Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Turning Red 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman April 19, 2022

The color red is the color of anger (which Pixar's own Inside Out previously explored, and which is why The Hulk is...green). It is also the color of embarrassment. When someone is "turning red," it usually means one of those two emotions are bubbling up to the surface and taking over, leading one to either want to bash or blush. In Pixar's latest, the color red is once again paired with anger, and bubbling emotions in general, when a 13-year-old with an independent streak discovers that emotional outbursts cause her to transform into a giant red panda bear, which just might interfere with her ability to, oh, attend her favorite band's concert, have fun with her friends, or swoon over the latest hot stuff boy. In other words: it's bound to transform her life, not just her looks.

Mei Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) is a typical 13-year-old girl whose life is all about self. She considers herself an adult, free of her parents' (voiced by Sandra Oh and Orion Lee) demands, and capable of living life on her own terms. While she still works as a tour guide for a tourist attraction temple her family owns and operates, she's more concerned with her friends Miriam (voiced by Ava Morse), Priya (voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), and Abby (Hyein Park) and their close-knit bonding over a number of things, including the boy band 4*Town. When her mother finds her journal and discovers her crush on a local boy, she embarrasses Mei by confronting the boy in front of her peers. When Mei awakens, she discovers that she has inadvertently awakened something else: her inner red panda. As she navigates life as a big red panda, into which she transforms whenever she is confronted with her innermost emotional ups and downs (exacerbated by her mother's refusal to allow her to attend the 4*Town concert), she discovers that her transformation is no accident and races for a solution before the transformation ruins her life.

Turning Red takes a look at that exciting, confusing, and delicate time of transition into the teenage years. Clearly the story of Mei's transformation is a metaphor for the unwieldy and uncontrollable hormonal responses to life's ups and downs at that age, and the frequency with which the transformation occurs points to the frequency in which people of that age experience emotional traumas. The film largely succeeds at painting a vivid picture of this life snapshot that involves modern sensibilities and life conveniences wrapped up in both ancient cultural traditions and truths as well as age-old pubescent problems.

The production is, from a technical standpoint, very fine indeed. The technical excellence is obvious, as is the finesse with which it was made and the unique character that gives it its own personality, even as its assets are essentially much like so many other recent movies. Director Domee Shi and her crew are to be commended for building a film that is every bit the modern digital bonanza yet with its own patented look, style, and soul. The Anime influences are unmistakable, and this may be the most visually distinctive and tonally individualized Pixar movie yet. The voice work is top-notch as well, and while the picture might not stand at the top of the Pixar pile in terms of memorable storytelling, groundbreaking visuals, or overall dramatic excellence, this is a solid enough film in the aggregate.

Turning Red 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.

Disney brings Turning Red to the UHD format with a very impressive 2160p/HDR video presentation. The image is very good, particularly considering the HDR color output. The image is notably brighter, more vivid, and offers deeper colors compared to the Blu-ray. Colors pop with more intensity here, yielding a spectacular showcase of the film's abundantly colorful palette which includes, of course Mei panda red but also a myriad of colorful tones in dreamy escapes, clothes, colorful accents around homes and the school, and so much more. The overall stability and vividness are very impressive, and add in superior balance to flesh tones, impeccably deep blacks, and crisper and more lively whites, and the HDR color spectrum is certainly a terrific add to the film that instantly makes this the more desirable presentation compared to the SDR Blu-ray. The textural gains under the 2160p resolution are far less dramatic. The image is a little clearer and more stable but sharpness gains are generally limited to fine point qualities and characteristics. Such are noticeable but not so revolutionary as to be a big step above the Blu-ray. Rather, this is a finessed work, one where little things are improved but the net effect does add up and, when paired with the dynamic HDR colors, certainly makes this the superior home video version of the film and worth the few dollars in upgrade fees.

Turning Red 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Disney brings Turning Red to the UHD format with a Dolby Atmos soundtrack; the companion Blu-ray only includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless track. However, there aren't any seriously notable differences. The Atmos track holds to the 7.1 track's general lack of vitality and authority, lacking volume at reference level and surrendering bass for whatever reason that only Disney knows. The track is not necessarily paper thin, but it is not as deep and powerful as it should be (when the situation warrants, of course). Listeners will find some appreciable, but nowhere near prominent, bass when Mei-as-panda walks around, for example, but one would expect a bit more oomph in accompaniment. The track offers surround usage in abundance with good directionality, seamless imaging, and well-defined discrete effects, but there's not much here in terms of overhead extension; there's a bit more fill but even then at most times it's barely noticeable. Music is appropriately wide with balanced surround usage but, again, not much punch at reference and not much depth at the bottom. Environmental fill is present and balanced but could stand a little more verve at reference. Dialogue is clear and intelligible from a natural front-center position. Essentially, this is a typical Disney track: capable but not at all in the same ballpark as the same track would be from a studio that doesn't hold back.

Turning Red 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The UHD disc includes no extras. However, the bundled Blu-ray discs, which are identical to that from the wide release, include several bonuses. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

Blu-ray Feature Film Disc:

• Life of a Shot (1080p, 14:36): A fascinating journey with Director Domee Shi and additional crew exploring the vast amount of work that is required to bring just seven shots in the film from concept to finished form, requiring the work and input of every single department in the studio.
• Build Your Own Boy Band (1080p, 8:38): Discussing the secrets behind the process of building a fictional boy band in 10 easy steps, from listening to a lot of real Boy Band music to crafting dance choreography.
• Audio Commentary: Director Domee Shi, Producer Lindsey Collins, and Director of Photography Mahyar Abousaeedi offer a well-spoken, informative, but also welcoming and breezy track that explores inspirations, narrative themes, story construction, music, visuals, and so much more.

Blu-ray Bonus Disc:

• Ani-Mei-Tion (1080p, 9:38): Exploring the film's "snappy" visual style and structure, Anime influences, character design, and more.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 23:40): Following an Introduction are the following scenes: Intro Meilin, Taming the Panda, The Debate, Fei and Christina Hang, 4*Town Dilemma, and Roping in Leo. Some are presented in early storyboard form, others in final form.
• Trailers (1080p): Included are Poof - Global Teaser in English (1:56), Mei - Global Trailer in German (2:26), and Cherish yourself - Japan Payoff Trailer (1:47).

Turning Red 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Turning Red feels somewhat dramatically redundant, occupying some of the same space that Inside Out already covered, and far better in the aggregate, but there's enough of a unique identity here to make it play well on its own, even if it doesn't stand out as anywhere near the best that the studio has released before. Disney's UHD offers scrumptious 2160p/HDR video, typically watered-down Atmos audio, and a few extras spread across two Blu-ray discs. Recommended.