You Can Stream Pixar Movie ‘Turning Red’ on Disney+ Starting March 11

Disney and Pixar’s upcoming family film Turning Red will skip theatres entirely and premiere exclusively on Disney+ on Friday, March 11, Walt Disney Studios told iPhone in Canada in an email.

Kareem Daniel, Chairman, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution, explained that the decision is a result of the delayed box office recovery for family films.

However, it is likely that expected cinema closures across the globe due to COVID-19’s resurgence with the Omicron variant also factored into the move. After all, bigger box office names have passed over theatrical releases or been delayed altogether because of the pandemic.

“Disney+ subscribers around the world enthusiastically embraced Pixar’s Academy Award-winning Soul and the critically-acclaimed Luca when they premiered exclusively on the service and we look forward to bringing them Pixar’s next incredible feature film Turning Red,” said Daniel on Friday.

“Given the delayed box office recovery, particularly for family films, flexibility remains at the core of our distribution decisions as we prioritize delivering the unparalleled content of The Walt Disney Company to audiences around the world.”

Here’s the synopsis for Turning Red, which takes place in Toronto:

Disney and Pixar’s Turning Red introduces Mei Lee (voice of Rosalie Chiang), a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother’s dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (voice of Sandra Oh), is never far from her daughter—an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she “poofs” into a giant red panda!

The movie is directed by Academy Award winner Domee Shi (Pixar short Bao) and produced by Lindsey Collins.

In international markets where Disney+ is not yet available, Turning Red will be released in theatres, with premiere dates to be announced.

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