The new Pixar movie, Turning Red, was hoped to be the animation giant’s return to wide big screen releases after both Soul and Luca went to Disney Plus last year. However, it has now been announced that the film about a teenage girl who turns into a red panda at inconvenient times will be heading straight to Disney Plus on March 11, 2022.
“Disney Plus subscribers around the world enthusiastically embraced Pixar’s Academy Award-winning Soul and the critically acclaimed Luca when they premiered exclusively on the service and we look forward to bringing them Pixar’s next incredible feature film Turning Red,” Kareem Daniel, chairman of Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, said in a statement.
The Disney exec insisted the studio had to be flexible as it continued to release movies during the ongoing pandemic. “Given the delayed box office recovery, particularly for family films, flexibility remains at the core of our distribution decisions as we prioritise delivering the unparalleled content of The Walt Disney Co. to audiences around the world,” Daniel added.
Disney and Pixar’s Turning Red introduces Mei Lee, voiced by Rosalie Chiang, as a confident 13-year-old with a loyal group of friends. She is torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of being a teen girl into boybands etc.
Her protective and overbearing mother, Ming, is voiced by Sandra Oh, and she is never far from her daughter. And whenever Mei Lee gets too excited, which is something that happens a lot to a teenage girl, she manages to “poof” into a giant red panda.
Turning Red is directed by Oscar winner Domee Shi, who helmed the Pixar short film Bao, and is produced by Lindsey Collins.
While we wait for March, check out our guide to the best Disney movies.