For some time now, it has been screaming quite a bit on the Internet because Disney is releasing a Pixar film directly on Disney+ for the third time in a row. After Soul and Luca, Red Alert lands directly on the platform. Disney’s contempt for Pixar? The reality is different. Disney+ is struggling to attract audiences and Soul and Luca were among the biggest hits on the platform. In order to boost subscriptions, this is the fate that was also reserved for Alerte Rouge. But what is it regarding? And is it worth it?
The pitch
The adventures of Meilin Lee, a 13-year-old teenager, full of confidence, but torn between her image as a model little girl in the eyes of her overprotective mother and the chaos of adolescence. And as if all the changes taking place in her weren’t enough, every time she is overwhelmed by her emotions – which, for a teenager, happens almost all the time – she transforms into a giant red panda!
Red Alert is directed by Domee Shi, the director behind the short film Bao, which preceded The Incredibles 2 at the cinema. With Red Alert, she continues to talk regarding her Chinese-Canadian origins through the character of Meilin, torn between the image of a model girl imposed by her mother and her own personality as a young teenager. The expression of her emotions causes her to turn into a giant red panda, a family curse she knows nothing regarding.
Of course, the giant red panda is a perfect metaphor for showing kids what it’s like to grow up. Pixar has always shown skill in explaining to the youngest concepts that will happen to them in the more or less near future. Watching Red Alert with adult eyes is not uninteresting either, since it immerses itself enormously in the lives of these young girls.
On the animation side, Pixar quality is there, while having put a touch of Japanese animation tradition in the way of showing the emotions on the faces of the characters. Anime lovers will enjoy.
Inclusive, realistic in its portrait of children and their emotions, funny and touching, Red Alert is a new success from Pixar.
Red Alert is released on Disney+ on March 11.
In collaboration with Streamnews.be, the streaming guide
