Set in Toronto, directed by a Chinese-Canadian, and with many Canadians on the production staff, Turning Red is animated with impressive accuracy, and the background is never not full of local references. Outside of the Toronto-specific details, the movie also showcases details related to Canada in general that set it apart from the US, the time period the film is set in, the behaviour of real red pandas, and Chinese culture.
Canadian Cultural Details
- Rogers Centre, the baseball stadium venue near the CN Tower and host of the 4*Town concert, is named the SkyDome in this movie and features its original logo, as it takes place in 2002, when it still had that name. The establishing shot for the SkyDome on the day of the concert appears to be the view from the intersection of Bremner St. and Rees St., directly north of the Gardiner Expressway.
- The electronic billboard in front of the SkyDome that gets crushed during the movie's climax actually exists.
- Mei's middle school takes strong inspiration from the director's own childhood school, Orde Street Junior Public, on the edge of Toronto's west Chinatown. Though it also works well enough as a composite of any post-war red brick school structure in downtown Toronto, down to the linoleum floors and the steel soap dispensers in the washrooms.
- The music classroom has the first four bars of the Canadian national anthem on the wall.
- The art in the entrance hall display case features designs typical of Indigenous art, which fits with the announcement board stating that it's Canadian Indigenous People's History Month.
- The Daisy Mart convenience store (a chain found only in southern Ontario) sells bagged milk, which is commonly sold in the central and maritime provinces of Canada. Bagged milk is mostly unheard of in the US, having only briefly existed in American school cafeterias in The '90s.
- Likewise, ketchup-flavored potato chips and poutine can both be seen. These two foods are distinctly Canadian, and quite rare in America.
- A stuffed bear of Carlton, the Toronto Maple Leafs' mascot, appears.
- Tyler's house evokes the typical upper-middle-class Forest Hill mansion.
- Though shortened for stylistic effect, the streetcars are the spitting image of the TTC's now-vintage CLRV.
- Two Chinatown landmarks appear: the Dragon Gates on Spadina Ave (seen when Mei gets off the streetcar) and the Cat on a Chair sculpture on the corner of Spadina and St Andrews (seen when Mei shows her TTC pass).
- The area Mei runs through as a panda appears to be Kensington Market.
- Mei runs past a "Bakery & Dessert Garden" storefront, which is a reference to the now closed Furama Cake and Desserts Garden.
- In several of the skyline shots, First Canadian Place can be seen, Canada's tallest skyscraper and third tallest free-standing structure. It can be distinguished by it having two visible antennas. Similarly, Scotia Plaza, Canada's second tallest skyscraper at the time (third now), with its v-shaped recess can be spotted in a few shots next to First Canadian Place such as the title sequence and near the end of the temple duties scene. Finally, the TD Canada Trust Tower (minus the sign on the top), Canada's third tallest skyscraper at the time (fifth now), with its tiered spire and the adjacent Bay Wellington Tower, Canada's eighth tallest skyscraper at the time (26th now), with its twin peak can be seen; most prominently in the climax.
- Mei calls her class level as "grade eight", which is the Canadian term instead of the American "eighth grade". While the two terms are used somewhat interchangeably in both countries, "grade eight" is still far more common than "eighth grade" would be in Canada.
- Mei's wool-knit hat is referred to as a "tuque" rather than the American "beanie".
- The mailboxes seen the background are of the red Canadian design with an angled top as opposed to the blue American design with a rounded top.
- All the vehicle license plates are Ontario ones with the "Yours to Discover" slogan and crown design in the middle.
- Currency:
- All of the dollar bills seen are specifically of the Canadian Journey series which were first issued in 2001.
- Mei's line about squeezing "every last loonie outta those kids" refers to the nickname of the Canadian one-dollar coin, the "loonie", so called because of the Common Loon which appears on the reverse side.
- The coins shown are mostly faithful to Canadian coinage with the basic design being accurate.
- All the phone numbers seen use the "416" area code as it was the only area code for Toronto until 2001.
- The Tim Horton's Timbits boxes look era-appropriate with a yellow background on their long sides as opposed to the modern white background. However, the flavour shown, birthday cake, was not available until 2014.
- The three opening trash receptacles are accurate to Toronto with their tubular sides, angled tops and ads on the fronts.
- In the TV ad for 4*Town a Fictional Counterpart version of the (Canadian) MuchMusic logo appears as opposed to the (American) MTV.
- Tyler wears a jersey matching the number and colour scheme of Vince Carter while he played for the Toronto Raptors.
- Ming refers to Céline Dion as a singer for whom it would be justified to pay two hundred dollars to see in concert, which is appropriate as she was around the peak of her career at the time.
- The bike stands are accurate to Toronto with their post and ring design.
Chinese Cultural Details
- The scroll hanging in the background of Mei's annual holiday picture features the Chinese character for filial piety (孝 xiào), meaning loyalty and deference to your elders, which is something Mei struggles with over the course of the film.
- The statues outside the main entrance to the temple (the ones Mei calls "Bart" and "Lisa") are red pandas sculpted to resemble Maneki Neko, which are common in Chinese culture as well as Japanese. One has its left paw raised to welcome visitors; the other has its right paw raised to invite wealth.
- The couplets at the entrance of Mei's family temple and at the entrance of Sun Yee Hall are composed appropriately according to the rules of Chinese poetry.
- The outfit Sun Yee is dressed in is typical of a woman who lived during the Ming Dynasty, which fits with the war flags shown during her backstory being characteristic of the Ming Dynasty.
- The art style the backstory is shown in is characteristic of classical Chinese paintings.
- The Asian Lion Dogs outside the entrance to Sun Yee's shrine are shown correctly: to the visitor facing the shrine, the male is on the right with a ball under his right paw, while the female is on the left with a cub under her left paw.
- The altar within the ancestral shrine is laid out correctly, with small ancestor tablets made of wood lined up in rows on the altar.
- The show that Mei and Ming watch, "Jade Palace Diaries", is clearly inspired by TVB dramas, which fits with Mei's family being Cantonese speakers.
- Mei's family using a roll of toilet paper in the living room in place of a box of tissues is characteristically Chinese, as is the use of a fuzzy toilet seat cover.
- Ming's assertion that Devon looks much older than he is because he doesn't wear sunblock is characteristically Chinese.
- The clothing style of Mei's aunties is characteristic of Westernized Chinese women of that age. Their behaviour, such as the comments on her weight, are also typical of Chinese aunts.
- The superstition surrounding the number four is characteristically East Asian, especially Chinese.
Other Details
- There are some references to the real-life behaviour of red pandas:
- A couple of scenes show a transformed Mei raising her arms in the air when startled, something that red pandas do in real life to make themselves appear larger to predators.
- Mei climbing up the side of a building and making her way to the rooftops is also a reference to how red pandas are arboreal.
- There really was a lunar eclipse on May 26th, 2002
, visible across much of North America. It's given a little bit of Artistic License, since the eclipse in the movie happens a few hours before the actual eclipse took place. Also, the moon would not have turned red in Toronto; the eclipse was only visible in the western half of Canada, and Toronto just barely missed it. - The way Miriam makes a heart with her whole hands is distinctively Millennial as opposed to using the middle finger and index finger of each hand like a Gen Z person would.
