Pixar for decades now have been the go-to standard for not just animation, but storytelling as a whole. They know how to make things work, make it beautiful, and tug at your heartstrings as a result. Their latest result is further proof of that via Turning Red, a story about a young girl who is dealing with family, growing up, and transforming into a giant red panda. Relatable.
Anyway, early criticisms before the film came out was about its “chunky” look that some of the characters seemed to have. It was honestly a bit different from previous Pixar titles. But, in an interview with The Washington Post, we hear from Turning Red Domee Shi, who notes that this was indeed all part of the plan as it was inspired by a familiar set of Nintendo franchises:
“Both of us just love that chunky cute aesthetic and that was definitely fostered by playing Nintendo games, like ‘Pokémon,’ like ‘EarthBound.’ There’s just something so appealing about how they are able to stylize their world in such an appealing, chunky, cute kind of way. When we were looking at the looks development for our movie, we looked at ‘Breath of the Wild’ and were like, ‘Wow, how are they able to make the world feel so beautiful and rich but are still able to simplify it?’
They made it work just how they wanted as the films has been dominating streaming services, and many on the staff of the film are being hired to guide the future of Pixar films.