‘Red’ has been one of the premieres of pixar that has brought the most queue, and despite the fact that the animated film has been hit all over the place for months due to the change in visual style, it has quickly become a mass phenomenon and one of the funniest films in the world. study.
In the Toronto of 2002, Mei she works hard to be a good daughter, get perfect grades, and help her mother with homework. In the midst of all the changes you’re going through, Mei’s turn comes from a curse that transforms the women of the family into a giant red panda.
Domee Shi’s film is full of references to the Chinese identity of Mei and her family, to the cultural moment, to boy bands… and yes, also to anime. The director of ‘Red’ has confessed that some series she watched as a child, such as ‘Ranma’, ‘Inuyasha’ or ‘Sailor Moon’ have been key to the visual development of his filmand here we leave you some of these influences that we have been able to hunt.
‘Sailor Moon’
The influence of ‘Sailor Moon’ can be seen throughout the film, starting with Mei’s not-so-secret identity and her transformation. Of course, one of the clearest references to classic anime is in the color palettes of ‘Red’ and especially in its backgrounds.
i’m in love with all the anime references in Turning Red, especially the Sailor Moon inspired backgrounds 🌙 pic.twitter.com/gksFMjv81n
— monika 📼 (@cinemoni) March 12, 2022
Because we know that ‘Red’ takes place in Toronto, but the backgrounds of the film are very much inspired by those of the legendary anime series, including the views of the city with a very bright moon in the sky.
‘Ranma 1/2’
The director of the film has confirmed that ‘Ranma 1/2’ It was one of the animes that inspired her the most. And it is that although the plots are very different, in the work of Rumiko Takahashi we also start from the fact that various characters transform into animals (or a girl, in Ranma’s case).
In addition to this, the animation of ‘Red’ also takes some notes from the anime of ‘Ranma 1/2’, since we never see the transformations on screen eitherto. Instead of her, Ranma and the rest of the characters transform behind a water screen, just as Mei is engulfed in a cloud of pink smoke when she changes into her red panda form.
‘The Girl Who Leapt Through Time’
This is one of the “Easter eggs” hidden in the film, and in ‘Red’ there is a direct reference to ‘The Girl Who Leapt Through Time’. During one of the key moments for Mei, when she realizes that she can use her red panda powers to jump higher, the pose she can be seen in is identical to Makoto Konno’s leaping through time in Mamoru Osoda movie.
Domee Shi confirmed the reference in an interview with Osoda on the Japanese Disney+ channel, where the director also drew a fanart of Mei and Belle together.
Extreme expressiveness and glittery eyes
‘Net’ can boast ofSome of the funniest and most extreme expressions in the studio. Much of this expressiveness stems from the visual language that is being used, including the “anime eyes” with glitter when the protagonists see their favorite boy band.
The essential ‘anime glasses’
Other nods to language and expressions inspired by Japanese animation are Mei’s father’s “anime glasses”. The first time he appears on screen we can see him very serious while he prepares the food.
This seriousness is emphasized in the character’s glasses, which have their own white glow just like when a bespectacled character is having a moment of extreme determination in anime.
The infamous “CalArts mouth” that isn’t
The character design of ‘Net’ It was heavily criticized months before the Pixar film was released. Some of the harshest critics accused the film of being “too CalArts” in style.a very cartoon style that has become fashionable for creators and animators who studied at the California Institute of the Arts.
This style has flooded American animation series in recent years, such as ‘Gravity Falls’ or ‘The Amazing World of Gumball’, and certain animation purists seem to take an extreme taste in charging at it to cry out to heaven for the degeneration of western animation.
even though yes, ‘Red’ has a certain CalArts-esque whiff to it, many of its design decisions have been directly influenced by classic animeincluding Mei’s panda form that somewhat reminds us of the Catbus and other creatures from ‘My Neighbor Totoro’.
“B-But Turning Red is NOT inspired by real anime!! The characters have the ugly calarts BEAN-MOUTH!!”
Literally the real anime Turning Red was inspired by: #TurningRed #TurningRedMovie pic.twitter.com/6QqlZzvayC— 🏳️⚧️King! BLM💙COMS OPEN! (2/3) DM (@_nonconformking) March 13, 2022
In fact, “the bean-shaped mouth”, one of the most criticized details, is something that we have been able to see in many Studio Ghibli and other anime from this time that the Pixar movie directly references.