Turning Red skips theatrical release, to directly stream on OTT

On March 11, 2022, Pixar's next feature, Turning Red, will make its direct digital launch exclusively on Disney Plus, bypassing theatres. Disney revealed the news, which would be available to subscribers for free. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the family-friendly animated comedy follows Soul and Luca, two other Pixar films that moved straight to streaming platforms. Variety.com claims that the Toy Story spinoff Lightyear, starring Chris Evans, will still be released in theatres on June 17.

In a statement, Kareem Daniel, chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, shared that Pixar's next incredible feature film, Turning Red, premiered exclusively on Disney Plus, and subscribers around the world enthusiastically embraced it. They look forward to bringing them Pixar's next incredible feature film, Turning Red.

The statement further read that given the delayed box office recovery, especially for family films, flexibility remains at the heart of Disney's distribution decisions as they prioritise bringing The Walt Disney Company's unmatched content to people around the world.

Mei Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang) is a confident, geeky 13-year-old who transforms into a gigantic red panda when she gets extremely excited, which is incredibly simple to do as a young child.

Sandra Oh, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Ava Morse, Hyein Park, Orion Lee, Wang Ching Ho, Tristan Allerick Chen, and Addie Chandler are among the voice actors.

Original songs for the film were written by Billish Eilish and Finneas O'Connell, and will be performed by the fictional band 4*Town. The band members are played by O'Connell, Jordan Fisher, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo, and Grayson Villenueva.

Domee Shi directs the film, which is produced by Lindsey Collins and stars Domee Shi, who created the cute Pixar short Bao. Turning Red is Shi's directorial debut, as well as the first Pixar film directed solely by a woman.