Thu. Mar 28th, 2024


Pixar’s latest feature film won’t be headed to theaters. Instead, Turning Red is available for streaming on Disney+. While this was the norm for pandemic-era movies, all of Disney’s releases since last August— including EncantoWest Side Story, and Marvel’s Eternals — all had exclusive theatrical engagements before heading to the streaming platform. But Turning Red is skipping theaters and landing straight on Disney+, where you can watch it now.

Both of Pixar’s previous two releases, Soul and Luca, were released exclusively on Disney+, which perhaps explains why Turning Red is following the same model. The last movie the studio launched a movie directly to Disney+ was Jungle Cruise in July, and even then customers had to pay $30 for Premier Access. However, you don’t have to pay anything extra to watch Turning Red.

In countries where Disney+ is not yet available, including the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines, Turning Red will play in theaters. The movie will also have a one-week run at the historic El Capitan theater in Los Angeles starting Friday.

Directed by Domee Shi, Turning Red tells the story of 13-year-old Mei Lee(Rosalie Chiang), a Chinese-Canadian girl who finds herself turning into a giant red panda whenever she experiences a strong emotion such as anxiety or excitement. Sandra Oh voices Ming Lee, Mei’s overprotective mother. The voice cast also features Never Have I Ever‘s Maitreyi Ramakrishnan as Mei’s friend Priya, Wai Ching Ho as Mei’s grandmother, and James Hong as Mr. Gao, a local elder.

Turning Red has already received glowing reviews from critics, with a current aggregate score of 95 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. And if you are a Disney+ customer, you don’t have to wait any longer to stream Pixar’s latest triumph. Don’t have a subscription yet? You can sign up for Disney+ here.

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By Dave Jenks

Dave Jenks is an American novelist and Veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Between those careers, he’s worked as a deckhand, commercial fisherman, divemaster, taxi driver, construction manager, and over the road truck driver, among many other things. He now lives on a sea island, in the South Carolina Lowcountry, with his wife and youngest daughter. They also have three grown children, five grand children, three dogs and a whole flock of parakeets. Stinnett grew up in Melbourne, Florida and has also lived in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and Cozumel, Mexico. His next dream is to one day visit and dive Cuba.