With ‘Red Alert’, Disney explores the topic of female puberty

Posted in: 12/03/2022 – 00:49

Director Dom Shi was inspired by her adolescence to create the character of Melin, an excellent student of Chinese descent who is fully integrated in Toronto, Canada. However, there is a huge difference that separates the 30-year-old director and her character. in the movie red alertLittle Melin turns into a giant red panda once she gets angry.

« I was this self-confident, emotional, stupid kid who liked to control everything, and I had a wonderful relationship with his mother, family and friends. And then one day, puberty arrived. I suddenly grew up, my hair grew everywhere and my feelings took over, I quarreled with my mother every day. I wanted to go back to this period to understand what happened. »

Characters viewers can relate to

The first Pixar movie directed by a woman, red alert He balances strong female characters, between Melene and her friends, her very demanding mother, grandmother, and aunts. It is also the first animated film that talks about the onset of menstruation in a young girl and about periodic protection in a funny and embarrassing sequence for the main character.

For producer Lindsey Collins, this sequence was essential: “ We trust our teams and demos to see if our ideas are working. And when we showed the movie internally, everyone laughed and then put themselves in the character’s shoes. And that’s what we’re looking for, this symmetry between the spectators and the characters. Everyone wanted to keep this scene in the movie. »

So Dum Shi metaphorically shows the transformations of a young girl into a teenager. Used for this panda figure. ” Even if the panda is a Chinese animal, it is a nice metaphor for adulthood, because it is red and hairy. I was not inspired by any existing Chinese legends. I invented my own. »

Music by Billie Eich and Phineas O’Connell

The challenge for Melin and her friends is to go to a concert for boys band which is happening in Toronto. Lindsey Collins called out Billie Eilish and her brother Phineas O’Connell for the band’s songs.

« We wanted artists that would speak to this generation, singers who would give the impression that they had written songs specifically for their 13-year-old audience. Billie Eilish and Phineas write songs for this generation. So they were offered to create this boy band for the movie and compose their music. They immediately accepted and wrote three songs we love. »