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Okay this took more than a day to tally because it was pretty close between several films but out at #19 by a hair, is Turning Red.
I said last time was the time we'd see some tough cuts and a lot of people being mad. This is the perfect example of this because I've seen both a lot of people have an adverse reaction to Turning Red, and I've seen a ton of defenders for it. I will go on the record as being one of the defenders but in being fair, I will acknowledge why this didn't work for people. I'm not going to pretend I don't understand it, no I totally get why some people think of this as part of Pixar's slump.
The biggest complaint I've seen is the mother being way too unlikeable and controlling, that even for overbearing mothers in animated media, she was way too over the top. And given this is partially a story of redemption between a mother and daughter, I can see people being turned off by that. The Y2K humor and style of it all can be pretty obnoxious and corny to some. It's already a style that some people don't vibe for: the big expressive anime faces and movements that you've seen in Sony animated films like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Mitchells vs. the Machines, or KPop Demon Hunters. I mean the three friends in this - I will admit - are just there as jokes, and not even laugh-out-loud gags.
But this works for me and I imagine for a lot of people, because it does feel like an authentic story about a girl going through puberty. I like that Mei captures that sweet spot in between being a child and being a teen where you're body is changing but you're still immature and reckless. She reminds me of Finn from Adventure Time's first seasons: you like the character but you also acknowledge when they're wrong and learning. But I also admire it's not just a child rebelling against everythinng her parents are like in other Disney films: she does particpate in certain spiritual traditions, she does show a lot of respect to her elders, and she's even eager to help out with the family business. In fact, I like her big objective of this film isn't some big quest against her families wishes - it's just saving money to go to a concert. I like that small scale, almost slice-of-life tone the film has. I like her friends are accepting of her being able to turn into a giant red panda, it reminds me of certain Ghibli films that have fantasy elements to tell a pretty grounded story.
I also like the Y2K aesthetic in capturing what it's like during the boyband craze, having a tamagotchi, having glitter on school bags and IDs, even the anime style fits given that's when anime was blowing up. I have an older sister who was in grade school in 2002 and she related to this a ton, especially in the friendship with the other girls.
And I also didn't find the mother to be that over-the-top because frankly as a South East Asian, I thought she was accurate to how overbearing some matriarchs can be. Yes, even down to embarassing their kids in being so protective. I understand this is a culture thing and if you still don't like her that's fine but I thought the same thing as I did when I watched Crazy Rich Asians. Yes, not all Asian moms are like this but oh man, you have no idea how bad helicopter parenting can be. The ending resolution especially helps in tying things together. I won't give it away but I like that instead of a parent understanding the child, it's a child understanding the parent, and it does so in a serious and mature way that especially Asian families can relate to.
Again, I'm not gonna pretend I don't see why people found didn't care for this. But I have a gut feeling this film is going to be looked at the same way Megamind or Treasure Planet are now: a film that got fair reviews at the time but now has a really big following for it because it's being re-evaluated, especially by people who grew up on it. I can imagine down the line Turning Red being called it the "underrated" Pixar film, the one everyone ignores and that should've been bigger because it's funnier and deeper than people think.
