Adolescence is a very difficult time. But what if it gets even more difficult? Teen Meilin – for Mei’s friends – notices how easily her so far ordered world can turn into chaos, and how important it is to accept herself. The Disney and Pixar film directed by the Oscar®-winning short animated short Bao , Domee Shi will be released on DVD on August 10.
Press materials of the film “To nie wypanda” by Galapagos Films
This is not a disaster , the latest production from Disney and Pixar, is a hilarious story about Mei Lee, a crazy thirteen-year-old who is torn between being a good daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her overprotective and somewhat intrusive mom Ming tries to be as close to her daughter as possible – unfortunately for the teenager. As if that was not enough, every time Mei feels strong emotions, she turns into … a big red panda!
Press materials of the film “To nie wypanda” by Galapagos Films
To make matters worse, there is no shortage of emotions. After all, adolescence is the very moment in life when there are the most of them! Domee Shi explains:
One moment everything is perfectly fine, and the next the whole environment is terrorized. She becomes taller, more predatory and more emotional. He actually becomes a giant red panda, and the only way to return to human form is to take a few deep breaths, calm down, and gain control over your emotions. Mei is like the Hulk, only prettier. Basically, the red panda is a cute metaphor for a very unpleasant puberty phenomenon.
Press materials of the film “To nie wypanda” by Galapagos Films
Producer Lindsey Collins says:
The action “It’s not a rush” takes place in Toronto, Canada at the beginning of the 21st century. This is not a magical world. This is important because the plot itself, where the girl begins to mature supernaturally, turning into a red panda, is quite fantastic. And yet we can find ourselves in this world. It is a story about maturation, change and transition. About this period in our lives when we try to find out who we really are. Here we have a girl torn between family and friends who learns that she’s not what she thought she was. On the other hand, we have a mother whose daughter suddenly becomes interested in strange music and boys. It’s hard for her to give her child the space to become what she needs to become. It is a universal theme, understandable to people in the role of parents and in the role of children,
It is not the expulsion that focuses on the mother-daughter relationship. It is a subject very close to the director’s heart. Shi, who made the Oscar-winning Bao animation for Pixar , says that her answer to the question why the dumpling star in this short film was male turned out to be prophetic:
At the time, I said that getting to the bottom of the mother-daughter relationship required a full-length film. In fact, that was one of the most important motivations to come up with the idea for “It’s not a rush.” This account is never black and white. At the beginning of the movie, Mei sincerely loves her, but she is being influenced by various forces – for everyone her age. This is a time of great change.
Shi and the rest of the crew created characters that grab the audience’s heart from the very first scenes of the film and hold it all the way to the final credits. Of course, at the forefront is 13-year-old Meilin Lee, surrounded by the director’s group of friends and family. Each character has a distinct personality that complements and contrasts with the character of Mei as she traverses the turbulent waters of her adolescence. Producer Lindsey Collins says:
For Domee, it’s a very personal story. It is a story about the relationship between a mother and her daughter taking place at the beginning of the 21st century and it has a completely unique character. As I later learned from internal conversations within the company, Pixar’s reaction to the first scene reflected my impressions of the movie: I’ve never seen anything like it before.
As Collins adds, the character’s appearance is also unique:
They all had to get in touch with their inner thirteen year old to get the style that Domee was chasing. It is the world seen through Mei’s eyes. Everything is dynamic and colorful. The scenery is rich in textures and massive. We used a character animation style characterized by exaggerated facial expressions. They are caricatured and their movement and poses are fresh. The Domee style can be seen in the scenery, animation, photos and lighting. Her fascination with anime shows in everything.
The film also featured the first ever Pixar boy band – 4 * Town. The hits of this fictional band – three in total – were composed by Billie Eilish and FINNEAS.
When we started talking about Billie Eilish and FINNEAS, before they had one million GRAMMY, we knew they had their finger on the pulse, Collins recalls. – We were huge fans of them. We met with them and presented this crazy idea for a boy band. We asked if they would be interested in composing and producing some songs for him. They agreed!
According to Shi, if the story of a thirteen-year-old girl’s coming of age is set at the beginning of the 21st century, then the boy band is actually an obligatory element:
We needed something that was obsessed with Mei and that her mother wouldn’t like. Boy bands were the first step into the boy world for many girls of this age. Their members have always been very nice, manicured, gentle and loving. They attracted the attention of all the girls. Besides, I found it would be fun to create an animated boy band.
After all, it ‘s not just a movie that, even as an animation with a fantastic element, becomes a story about a universal experience known to every teenager. It’s a story deeply embedded in the real world, and perhaps better than anything we’ve seen so far shows the experience of growing up. As executive producer Adrian Molina sums up:
I hope that a growing group of people will have the opportunity to watch experiences that are dear to them on the big screen. “It’s not a rush” shows the unique perspective of a thirteen-year-old Canadian of Chinese origin. In the deepest sense, the film shows that we are all connected.
The film To nie wypanda made its debut in Polish cinemas on March 11, 2022. Almost 700,000 viewers watched it. It will debut on DVD on August 10.
Press materials of the film “To nie wypanda” by Galapagos Films
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