'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Domee Shi's recent feature, the Pixar project Turning Red, has emerged as a phenomenal hit with fans wanting to see more of Mei's cute and adorable red panda. With Turning Red, the director became the first woman to solo-direct a Pixar film in the studio’s 36-year-long history.
It turns out that Shi used to be a Pixar intern. She managed to join the studio in 2011 as a storyboarding intern on her second try. After her internship period was over, she stayed with Pixar as a staff artist, contributing to films like Inside Out and Incredibles 2, while at the same time working on a side project which she called “doodling outside of work.”
She also pitched three short concepts to Pixar in a studio open call in 2016. Today, Shi has spent more than a decade with Pixar honing her animation skills.
Shi credits Pixar legend Pete Docter for encouraging her to pitch Bao, Shi's first project, which became an 8-minute-short about a dumpling that comes to life with a shocking twist. With Bao, she became the first woman to direct a Pixar short and also the first woman of color to win an Oscar for best animated short film in 2019.
All about Turning Red, Domee Shi's latest feature
Domee Shi's latest project, Turning Red, is the story of a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian, Mei, who discovers that she turns into a red panda during times of emotional highs. The film is a metaphor for adolescence and reaching puberty, and explores the complex relationship of a daughter with her overbearing and protective mother during the very crucial stage of life.
Turning Red is a beautiful portrait of a young girl emerging from the shadows of her mother and becoming her own person.
It turns out that Shi loves metaphors since her recent work, Turning Red, is a metaphor in itself. Through her two films, the director has explored and reflected on her own experience as an Asian woman from Canada, exploring topics like complicated parent-child relationships, learning to express, and other issues she is personally familiar with.
Shi has portrayed the awkward adolescent experience of teen girls, a topic that has not been popularly featured.
Catch Domee Shi's latest project on Disney+.
