The animes that inspired the new Pixar film

The new Pixar movie “Red” promises to be one of the great animated films of 2022, despite the controversial decision to release it directly on Disney +, it is already generating a lot of hype among its fans, especially considering what it is about and the aesthetic that its director has chosen to follow.

The film tells us the story of Mei Lee, a thirteen-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl who must deal with all the problems that come with this moment in life, in addition to her complicated relationship with her mother, but everything gets complicated after Mei starts turning into a cute little fox whenever she gets too stressed or excited.

The new Pixar Red movie and the anime that influenced its creation

“In 2017 I was promoting my short film Bao and a lot of people asked me why Bao was a boy. Why was this little dumpling a boy? And I was like: Ohm because I only had eight minutes to tell this story and for a story of a mother and her daughter I need a whole movie to unwrap it” were the words of the director Domee Shi about the origin of the film.

Another thing that the animator has mentioned is the strong influence that some anime had on the film, especially considering its “Coming-of-age” story. Of course, there are also plenty of autobiographical elements to what the director herself has described as an “Asian Teenage Fever Dream” vibe.

One of the animes that most inspired “Red” is the iconic series “Sailor Moon”, an icon of female representation in world animation. “We were really inspired by pastels and the dreaminess of the night, of nightscapes,” Shi said, referring to the 1992 super-hit series.

“Sailor Moon” was in charge of introducing an entire relationship to the “Magical girl” subgenre, where girls with magical powers are in charge of dispensing justice around the world. On the other hand, another iconic anime that the director of “Red” described as an influence was “Ranma ½”, especially because of the theme of transformation.

“Ranma ½” is another anime we took inspiration from, especially when Mei transformed and turned into a giant pink cloud. We borrowed it from many anime that was about transformation. And that whole device of a girl transforming into an animal, I feel like I see it a lot in anime,” the director said.

On the other hand, he also talked about “Inuyasha”, the popular adventure and fantasy series that captivated millions of young people around the world when it premiered in 2002. As for this anime, its fast pace and the existence of a strong protagonist that struggles to find herself are part of the influence of the new Pixar film.

“Red” the new Pixar film that tells the story of growing up of a young girl

Finally, another anime that had a lot of weight during the making of Domee Shi’s film was “Fruits Basket”, whose story also has characters that transform into animals when they are weakened, stressed or hugged by a member of the opposite sex and follows the themes of growth and self-discovery.

“Red” premieres on Disney + on March 11 and many are already profiling it as one of the most original films of recent years, something that Pixar fans have been waiting for a long time. On the other hand, the studio hopes to get even more awards and critical acclaim with the film.