Push Admin

What Asian representation in 'Turning Red' means to cast

Article (news)

Yong Chavez | TFC News Hollywood

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Sandra Oh. Photo courtesy Disney/Pixar" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tfc/03/08/20220308_sandra-oh-on-turning-red.jpg"/><figcaption>Sandra Oh. Photo courtesy: Disney/Pixar</figcaption></figure></div><p>&#x27;Turning Red&#x27; holds a personal significance to one of its stars, award-winning actress Sandra Oh.</p><p>Disney&#x27;s latest animated film is about a 13-year-old girl going through that phase in a young teen&#x27;s life when significant changes are happening.</p><p>&quot;This is the film I wanted to see when I was like 8 to 18. This is the film that I really wish I saw. So to be a part of it now is extremely satisfying to see. Being Canadian and Asian Canadian, to see Mei who&#x27;s also a bright, confident, ambitious girl, who&#x27;s not afraid to be smart or dorky and who loves her friends and loves her music, I just thought it was a joy to be a part of. It&#x27;s great to see,&quot; Oh said.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Rosalie Chiang. Photo courtesy: Disney/Pixar" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tfc/03/08/20220308_rosalie-chiang-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Rosalie Chiang. Photo courtesy: Disney/Pixar</figcaption></figure></div><p>Oh&#x27;s character is the mother of Mei, voiced by the film’s lead star Rosalie Chiang. Animated projects usually take a long time to finish and talents cannot reveal their involvement in projects so it took years before the newcomer was able to tell her friends that she is a bonafide Disney talent.</p><p>Chiang shared how she too related to her character who is trying to navigate her place in the world as a spirited teenager and an obedient daughter.</p><p>&quot;Since I was the same age as Mei and I was literally coming of age, I was going through that process during the recording. So it was just so nice to have that movie, kind of right next to me as I navigated through it. And I hope that people in the future can watch this and just take notes because I know like, Inside Out, there are people who use that movie to help kids express their emotions and understand it, and I hope this will be theirs for puberty and change and messiness,&quot; Chiang noted.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Grayson Villanueva. Photo courtesy: Disney/Pixar" src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2022/tfc/03/08/20220308_grayson-villanueva-1.jpg"/><figcaption>Grayson Villanueva. Photo courtesy: Disney/Pixar</figcaption></figure></div><p>The film&#x27;s story focuses on an Asian family. Among its cast members is Filipino performer Grayson Villanueva who plays one of the members of 4*Town, the boy band that Meilin and her friends are obsessed with in the movie. 4*Town&#x27;s songs were written by music superstars Billie Eilish and FINNEAS.</p><p>&quot;It was such a thrill to be able to sing with the rest of the boy band. And it&#x27;s great because it&#x27;s also like an Asian film. And so I&#x27;m just excited to see that representation on-screen. I am most excited for them to hear the music that Billie Eilish and FINNEAS put together and that the boy band sings is just very much of that era. And it&#x27;s just, like, so fun,&quot; Villanueva said.</p><p>&#x27;Turning Red&#x27; comes at a time when a shift in Hollywood is happening and more diverse characters are included. For many years, Asian talents and stories were largely absent on-screen.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vZihI2oeFPs?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Asian characters are centered in the new animation film ‘Turning Red,’ and among its cast is a Filipino singer.