on YouTube also admired that a student in the class was wearing an insulin pump – normalizing the fact for people with diabetes.
“Turning Red” revolves around Mei Lee who is a confident, dorky thirteen-year-old daughter overshadowed by her mother’s dominating personality and the chaos of adolescence. The pressures of life take a magical turn whenever she gets too excited or nervous, and she “poofs” into a giant red panda!
The trailer shows her mother trying to keep an eye on her while the Sikh school guard catches her at it and tries to make her leave. Mei’s friend notices the chaos outside during the class and informs Mei about her mother. As the whole class excitedly watches the commotion outside, a mortified Mei pops into a red panda! The hilarious ending shows how she tries to calm herself down with fur brushes to slip back into her human form. We are sure you will love the trailer as much as we did.
“Turning Red” is scheduled to release on March 11, 2022.
