Whereas coming-of-age tales are a dime a dozen, coming-of-age tales centered round women–and extra particularly, ladies of color–are nonetheless sorely lacking from mainstream media. Nonetheless, Pixar’s Turning Purple is not notable solely for serving to to treatment this drawback. What makes the movie stand out as one in every of 2022’s greatest motion pictures is its attraction, sincerity, and willingness to discover complicated topics–topics like generational trauma, being a first-generation immigrant, and mother-daughter relationships–while additionally making you are feeling all the enjoyment, magic, and “cringe” that comes with merely being a 13-year-old woman.

In Meilin and her boyband-obsessed greatest mates, I noticed myself and my very own mates, fawning over some emo band or the most recent vampire-filled younger grownup novel. In her risque drawings she tries her hardest to maintain her overbearing mom from discovering, I noticed my folder of fanfiction I might have been mortified to let my very own mom a lot as look at. And, within the dynamic we see between Meilin and her mom that leads her down the well-trodden path of people-pleasing and repressing her personal wants and feelings, I noticed myself and my very own mom.

Regardless of Turning Purple utilizing vibrant colours, a bombastic animation fashion, and legendary transformations to represent a younger woman’s lack of management over her feelings and physique that culminate in kaiju fights, it by some means manages to really feel earnest and grounded. It is an unbelievable accomplishment and a good looking ode to loud, good daughters and the moms who love them in each manner they understand how. – Jessica Howard