Turning Red: Domee Shi makes it look easy to tell an engaging story, with a self-affirming theme and a lovely set of characters. Telling the story of a girl facing the hardships of her age and growing up, this animation’s messages (embracing yourself, finding your circle of support) are connected and feel warranted. It centers around a girl of Asian descent (itself a rare and welcome fact) in Toronto (idem), while also presenting a diverse supporting cast, but nevertheless, it feels universal, as everybody grows up. Vocal performances are solid: Rosalie Chiang makes a charming protagonist, while Sandra Oh is quite good as her caring but tough mother. The animation is beautiful: characters are distinctive and beautifully created, the colors are incredible, the world feels real. Good music, both the original score by Ludwig Göransson and the boy-band songs composed by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell.