The T1D community started buzzing about the movie Turning Red as soon as the first trailers and sneak peeks came out. The new Pixar film had a character with T1D! You could see the device on her arm. It was widely known that this wasn’t the main character in the movie, but the fact that they added a character with T1D was EVERYTHING!
Then someone pointed out that there were actually 2 characters with T1D! Wow! This doesn’t happen in movies or TV. Ever. Yet, there they were, plain as day. 2 T1D characters were going to be in Turning Red.
People in the diabetes community were getting excited. Would a movie finally get T1D right? What would they say? How would they incorporate it?
Then, Turning Red, arguably one of Pixar’s most controversial movies is finally released. And there is less than 15 seconds of T1D in the entire movie. The T1D community was torn… as usual.
The two big complaints about Turning Red…
Yes, there were several complaints about this Pixar film. I’m not talking about those (although, for the record, I quite enjoyed the movie with my children). The two complaints that I’m referring to came specifically from the T1D community. So, what were they?
- The movie barely even showed the T1D characters and their devices
- No one said a single word about T1D throughout the whole movie
Now, these complaints are interesting. Because before the movie came out…
There was a lot of hype in the diabetes community about Turning Red. But right from the very first trailer that showed a diabetes device, it was clear that the movie was not about T1D nor were the T1D characters the main focus of the animated movie.
People were excited to see characters with T1D. Many were curious about whether or not this movie would “get T1D right”. And rightfully so. Almost every TV show and movie that depicts type 1 diabetes, even if it’s brief, spreads misconceptions rather than correct information. But…
Turning Red is not a movie about T1D
It was never meant to be. The trailers never mentioned it. T1D representation in the movie was never advertised or talked about… aside from people in the T1D community noticing and buzzing about the diabetes devices.
Turning Red is a movie about going through puberty and the cringy teenage years. It’s about Mei-Lee, a 13-year-old girl, and her journey in figuring out who she is as an individual. She tries to find a balance between being obedient to her parents and finding her own autonomy. And, she literally turns into a giant red panda.
It’s not about T1D, it never was, nor should it be.
Who are the T1D characters in Turning Red?
Even though the story has nothing to do with diabetes, there are 2 T1D characters in Turning Red. A brunette girl in Mei-Lee’s class and a blond girl named Stacy Frick who is also a student in Mei-Lee’s school.
The brunette girl doesn’t have a name in the movie. She doesn’t say anything and we only briefly see her. She does seem to be a bit of a tomboy and is into skateboarding.
Stacy is a bright, bubbly girl who is into fashion. She’s the first person who accepts Mei-Lee in her red panda form aside from Mei-Lee’s close friends. And she promptly starts rocking a “red panda” fashion style.
Some people think there is a third T1D character in the concert scene near the end of the movie. I can assure you that it’s the brunette girl at the concert. While it’s cool to see the actual insulin pump, rather than just the infusion set, it’s very clear that the character is the same one from the classroom at the beginning of the film. Trust me… I watched that scene like 20 times.
If the movie isn’t about diabetes, and they don’t even mention T1D, why are there characters with insulin pumps?
Susan Fong – Turning Red’s technical supervisor – has T1D. She decided to pitch having T1D represented in the film. According to Fong, it was an easy “yes”. If you’ve watched the film, you might see why. Turning Red has a lot of little nods to different cultures, religions, disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. Why wouldn’t they add T1D to the list?
Susan Fong was diagnosed with T1D when she was just 4 years old. Then, a few years later, her sister was also diagnosed with T1D as a preteen. You can read more about Fong and why she had T1D added to the movie here.
Why was Turning Red a bit disappointing for some parents of T1D children?
A huge part of being a parent of a child with type 1 diabetes is education and raising awareness.
We have to spend a fair amount of time and effort explaining T1D to people. People have misconceptions about T1D. From thinking that a person with diabetes “can’t eat that”, to believing they’ll grow out of it, there are loads of misconceptions that we have to correct on almost a daily basis.
And, this disease needs attention 24/7.
Despite people thinking that it will one day be “stable” and we’ll have it “under control”, that’s not how it works. Often, we have to explain this to people. Sometimes over and over again.
We want them to understand that we get up multiple times a night, every night, to make sure our children’s blood glucose levels are in range.
Things like a birthday party, a trampoline park, or going out to a restaurant for dinner are not simple tasks. They take planning and guesswork and we have to take so many details into account.
The measuring and SWAGging and constant complex math equations.
The mental and emotional toll that T1D can have on people with T1D as well as their caregivers and family members.
We wanted to see more than 15 seconds of T1D devices in Turning Red!
What our T1D children want to see
Despite our desire for everyone to understand what we and our children go through every day with T1D…
Most of our children don’t want to watch a movie about T1D. They just don’t.
Just like the characters in the movie, every single person with T1D has other things that make up their personality. They have likes and dislikes, goals and dreams. Believe it or not, those things usually don’t revolve around T1D.
Most people watch cartoon movies to take a break from reality.
That’s why most of us watched Tiger King at the beginning of the pandemic instead of shows that incorporated aspects of the pandemic which were kind of annoying. When you’re living it, you don’t also need to watch it on TV.
They don’t want to educate every person they come into contact with. Sometimes, they don’t want to talk about T1D at all.
But seeing flashes of a character that they can relate to
That’s different. I’m going to go a bit off-topic for a moment here, bear with me…
I recently saw a post about a show that I watch:
“Watching an episode with my daughter, and she notices almost straight away that the character is wearing a top that is the colors of the bi pride flag. I’ve watched this episode a few times and never thought anything of it.”
Someone responded with the comment:
“I would never have spotted that, but it’s great that someone thinks to put such details in, and that other people spot it.”
That’s representation. It’s not in your face. It’s subtle. Like a little inside joke of sorts. It’s something special that you understand that many other people will miss.
My own children missed all of the T1D devices in Turning Red. I had to point them out the second time we watched the movie. Maybe it was too subtle for them. Maybe they’re so used to T1D that they didn’t give it a second thought.
But, a child who is having a difficult time with their T1D or new diabetes diagnosis might find it comforting to see an infusion set on their new favorite movie.
Many parents talked about how excited their children were to see a diabetes device or two in Turning Red.
Do we really want everything to be about T1D? REALLY?
I mean, think about it. In the very first scene that shows a T1D device, Mei-Lee magically transforms into a giant red panda. Why would the T1D device be the focus of that scene?
The second time we see a T1D device is in the girls’ bathroom. Again, one of the characters is a GIANT RED PANDA. Who would expect a pump insertion site to be in the spotlight?
This is not a T1D movie. It makes no sense to focus on T1D in Turning Red. There isn’t a scene in the entire movie that wouldn’t throw off the feel of the movie if they discussed T1D.
It’s understandable that people were expecting more about T1D based on the trailers. But, this movie wasn’t about T1D and it didn’t need to be.
We don’t need to be so lost in our own worlds that there’s no room for other experiences.
With all of the TV shows and movies that get T1D wrong, I think it’s kind of refreshing to see a movie get it right. It was just in a quiet, subtle way.
~ Leah
Have you watched Turning Red? What did you think of the T1D representation? Leave a comment below!
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I totally agree! And the fact that we (characters with T1D! See already relating to them!) don’t do anything different from the other kids I.n The movie Shows we are capable of doing everything really! (Except produce insulin! 😜)