Turning Red

[Farerb]

Poster:

https://twitter.com/Pixar/status/146097 ... Ga9VQ&s=19

[Farerb]

Pixar has officially announced Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas wrote three songs for the boy band in the movie. They also revealed their voices.

Meet Pixar’s first-ever boy band in Turning Red… #4Town, with three all-new songs written by Billie Eilish & FINNEAS. The five harmonious voices of #4Town are: Jordan Fisher, Grayson Villanueva, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo and FINNEAS.

Couldn't they bring someone who wouldn't write totally depressing songs? I actually think the Lopezes would have been great for this project.

[Jules]

I haven't laughed so much at a trailer in AGES.

This looks like a winner.

[D82]

Some more updates:

• Canada and Latin America got different posters:


Source: https://twitter.com/DisneyStudiosCA/sta ... 5475986443


Source: https://twitter.com/DisneyStudiosLA/sta ... 8472734723


• More members of the cast have also been announced:

Joining previously announced Rosalie Chiang and Sandra Oh, who lend their voices to Mei and her mother Ming, are Orion Lee as the voice of Mei’s dad, Jin, and Wai Ching Ho as the voice of Grandma. Mei’s tightknit group of friends are voiced by Ava Morse as Miriam, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Priya, and Hyein Park as Abby.

Tristan Allerick Chen voices classmate Tyler, and Addie Chandler lends his voice to Mei’s secret crush Devon. Providing the harmonious voices of the members of 4*Town are Jordan Fisher, Grayson Villanueva, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo and Finneas O’Connell. Rounding out the voice cast are James Hong, Lori Tan Chinn, Lillian Lim, Mia Tagano, Sherry Cola, Sasha Roiz and Lily Sanfelippo.

Source: https://www.vitalthrills.com/turning-red-trailer/


• In a press release, Domee Shi explains why she decided to have a boy band in the movie:

According to Turning Red director Domee Shi, if you set a 13-year-old girl’s coming-of-age story in the early 2000s, it’s pretty much mandatory to include a boy band. “We needed our character Mei to be obsessed with something that her mom would not approve of,” said Shi.

“Boy bands were the first step into the world of boys for a lot of girls that age. The guys were all super pretty, polished, soft and loving, and they had of way of bringing girls and their besties together. Plus, I thought it’d be really cool to create an animated boy band.”

Source: https://www.vitalthrills.com/turning-red-trailer/


• One of the songs Billie Eilish and FINNEAS have written for the film can be heard in the trailer:

Enter Pixar’s first-ever boy band, 4*Town. Filmmakers called on GRAMMY-winning singer-songwriters Billie Eilish and FINNEAS to write the fictional band’s songs – three in total, including the song “Nobody Like U” featured in the new trailer.

“When we first started talking about Billie Eilish and FINNEAS — back before they’d won a billion GRAMMYS — we could see then how they had their finger on the pulse,” said producer Lindsey Collins. “We were big fans. We met with them and pitched this crazy idea of a boy band, asking if they’d be interested in writing and producing the songs. They were!”

Source: https://www.vitalthrills.com/turning-red-trailer/


• It has also been confirmed Ludwig Göransson is doing the score:

GRAMMY-, Oscar- and Emmy-winning Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther, The Mandalorian) is composing the score for Turning Red.

“I’ve been a fan of his for a while,” said Shi. “We were drawn to his versatility – he’s a composer, but he also produces pop music. We knew he would help us create a very unique sound.”

Source: https://www.vitalthrills.com/turning-red-trailer/

[Sotiris]

The trailer was cute. I like that both her parents are in the picture and are aware of the curse. Mei and her possie look fun and interesting. My only criticism is there's not enough of a sense of danger. Why isn't anyone worried that the government or an angry mob will try to capture her, put her away or experiment on her? That to me should be a big concern to everyone given the circumstances.

[Disney's Divinity]

I haven't watched the new trailer yet, but the posters are cute. It strikes me that the movies seems like another one, like Raya, that is heavily dominated by female characters in a way that's not very noticeable or in your face about it.

[D82]

• Pixar also released this image on Instagram:


Source: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWYWE4dt2xT/


• And you can find a hi-res version of the poster and new stills in this article.

I haven't laughed so much at a trailer in AGES.

This looks like a winner.

Yes, the trailer was quite funny. I agree, it looks good and also a bit different and fresh for Pixar to me.

Mei and her possie look fun and interesting.

I agree. And I like that she has a group of friends and not just one as many times happens in these types of movies. The shortest one is my favorite so far. It seems she's going to be quite funny.

My only criticism is there's not enough of a sense of danger. Why isn't anyone worried that the government or an angry mob will try to capture her, put her away or experiment on her? That to me should be a big concern to everyone given the circumstances.

That's a good point. I think there'll be some element of danger they haven't revealed yet. Since the film isn't released until March, I think we'll probably get a final trailer and that one will show more about the plot.

By the way, I've noticed Mei's hair changes color after she starts transforming into a red panda. She's brunette at the beginning of the trailer and red-haired after the first transformation. That's probably why she covered her hair with a hat in the teaser trailer.

[Sotiris]

I just realized that the band is called 4*Town when there are 5 members. Why is that? Is it supposed to be ironic? Was a member added later on during the band's career?

[D82]

^I had noticed that too and also found it strange. The reason you mentioned makes sense, maybe it is that.

[Sotiris]

And I like that she has a group of friends and not just one as many times happens in these types of movies. The shortest one is my favorite so far. It seems she's going to be quite funny.

I like that aspect as well. My favorite is the Black girl. I like how cool and nonchalant she is. The short one seems to be the craziest one, so I think you're right. She'll probably get the most gags in the film. I like Mei too. Her attempt at speaking French is hilarious!

I've noticed Mei's hair changes color after she starts transforming into a red panda. She's brunette at the beginning of the trailer and red-haired after the first transformation. That's probably why she covered her hair with a hat in the teaser trailer.

I bet at the end of the film when the curse is finally lifted she will retain her red hair. It will be a permanent change and a reminder of what she went through.

[D82]

My favorite is the Black girl. I like how cool and nonchalant she is.

I like that one too. It's funny that she always has the same expression on her face. Though, judging by her voice actress, I think she's actually from South Asian descent. And I agree about Mei, I think she'll be a good protagonist.

I bet at the end of the film when the curse is finally lifted she will retain her red hair. It will be a permanent change and a reminder of what she went through.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a feeling she might choose to continue being a red panda at the end of the movie and will learn to control the transformations. The fact that she says in the trailer that she's starting to like the new version of herself is what makes me suspect that.

[Sotiris]

Though, judging by her voice actress, I think she's actually from South Asian descent.

I never would have guessed. Her design reads Black to me.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I have a feeling she might choose to continue being a red panda at the end of the movie and will learn to control the transformations. The fact that she says in the trailer that she's starting to like the new version of herself is what makes me suspect that.

In storytelling, when a character undergoes a physical transformation it's because they need to learn a valuable life lesson. When they do, the transformation is undone and they revert to their previous state. I think that will happen here too. Sure, it's possible that Mei will learn to control her emotions and accept this form as part of herself, but I don't believe that's how it'll go down. She will probably learn how she doesn't need to be perfect all the time and that it's OK to let loose and have fun once in a while and that will lift the curse at the end.

[blackcauldron85]

I'm in love with this movie. So many thoughts. YES to showing my teenage girl years in film with slang and boy bands and fashion. Don't worry about Finneas' ability to write upbeat songs- look up some of his solo work (look up "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" as an example). I love that her friends are accepting of her panda state. Jordan Fisher in a boy band- yes, please! And there was no other perfect song to use in the trailer than 'NSync's "It's Gonna Be Me MayMei."

This may dethrone my favorite Pixar films and become #1?? I'm beyond excited for this.

[DisneyEra]

First thing I thought of when I saw them protesting

[D82]

I never would have guessed. Her design reads Black to me.

Yeah, it's not very clear by her appearance. As for the other two friends, I guess the short one is of Asian descent like Mei and her voice actress (who by the way is a Pixar story artist), and the third one Caucasian.

In storytelling, when a character undergoes a physical transformation it's because they need to learn a valuable life lesson. When they do, the transformation is undone and they revert to their previous state. I think that will happen here too. Sure, it's possible that Mei will learn to control her emotions and accept this form as part of herself, but I don't believe that's how it'll go down. She will probably learn how she doesn't need to be perfect all the time and that it's OK to let loose and have fun once in a while and that will lift the curse at the end.

Yeah, I know it's usually like that. Another thing that made me think the curse may not be broken at the end is the way Mei's mother talked about it saying that their ancestors had a mystical connexion with red pandas, in addition to the happy faces on the scroll, which made it seem like something benevolent to me. But what you said makes sense; you're probably right that's what'll happen.

Speaking of the scroll, only women appeared on it. Maybe that means the curse only affects the women in the family. I wonder if Mei's mother also went through this or not, and if she was able to break her curse.

One more thing I forgot to mention is that the way in which sometimes only some parts of Mei's body transform reminds me of something. I think that also happens in another movie, but I can't remember which one right now. Does it feel familiar to anyone else?

Just on the top of my head there's Despicable Me 2, Trolls Wold Tour, Bob's Burgers, American Dad, The Simpsons, South Park, We Bare Bears, Big Hero 6: The Series, Gravity Falls, Phineas and Ferb, Milo Murphy's Law, Kim Possible, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, SpongeBob SquarePants, and I'm sure many more.

I forgot to reply to this. I see there have been many parodies of boy bands, especially on TV. I haven't seen most of those series, but I've seen Despicable Me 2 and Trolls Wold Tour. I don't remember the band in Despicable Me 2 now, and I had forgotten about the one in Trolls Wold Tour. Well, at least it's still something new for a Pixar film.

Don't worry about Finneas' ability to write upbeat songs- look up some of his solo work (look up "Let's Fall in Love for the Night" as an example). I love that her friends are accepting of her panda state. Jordan Fisher in a boy band- yes, please! And there was no other perfect song to use in the trailer than 'NSync's "It's Gonna Be Me MayMei."

I've looked that Finneas song up and I agree; it's not bad. At first, I thought "It's Gonna Be Me" was the original song by Billie Eilish and him. I don't know anything about contemporary music. I didn't know the Backstreet Boys song from the teaser trailer before either. I remember the Backstreet Boys were famous when I was a teenager, but the only song from them I knew was "Everybody". As for 'NSync, I only knew them from Tarzan's song "Trashin' the Camp".

By the way, Domee Shi revealed on her Instagram stories that "Nobody Like U", the song heard at the beginning of the trailer, is 4*Town's greatest hit:

[Farerb]

The girls' names are Abby, Priya and Miriam. I personally hope that Miriam is Jewish, since there's always a lack of Jewish characters in animated films, it'll be nice to have one.

[D82]

It's true; the name could indicate she's Jewish. Although, if she was I think her voice actress would be too, since nowadays they usually cast people of the same ethnicity as the character. I couldn't find if Ava Morse, the actress who voices her, is Jewish or not. Do you know if she is?

[Farerb]

I have no idea, it doesn't look like that she has done a lot. You're right that they probably wouldn't do it and looking into it a little bit, it seems that there are non Jewish women who are named Miriam, so perhaps that's going to be in the movie as well.

[D82]

Yes, there are non-Jewish women named Miriam too. In Spain, for example, the name also exists. But I think it's still possible the character is Jewish. We'll see. It would be nice if she was.

[D82]

New book covers:


Source:
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Pixar-Tur ... ref=sr_1_7
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Pixar-Tur ... 0736490124
https://www.amazon.com/Disney-Pixar-Tur ... 0736442650