Pixar Theory: Why Ming’s Panda Was SO BIG!

✨ SUBSCRIBE: kzbin.info...
Why was Mei's mother so huge at the end of Turning Red? Today we're figuring it out!
🎪 Join our imaginative community over on Discord! / discord
🎨 The Art of Turning Red: amzn.to/3q7eMbf
🧚 Help me build the biggest community of Disney fans in the world by becoming a producer over on Patreon! / isaaccarlson
🎈 My Most Popular Videos
Scar BEFORE The Lion King (Full Story): • Scar BEFORE The Lion K...
Who Was Jack Skellington BEFORE He Died?: • Who Was Jack Skellingt...
Why Vanellope Still Glitches: • Why Vanellope Still Gl...
🎈 Listen To My Podcast
iTunes: podcasts.apple...
Spotify: open.spotify.c...
🎈 Affiliates & Referrals
KZbin Camera Gear Kit: kit.co/IsaacCa...
Movies On Bluray & DVD Kits: kit.co/IsaacCa...
Favorite Disney Collectibles Kit: kit.co/IsaacCa...
Support us on Amazon: amzn.to/3FZDh0n
We get a small percentage of anything you buy through the links above!
🎈 Want to find Isaac Carlson across the internet?
Instagram: / mrisaaccarlson
TikTok: vm.tiktok.com/...
Twitter: / mrisaaccarlson
Facebook: / mrisaaccarlson
Support Isaac Carlson on Patreon: / isaaccarlson
Have a magical day, fun people! #turningred #pixar #imaginative

[@SpammytheHedgehog]

I guess the angrier the mom gets, the bigger the red panda.

[@brendonslife4584]

That was actually the creators intent but they dropped the idea, but they kept the giant panda

[@silashurd3597]

@@brendonslife4584 good thing they did

[@officialgeorgewashingtonfa1373]

Yes

[@imanacute_1286]

red hulk panda

[@Person-wz6iy]

Like Ang Lee's Hulk.

[@EChacon]

I think the reason that Ming's Red Panda form is so big is due to the years of bottling up her emotions and her anger of trying to be the "perfect daughter" to her own mother up until her mother disapproves of her future husband causing Ming to hurt her mother. Because of this incident, she had to bottle up her negative emotions and anger within the pendant but resuted in her Red Panda form to get bigger and after Mei Mei defied her mother and pushed her off resulting in the pendant cracking leading to Ming getting angry and her Red Panda form to be released. Mei Mei, her Grandmother and her aunts remaining at 8-10 feet tall over Ming's 196-200 feet height was due to the fact they both remained calm throughout their lives.

[@sharktenko267]

Except that the movie told us that ming was this big when her husband first saw it

[@EChacon]

@@sharktenko267 Yeah, but like I said, it does go back to how Ming Lee's Panda form was large was due to her bottling her anger within the pendant which caused her Panda form to grow larger, along with trying to be the "perfect daughter" to her mother up until the incident when Ming Lee hurt her mother after she disapproved of Ming's future husband.

[@lostend4064]

@@EChacon it's actually more all her repress emotions & thoughts of trying to be the "perfect" daughter that her mother wanted her to be until her mother disapproved on her current husband, it caused her to snap. Kinda how Mei was trying to be a "perfect" daughter for her mother's approval.. but kinda fell out of the mold in the original storybook Mei was also supposed to get her mother's size panda at the stadium due to how more emotional Mei is compared to her mother to get her to reason. But yet again the creators went with Mei keeping her panda size as it was than go also enormous..

[@eggheadsanonymous9634]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYmYgIt3oq9kj8k How MeiMei survived the kitten box

[@pale_profile7237]

Or rather a combination of both contributing to huge size and strength

[@mysticalstar2945]

I really like the theory of the reason that Ming's panda was way bigger than everyone elses was due to her trapped emotions not being released. The underlying emotion that caused Ming's panda in the first place being caused by toxic perfectionism and the fear of not being able to measure up, feelings of worthlessness, and probably low self esteem and guilt! Her inner child was screaming because her bottled wounds wanted to be heard, accepted, and released which did happen in the forest when Mei found and helped her mother where she was at by listening, accepting, and moving forward.

[@gyutarogaming7517]

Why tf is there even a theory about this? It's pretty obvious.

[@Sean-idk]

@@gyutarogaming7517 because people don't know how is it obvious its stuff some people really wondered

[@aff77141]

Going off of this, it could also be that family members who are naturally more emotional have larger forms, and so she was already predisposed to it

[@dannellyboggs9568]

@@gyutarogaming7517 no

[@dannellyboggs9568]

@@gyutarogaming7517 no

[@averymerrick]

It’s suggested that one of the first times she transformed, she scarred her mom which fed it even more. Then she further fed her trauma panda when she defied her mom and married Jin.

[@StonedHunter]

I honestly assumed that the two events happened together. She got so mad over Jin that she hurt her mother. It might have been what made her mom relent (seeing how badly her rejection hurt Ming and made her lose control) and allow her to be with him.

[@KyairEnnis547]

Which of course, led to the birth of the main character: MEI LEE

[@CosmotheSeedrianfan]

That’s what I was thinking too

[@brendonslife4584]

JUST TO BE CLEAR!! The only reason Ming had a giant panda is because the creator wanted it to be a giant kaiju battle at the end so they came up with an idea that depending on how angry you are, the bigger the panda is. Eventualy she dropped the idea and decided for the dad to just say her panda was big

[@austinpapageorge7210]

yeah sometimes it's good to go with the flow of the story

[@liviwaslost]

It’s kinda a good thing because it shows that Mei can control her emotions and be calm.

[@moneylover318]

It actually works with the humor because whenever kids imagine their parents angry, they see giant angry people.

[@veronicapiccinini7956]

I think it’s because Mei is an extrovert. Outside the fact she hides her interests from her mother, she isn’t afraid to let her emotions out

[@lucidfangirl1030]

Good for her

[@Shetasen]

Definitely years of pent up emotions. If I learned anything from having a Chinese Tiger Mother is....angry is nothing compared to her rage. Mother is always calm collected and bright, but rage from the highest degree of disrespect, its a monsoon of "how she sacrificed everything" and the words she can say might as well be apocalyptic. I remember when my mother unleashed everything and I remember being angry, scared but also extremely confused because she had never spoken about her youth or younger years, her emotions or her struggles before.

[@pauljordan0203]

well, what I think is, that the reason why Ming's panda form was so freaking huge, is maybe because that her panda form was the manifestation of all that negative emotions that welled up within her when she was Mei's age, at least, that's what I believe.

[@sharktenko267]

@the savvyverse it is confirmed But it's also confirmed that ming has ALWAYS been that big

[@jamilleyomtown]

I like this theory

[@TheMovieMistress1993]

I believe Ming got so big as all of her pent up and rage and frustrations and emotions caused her to be so big and the panda inside her pendant got bigger and bigger. Throughout the film, Ming was so calm and focused until her pendant smashed The rest of her family seemed so relaxed and in control when they changed that they were regular sized pandas like Mei. Also I think if Mei was in a situation like what she was like with Tyler in terms of a relationship and all of that rage could unleash a giant red panda as he was the only one who had made her angry and annoyed or if she’d lost her friends. I

[@tamaralewis9258]

Yea. Maybe if they made a sequel, her friends and family get injured when trying to save Mei from the enemy ancestor of sun yee and Mei's panda gets larger and defeats him

[@domomitsune5920]

If that was the case, wouldn't all that pent-up aggression crack Ming's pendant and caused her to transform sooner? Something similar to what happens to a hematite ring or something? If we're going by the same type of analogy, long before she fell?

[@StonedHunter]

No because the whole point of the items is to keep the pandas in. It heavily implies (at least to me) that if her pendant hadn't been cracked her panda wouldn't have gotten out, as it took all of the others to break theirs in order to get their pandas out.

[@keshiaanders6452]

To add another branch (or more) to the theory: Ming's extreme & hidden emotions might've also been affected due to the fact that she's the middle child of her sisters. Helen (comb aunt) is her older sister & Lily (earring aunt) is the younger sister (while Peng aka Brooch Auntie & Chen aka Ring Auntie are Wu's sisters, Ming's aunts & Mei's great aunts). Being the middle child can put a lot of pressure on someone because they envy both their elder & younger siblings, and it of course would explain why Ming was afraid of her mother's disapproval of her (and the fact that Jin, in Wu's eyes at first, was just a traditional breaker by being the one that cooks the meals for the family instead of Ming).

[@moneylover318]

Actually helen is her cousin most likely the grandmas niece, peng and chen are mings older sisters, and lily is pengs daughyer. Most likely her being the youngest brought the most pressure on her between her 2 older sisters.

[@domomitsune5920]

I just want to think that her mother naturally had a larger panda, because of a generational skip thing. Maybe Mei mother had a once-in-a-generation mutation in her Panda spirit. Something like Broly being different from the rest of the Saiyans. It could just be that her red panda form was just that large naturally, and her sealing ceremony was necessary, to prevent widespread destruction. And there's probably a chance a similar situation will happen in the future turning red movie, if hers isn't sealed soon. Medial one wrong mood swing at the wrong time, will cause her to become a gigantic as her mother will, if mood is a determination on the size the panda form takes.

[@Da-choppa]

There is gonna be a second one?! :D

[@maatmelanin1159]

Yes from the start they always said ming had a huge panda. I always thought Ming’s was the largest because she held in so much more pain, anger and confusion than her other siblings. She always felt she had to be perfect for her mom and could never live for herself. They said the panda sets you free and feels free maybe her panda was huge cause she had a lot that she needed to release

[@angel.gutzzz]

I feel like this would make more sense in the context of what the panda symbolizes wich is puberty. Not everyone has the same experience and some people are less lucky than others because genetics so its nice to see someone consider that. It would also make sense why mei's is smallest because they always said she was an early bloomer.

[@ouefs]

Ming's Panda was sealed in Mei Mei's game thingy.

[@evelynn1173]

Its similar to how birth control is needed in some women because their periods are very painful.

[@christopherrichards2350]

I love Turning Red. The movie to me is like a hybrid of two Disney Channel animated shows like The Owl House and American Dragon Jake Long. I was shocked when Ming transformed into a red panda the size of Godzilla. I totally agree that when Ming bottles up her negative emotions and anger, her red panda is going to be gigantic and terrifying.

[@averymerrick]

How come Ming's red panda form was the size of a kaiju, While her daughter, mother and sisters were not gargantuan sized as well? -The size of the red panda seems to be related to how the character deals with their emotions, Mei has a relatively small red panda form, because she is a child that ends up embracing the panda, it's a part of herself, she makes an effort to live with it and understand it, plus, she has friends that support her unconditionally. Ming is shown as a very closed up and cold person, is apparently friendless (even Grandma Lee appears to have friends, yet Ming doesn't) and projects an image of perfection constantly, her red panda is gigantic and destructive, because she saw it as something she HAD to get rid of, something horrible, she locked away these emotions and likely left the typical teen life completely aside and focused on being an overachiever, just like she wanted Mei to, so she didn't have a healthy way to express herself, unlike her daughter. -The Kesi tapestries of Sun Yee shows she was able to assume both sizes - a motherly cuddly giant red panda when caressing her daughters, and a gigantic kaiju fiery panda when fighting off the armies and bandits that threatened them. With Ming, the latter form *seems to be jammed on constantly,* and she can't control it.

[@Applemangh]

There's a line when Ming is first explaining the magic to Mei where she says something to the effect of their ancestor getting the ability to "channel her emotions" into the power to become a giant red panda, which supports the idea that the severity or type of emotion being felt COULD factor into the transformation. Or Ming's panda form could just be an anomaly that has no deeper explanation.

[@Incrediblydepressed]

I would LOVE to see those new panda forms in the future when Mei trains her Red Panda form, because that multi-tailed multi-armed flaming red panda looks SICK

[@TheCommenterDragon]

When i first saw Ming's red panda form i was like-"Oh crap, it's a Kaiju sized Red Panda"

[@lamboboy280]

Great a new Godzilla movie

[@krystalmendez2994]

I think since her mom wasn't allowed to fully be herself or to show full emotion due to the strict grandmother, that was all bottled up within her which made her so large. Aside from Mei's human form being smaller in comparison, her panda was smaller due to her having a little more leeway in how much she was able to express herself since she had the supportive friend group

[@togaandnezukofan8992]

Unlike Mei-Mei Ming never got to share her emotions with her mom and I think that since she was so mad ,sad,and always perfect that her panda was very big and not to mention she might still feel trapped because we never see her change in the end,sure she’s more calm and understand with her daughter but her panda was still big when she went to the(forgot the name) it kinda grew smaller but maybe there is so much emotion inside her that she isn’t ready to let it out and I think that in time her emotions will be let out into the world leaving Her panda like the rest of her families. Another reason her panda might be very big is because her daughter still has her panda and it might take a lot of effort telling her emotions towards her daughter still having her panda..that’s what I think!

[@chifuchi]

The moment I saw the hugeness, I was like: Ah yes, the huge emotional repression. Most of my latin american family is like that, they teach you so much to bottle up your emotions that when you get angry you explode and many of them become violent or worse, and that's very, very unhealthy.

[@dinolover]

Easy, the hormones that made her change to begin with have cemented as motherly instinct as she's grown older. The more her child is in danger is the more her motherly instinct kicks in and reflects in her pandas' size. A mother will fight an army for her kid and mings' panda took the threat as being on that level

[@ConejoZing]

It's quite simple, for this Canadian showdown Ming Lee despite being swathed in green with green earrings, is more red. Bigger, wiser, older her red shift is thus much stronger than Mei's oncoming (blue) red panda. Inflexible, traditional and redder than a young red.

[@lambichino]

i think the reason her panda was so huge is because of her emotions, in the astroplane you can see her younger self still feeling bad about how she her her mom, probably that weight plus everything else weighing her down made her panda huge, long story short: more emotions you have inside = bigger panda

[@lambichino]

how she hurt her mom*

[@RHJunior]

More grimdark theory: Ming's family was supposed to be guardians and protectors. Going by the year this movie is set in, and Mei's own age, Ming would have been about college age/would have given birth to Mei about the time of the Tianenmen Massacre..... but by then her entire family had already emigrated to Canada (judging by how "Westernized" their family is, relatively speaking.) It's possible their ancestor gave Ming an extra-powerful Panda form in preparation for the grim times she foresaw.... a ten foot panda would be fine for dealing with bandits carrying swords and spears, something more would be needed for guns and tanks.... but as luck would have it, Ming dodged that destiny by her family's emigration when she was a baby....

[@addisonkennedy7111]

I don't think its intended but I really like this theory, certainly grimdark

[@jessealvarado7796]

wtf

[@sapphireDoseArt]

My theory is kinda similar: I believe that Ming’s panda (or panzilla, whatever) was so big, was because not only was Her panda spirit big enough to begin with, it was because of the enrage she had within her when her Amulet broke. She wanted to be the perfect daughter for her mother and mei mei had just ruined that, we saw earlier in the movie how hard she was trying for her mother, and how she was nervous around her, trying to make herself perfect. And all her emotions had been bottled up inside her for a very very very very long time, her made her panda even bigger, like i said, pretty similar.

[@HarryThomasPictures]

I guess Ming bottled up her emotions and lost control when Mei left the ritual and went to the concert thinking her daughter had just betrayed her. The pressure Ming's mother put on her to be perfect certainly took it's toll on her as we find out when Mei see's a teenage version of her mom!

[@bitterflywing]

When she said "Well I didn't get to go to concerts" I could tell she was very angry. The size is probably from years of unresolved anger.

[@Bulbasaur617]

It's Pandazilla! I mean good theory in your opinion here. Great job, Issac!

[@medo5417]

This really fits with the fact that if some people bottle up their emotions for long periods of time it can become too much for them and explode all at once

[@PWN3GE]

The movie makes the panda metaphor pretty clear: Everyone's got a weird, loud, messy side to them. Ming is an overbearing perfectionist because of how her mom raised her, but behind it she's a hot-tempered firebrand. Even without her panda Ming has far more severe emotional outbursts than Mei ever does. She overreacts so badly to a drawing she threatens to call the police on an innocent kid. Instead of clarifying the situation to the security guard she gets in a fight with him. If you've ever been present to someone making a public scene, it does kinda feel like Godzilla showed up. And that's why the panda is so big, because it represents that fearsome, accusatory part of her. And instead of learning how to deal with it healthily, she bottles it up and just tries her best to pretend she's perfect, like her mother wants her to be. She's no less accusatory, but she convinces herself she's doing it to protect her daughter. She only loses control of her panda and shows her full emotion when she's met with her greatest fear- failing her mother. Both when Mei ran away, and the incident with Jin. I think a more interesting question than why's Ming's panda big, is why is she still a kid when Mei finds her in the forest? It's because she was never able to grow past the first incident with her mother.

[@haleyhoag8640]

I agree that it's probably an emotional thing. I mean many powers (in books and movies) are fueled by emotions and the Red Panda spirits are no exception. Fueled by rage Ming's panda grew to enormous size but since Mei Mei had a good heart and sound mind she wasn't changed (neither was her grandma or aunts who were driven by the desire to help their relative) Edit: As for why Ming's spirit appeared smaller in the spirit world but still bigger than the others is because Ming still carries a lot of pent up emotional damage from her past. That hug from her mother probably helped but it could be a long time before Ming heals completely and her panda returns to a normal size.

[@aussiegirlmargie]

Literally made a video about this as well, but also added in a theory from a more female perspective

[@jennyp8243]

Loved the two theories you did!!

[@frostypaws2690]

im pretty sure ming and her mother fought before too, the scar on her mother's face and the hint when mei met her mother-of the past saying that she hurt her mother, and because of that guilty feeling of hurting herown mother making how she behave toward her mother now.

[@geomania8533]

Perhaps it's the size of the panda is determined by emotions. Think about it. Strong emotions trigger the transformation. And since meis emotions have been bottled up it might have had a bigger effect on her. Which was possibly the reason why the first time Ming transformed. The longer the emotions bottled up, the bigger the panda is. Must be why the aunts and meis grandma forms aren't big. They were able to calmly express their emotions in other ways however Ming had bottled hers up because of the panda incident where she kept trying to impress her mother at the cost of having her emotions kept hidden in her. A person is like a volcano. There's ways to keep pressure from building but when a person keeps us or the volcano from exerting pressure, we'll eventually both humans and volcano explode.

[@prowolf633]

I’m open minded for a Turning Red sequel exploring more into this topic

[@projectjt3149]

I had the idea that maybe it’s because the relationship between mom and daughter was at an all-time low, and that large gap was filled by a much bigger panda. Fights between parent and child can feel monstrous quite literally, and Ming’s size was meant to capture that. I’ve dismissed that idea though because ALL of the other relatives mentioned Ming’s panda was especially large and mad. It would point to Ming having specific problems besides an estranged motherhood or otherwise Grandma would also have a large panda.

[@belladonna4765]

I like to think Mei's mother grew into giant panda because of her anger. I also enjoyed the concept art idea of giant monsterous panda forms and fire powers that is so freaking awesome I hate they didn't stick with that.

[@kiki_the_arctic_cat_girl3778]

I always thought that mings panda was that massive because she wasn't just mad at Mei, but she held in all the anger and resentment she had towards her own mother and all that anger combined made her panda massive.

[@bobbihearn6168]

Ming's panda was always bigger than everyone else's. If her emotions cause her panda to be bigger, it stands to reason that her natural panda was already huge because she was always stressed trying to be perfect for her mother. Her panda being so large when fighting her mother, and when Mei didn't follow her decisions makes sense...in her mind those were battles

[@maven9323]

The fact that they made it so the giants could defy gravity is so amazing, *because if a giant ever existed Gravity would crush their bones*

[@rempelremps5769]

I mean the mom has been holding in her anger for like 16 years

[@EliasTressa]

I honestly think the fire would of been a cool idea because another name for red pandas are “fire foxes”

[@philipcheung63]

Or Fire Ferrets!

[@Muffin-zu4kw]

The red panda comes out when they express high amounts of emotion, and as shown when they do the ritual Ming was super upset about the expectations her mom holds for her. She had a lot of emotion bottled up and so when she got her red panda it was super big. (Just a theory)

[@lelamartin6678]

You know, there's another possibility for all this, and I hope you'll all hear me out on this... What if Ming's panda was so big because she rebelled at a young age and tried to keep her panda until that fateful fight with her mother over Jin? Think about it... Jin himself said Ming's panda was "quite destructive" when telling Mei about the fight. Also, in the baboo forest during the ritual, we also see three stages of Ming's life: when she was Mei's age, when she was a teenager/young adult, and when she was the woman she was in the movie. My guess is that, due to the caliber of her temper, she got the panda at Mei's age, fought against the ritual, and her mom tried to let it be. However, as she got older, her emotions for more and more out of control, leading to more fights with her mother and causing the panda to grow bigger. After the day they got into the fight over Jin, her panda got even bigger, and she went on a rampage like when Mei disobeyed her. At that point, the grandmother had no choice but to force her daughter to do the ritual, leading to Ming's meek behavior when around her mother as well as the family's insistence on completing the ritual. This would also explain why the grandmother was so strict with Mei whenever she talked about "not letting the panda out."

[@Sailorsecretindistress]

Bigger than a tower I ain't talking bout Eiffel!

[@tiannamalpinay170]

-Nicki Minjaj

[@natashanaugles7996]

Isaac Carlson: mei would fire erupt from her fur when she gets angry, and would also multiple tails and arms, sharp claws, sharp teeth, increased strength, and thick fur. Me: Miriam Priya and Abby would not like that.

[@jessealvarado7796]

wdym they would not like that

[@kenthuang436]

I think Mei would become massively large if someone was trying to hurt her friends and family and put everyone else in danger such as a home invader. I believe Mei would want to protect the people she loves so her anger at such a threat would cause her to unleash her fury much like Sun Yee did when she was confronting the enemy army that was trying to harm her own family.

[@tamaralewis9258]

YES THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING!!!! They should do something like that in the sequel

[@venturacogrown6140]

0.08 was that just me or was that scene TERRIFYING

[@jessealvarado7796]

which one

[@Dookieman1975]

Most likely Ming had a lot of pent up emotions that she hid and suppressed for years. After grandma saw how big Ming was she realized how her parenting and expectations effected her for years. Also Ming has a bad temper so I guess the bigger the temper the bigger the panda.

[@MrLescogriffe]

In this day and age (and I perfectly understand the appeal) we want to find an in-universe logical explanation for supernatural events in a film (here: why is she so freaking big compared to the others?) But I think we also have to consider, as for any piece of art, the metaphor or the symbolism : An overprotective mum is represented as a gigantic monster looking and stifling her child - remember, this movie is from the same director who represented the « empty nest » feeling of Asian mothers by EATING your own child in the Pixar short BAO. I see this scene as yet another representation of complicated parental relationships.

[@1Milly1]

I just love you content man, specially when I love Disney movies :D

[@orange6105]

Your profile is so cute

[@candyheartsandpapercovers1028]

My guess would be that the more stressed she became and angry by wanting to show her mother that she could raise a perfect daughter to made her swoll up inside with all of those feelings

[@nitsugazemag]

I think I saw there was another theory that discussed repression. Unlike her daughter, Mei, Ming suppressed her emotions so much inside that her red panda matched the size of her emotions. When they’re in the astral realm, Ming looks older than Mei signaling her age when she turned. Her bottled up emotions exploded when her mother disapproved Jin after spending her life devoted to her mother’s high standards. I guess Mei is more in control of her emotions where her mom, Ming, is losing it in the big mother/daughter confrontation.

[@flowers4elephants37]

Ming kept saying mei's came "early". If you think about in relation to puberty ming was actually the late bloomer not her daughter. She only went through two stages in her hair formed at the end before reaching her current age. Late bloomers tend to have it worse when it comes to the symptoms of puberty. It makes sense then why ming is so much bigger.

[@LordWinter1222]

KUNG FU RED BANDA ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Nsinger998]

I thought it was because she's the legendary Super Pandajin.

[@jessealvarado7796]

or the legendary super saiyan panda

[@Da-choppa]

Because it was built out of pure rage and betrayal. And maybe that the necklace sucked rage and pept up emotions out of her, causing hers to be massive.

[@wolfiepyxiestudios1408]

I think the fact that her red panda was so big might also have to do with her age as well as the anger she felt. See I believe that this level of panda size can only be achieved by the adult’s of Mei’s family. Seeing as a child may possibly do unnecessary harm if they had access to this level of power at their age. Whilst an adult would have more control and would be able to handle it much better than a child. Hence why when Mei got mad only her eyes became red and her fur became more ragged and unkept rather than her become kaiju sized.

[@kenjr.ostrum7360]

They hulk out, but with adorable red panda cuteness! Kawaii!

[@angellightraven8257]

Her panda was so BIG because Ming repressed her inner feelings and locked her panda, which represents adolescence. In many countries people fear teenager girls, menstruation and all physical and psychological changes and instead of educating their children they repress their emotions. But repressed emotions become bigger. That is because Ming panda is so big, she was not allowed to have a normal adolescence

[@Cangeltibon]

I just figured it was a metaphor for repression, the bigger the Panda the more stress, anxiety,fear, guilty,lack of confidence etc… the reason for the panda was for protection so the more stress the more protection needed but in the modern era where the source of the stress is a disapproving mother….the reaction is a bit of…an inconvenience.

[@cakefrosting6451]

I have a feeling that the size of the panda wasn’t only because the panda was capable of it hence it presents as it is, it is also a physical representation of Ming’s bottled up trauma from her own mother wanting to control Ming to be the “perfect daughter”, such that Ming will forever be strung up like a puppet upon her mother’s hands. In a sense, how Ming’s mom wanted Ming to really base her life around her mom and be “Ming’s mom 2.0” instead of Ming herself. A lot of families whose parents are in similar oppressive situations to Ming tend to follow this trend: that the 2nd generation (our parents) will attempt to follow the 1st generation (our grandparents) but “fail miserably” as their 3rd generation (us) get the freedom to actually discover ourselves beyond our identity in the family. Which our parents would view as a horrible thing because they cannot turn us into their puppet like how their parents made puppets out of them.

[@tamaralewis9258]

Because we met friends that showed us friendship and freedom??? 🤔🤔🤔

[@davidnaugles2399]

Ming (giant red panda): who you calling mingzilla

[@ShadowpawSilvertongue]

In short this is similair to steven universe able to control his powers at one point and then suddenly unable to at one point. Steven at first wasnt able to control his power until he understand how to control his emotion which allow him to control his powers. Steven universe went through alot of near death experience that, when he got older, his truama of those start to emerge and conflict with his emotions, thus unable to control his power to the point that it will do stuff that the user isnt control of or make him be something he isnt. This apply the same to the mother in the movie turning red. The mother was holding up all those feelings, not feeling control and thus when it was release, it show the value of her anger. This can equate to how complex and intense those emotions can be, the more complex and/or intense the emotion is, the bigger or intensity the panda can be. Its show importance of what acceptance is and how understand what a human is. pixar is like a book of human, each time you watch their movie, its like flipping a new page of understanding that need to be read over and over again to get the big picture

[@jessealvarado7796]

show me the analyze between them from their world ok

[@ShadowpawSilvertongue]

@@jessealvarado7796 what else is there to explain? More evidence? In steven universe future, steven started to show signs of truama, which is something no one can get rid of so easily, having something happeb in the past such as code dependecy, near death experience, ect can effect anyone mentally. Alot of powers that developers and writers of any story with fantasy in it tend to relate power with emotions, steve universe's worldbuilding builds upon him. If you watch the movie turning red, you can tell how similair both "use" their power, by controlling their emotions, and when steven surcome to his ptsd, believing he is a monster, he turn into one, and the only way he calms down is to accept that he is loved, he then went to therapy to help him with his ptsd. Now how does that relate to the mom from turning red? By know how they transform, we see through the eyes of the main character of turning that she accidentally turns into this red panda when she gets stressed, when she turn back to normal, she had to find a way to do that, hence when she feel calm with her friends. She turn back to normal afterwards, and when she finds out how to control it (either by finding different emotions that she can use with ease or focus on that emotion, we wont know how until maybe next movie). How does this related to being a giant panda? Similiar to emotions like rage, we lose the sense of self, and can grow in volume. Mei's mother was bottling up all that issue she has with her mother, and even downplay herself alot "not good enough, got to be perfect, why doesnt she approve of me". All of this bottle up, and all it takes is a spark, to overpower the seal and become overfilled with hatred and becoming uncontrollable. You can draw similiarity from turning red and stevn universe's power, all it takes is to pay attention to how they behave, you should watch all of steven universe, turning red and steven universe future to really get the understanding of the two. Both the shows and the movies are great and you should go ahead and watch it.

[@ShadowpawSilvertongue]

@@jessealvarado7796 i also want to mention this is from my perspective, my head cannon much like the rest of us, this video is a theory, similiar to how mine is a theory which involved educated guesses. So having this "anaylze" thing would ill be making a comment with over 20 paragraphs to show evidence in human behavor, therapy, and how power has been used. Which is why it is a perspective, and it is all fun and game, cause who knows, this video can be wrong and i can become wrong too, who knows, creators can say "no she was control by the soul of the red panda" for all we care, mystery is fun because we can create our own head cannon, whether it is true or not doesnt matter, it is suppose to be fun. Like does anyone here really want me to sit here and write 20 paragraphs about this?

[@valerib2638]

some guys on tik tok said that it was their period flow and the mom was the heaviest.... I had never been more disappointed in men, but this man...this man is good

[@michaelfireheart8300]

I mean what do you expect when they made the transformation synonymous with puberty?

[@mysticalstar2945]

Maybe she had major PMS lol

[@austinpapageorge7210]

gross that is a fucking cringe theory.

[@callibor3119]

Let's just say, she was off of her pill schedule by a small moment. That is how she got big.

[@lamboboy280]

My guy noooooo

[@austinpapageorge7210]

Also of note is that Mei and Ming's pandas are triggered by how they feel about being loved in a physical way. Mei just wanted to be embraced by a dude (weird as that sounds). She was told no. Ming wanted to marry Jin and start a family. She was told no.

[@fluffyowlcat945]

I agree with your last statement, I believe the Red Panda size is equal to the bottle up stress and anger they felt before their red panda awakens. Mei could be considered small compared to her grandma and aunts because every chance she gets she would let her freak flag fly with her and her friends away from her mother who she acts like a good daughter where her stress resides as she have to agree with her mom despite not believing it. Now the question is how did the red panda awakening is triggered, her becoming a teenager and starting to like boys, being embarrassed by her mom at the Daisy Mart, or her stress level reaching a limit from both that cause the panda to appear and at the size it needed to protect her, family, and friends.

[@RisingFaith]

I can’t be the only one who thought ming’s transformation was awsome

[@robertj.5935]

I can't be the only that thought of Kurama when I saw the multi-tailed red panda right?

[@psycho-delicpyromaniac9595]

My mom actually brought up a interesting theory, considering that the pandas represent a girl's period she brought up that some people's cycles are literally just bigger than others, every person is different in their own way

[@screenguy_marvel]

Probably because of the necklace. I mean, it is the biggest accessory compared to the others. It could also be because Ming is overly concerned about her daughter going to the concert of her favourite band. Kinda agreed when he said the panda gets bigger.

[@B0BBYJ4CK]

I just love the fact that the only time the dad ever saw big bad Pandazilla was when she was defending his honor. 💕

[@marcellowoodridge6105]

I think the reason main panel huge is because she had more rage and anger that it became so big that she couldn't control the raid she had with her daughter

[@aff77141]

Oh I'm SO glad to see you doing a vid on this movie

[@thefantasticretroreviewer3941]

Panda-Pocalypse 2002

[@MarilenWood]

You are seeing the idea of a “Mama Bear” taken to a whole new level.

[@ladycatherinedebourgh7336]

The mom is like the Hulk. Anger management with the right therapist does wonders. But also it's a way to guarantee a prequel which will explain the mother's story. More money.

[@garveyneal1672]

When I first saw this, I was like Godzilla and King Kong eat your hearts out.

[@gabrielswee585]

05:19 *"WAR PANDA"* I like that.

[@rangerfalcon9077]

Ming’s giant transformation represents the success she wanted to see from Mei and the stress her mother placed on her.

[@BalooVonBruinwaldXIII]

I guess it could be a lesson on why bottling up your emotions is never a good thing.

[@Prettyshortmama]

Dude you’ve never made me cry before but you done it. Put a whole new perspective on the size

[@Bonniefr6678]

Ming Lee as a panda reminds me of myself being mad at my cousin 24/7

[@Misssomebody02]

Well. Imagine a regular human going around with internalized anger bottled up for years, because you are trying to be perfect enough for your mother, one mistake you make or doing something you like but you know your mother won’t like will get you rowled up and you start to get angrier at yourself because you believe you aren’t normal. Imagine that type of weight on your chest,cause you are always thinking of validation subconsciously. Automatically you’ve created a different alter ego that gets angrier by the second and consumes the real you who might just be a happy normal child. Hence you need a lot of therapy to get through it, or you need to stay away or both. Now! Imagine if you had super powers that are triggered by emotions and your emotions aren’t in check, of course you’ll be gigantic and stronger than godzilla. Can you see how balanced emotions is a necessity for us to survive. some people are triggered by the slightest of things and can’t even voice it out because they are not trying to be the one who complains. A lot of Asians,blacks and Africans can relate to this form of upbringing and if all of us were blessed with the gift of the panda, many of us would be bigger than Ming. Infact Ming would be so tiny. The movie really is something deep and relatable in so many way and that’s why I love it

[@littlechef5423]

AGAIN, you outstand me. Keep up the good work!!

[@giordanodsouza9563]

In the movie they said the more times you unleash the panda the stronger it gets Maybe she unleashed it a lot and it just kept getting more and more powerful until it became massive like that?

[@black_gelding1150]

I feel that bc Minngs panda was a lot bigger is bc she was holding so much rage and emotion since her youth age, and I personally think that when her daughter rejected her panda ritual for the concert, Ming felt so not only humiliated in front of her sisters and mother but also powerless bc she felt like she was loosing her daughter and so bc of them constantly telling her daughters out of control, how could u let this happen, etc, this only impact more rage on top of what Ming and her mom’s relationship with each other much more complicated. I personally feel that the more emotion she had the bigger the red panda spirit will grow. Also during the time of her ancestor was a time of the imperial Chinese area the same time as Mulan with the Huns invasion of China. During the scene where Malyns mom showed her a an ancient scroll of their family ancestors story of the red panda, we see that this was the time of war during the imperial era with Chinese soldiers on horseback heading for war. In this state this was probably a very difficult time and also very stressful and emotional time for families having to separate from the loved ones for them to go to war against invaders. And so we also see a scene where the ancestor and her daughters were in so much desperate needs that one of the daughters clutched on the ancestor in such distress which led for the scholar ancestor to pray to the gods for a miracle of protection and so that was when she was blessed with the red panda spirit during the red moon to fight off invaders which were the Huns because in the other scene of the movie we do see her turn into a giant red panda fighting off the Huns as she turns into the giant red panda. I’m sure that the scholar ancestor used her emotions of not only grief but also the distress of knowing that her loved one probably had to go off to war against the Huns.

[@sagemorgan983]

You should do a video on what the panda represents… love your content! I have loved Disney ever since I was a kid in the 90’s

[@cloudshifter]

Something else worth noting is that also one of the early concepts would have Mei turn larger or smaller depending on how strong her emotions where to have a kind of Alice in Wonderland size dynamic. They specifically said "At one point Mei would be big enough to lift a car", despite that the idea was scratched, it seems that they where able to sneak it back inside, atleast for a finale with Ming. This movie has some sequel / prequel potential and if that was to happen you better bet I'll kill someone to work on that production.

[@golderminer9865]

Noice vid! Also translated a Character from this movie in my country :)

[@AaaaNinja]

I think it's the other way around. Her panda was big because of just bad luck of being born with a really big panda. And therefore she had to work harder than everyone else to control it, and that's why she was so destructive whenever it did come out because she bottled it up.

[@ImperialKnight770]

the only reason I can think of is Ming was forced to suppress how she truly felt by her mother so when her panda was unleashed, she was basically letting loose ALL her frustration.

[@sketchyskies8531]

I figured it's because of the huge amount of emotion that was suppressed in the seal

[@MariaIsabel_Fufuria]

Relatable answer (to most Asian/East Asian/South East Asian/Middle Eastern families): Overbearing, domineering, parents (especially mothers) - who control your life from the moment you’re born to the day they die…Especially who you can and can’t have relationships/friendships with and what career/job you should do…down to how you raise your own kids, your clothes, your weight….omg, I’ll stop. Ming had so much pent up frustration and anger over the years of trying to please her mom. I’ve had relatable fights with my mom and her with my grandmother, when she was younger. EDIT: The part where Mei’s dad tells her that her grandmother didn’t approve of him - and we found out that was one of the causes of Ming’s biggest rage…that was so incredibly relatable. I’ve had to break up with 3 boyfriends - recent one being who I thought was the one…due to my mom’s overbearing “mothering”, well, one of the reasons…but that really made me cry.

[@Ancientship]

If there is a sequel where Mei is a parent I feel like she would become huge if her children are in danger

[@cloakx3640]

This explanation does make sense. Although I wish they'd put something like this in the movie. Seeing a giant panda at the end kinds felt...weird. An explanation would have been nice. Thanks for this.

[@Blxssom_Olive]

Finally, I’ve been waiting for this video!!

[@RedPandaGirl002]

I'm writing a Turning Red *prequel* that tells not just only how Ming's panda got so huge, but also the relationship she had with her mom, Wu growing up from her early middleschool years to late highschool years. And I MUST warn you: It's a very sad and tragic one. So hold onto your tissues! 🤧😭

[@tayloredwards4968]

I swear it seems like a Kaiju moment

[@sentientfetus3894]

How come when a trait is passed down only to the women in the family. Like pychic powers or elemental powers it's positive or should be seen as positive. When it's on the Y like turning into a werewolf the Simpson gene or Murphy's Law

[@SancYT]

I was thinking the same thing : I was wondering if Jin and Ming would have given birth to a boy, would this boy have the same powers as Mei? That I don't know, but the origin of this blessing/curse was primarily centered on a mother (Sun Yee) and her two daughters, so I think this power is reserved only for women, but it's still strange...

[@Kahtisemo]

That's a good question honestly, but I think it's because (and I wish I knew why) in stories like this, girls are the target audience. For most guys, positive stories about growing up and finding who you are are usually portrayed as a literal journey going places and growing stronger. Sometimes alone but usually with one or two friends. And it's rarely about family while most "girl" stories are about finding their place in the world they already live in. I suppose it could be rooted in the historical mindset that when a boy becomes a man, he needs to leave home to find a place of his own without the support of the family while when girls become women, they're expected to stay close to home and take care of their parents even after moving into their husband's house and starting a family. And if they do move further away, these "inherited ancient tradition" stories are to show that it's their responsibility to uphold that tie between their parents and their kids anyway. But since times have been changing and it's "okay" for guys to like fantasy stuff that's not all survivalist in the wilderness type thing, we should see more stories like that.