Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter had a lot of exciting news to offer fans during Pixar’s presentation of Disney Investor Day, including the fact the animation house would be delivering two new films to audiences in 2022, including the coming-of-age comedy Turning Red!
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Turning Red centers on Mei Lee, a confident yet dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence and as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough for any teenager, Mei suffers from a mysterious condition in which any time she gets too excited — which for a teenager is practically ALWAYS — she magically transforms into a giant red panda!
The film is directed by Domee Shi, the writer/director behind the Pixar short Bao who became the first woman to direct a short film for the Disney-owned animation studio and won an Academy Award for the title. While Red will be her feature directorial debut, Shi has credits on a number of notable films in the past including working as a storyboard artist on Inside out, The Good Dinosaur, Incredibles 2 (which was what Bao was attached to) and Toy Story 4.
The project is also being produced by Lindsey Collins, whose previous credits include co-producing the beloved 2008 sci-fi pic WALL-E, producing John Carter and Finding Dory, as well as a number of shorts at Pixar.
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Turning Red is currently slated to hit theaters on March 11, 2022, acting as one of two Pixar films to hit theaters that year alongside the Chris Evans-starring Buzz Lightyear origin story movie slated for that summer.
