Quotes

Turning Red

[running through the streets of Toronto, Mei as a giant red panda stops in front of the convenience store run by Deavon, a teen Mei's attracted to]
Meilin Lee: AWOOGA!

Ming: [as a colossal red panda yelling at the crowd at the concert] Everyone go home! Where are your parents? And put some clothes on!

Meilin Lee: [closing lines, narration, to the audience] We've all got an inner beast. We've all got a messy, loud, weird part of ourselves hidden away. And a lot of us never let it out. But I did. How about you?

Meilin Lee: I like boys! I like loud music! I like gyrating! I'M 13, DEAL WITH IT!

[first lines]
Meilin Lee: The number one rule in my family? Honor your parents. They're the supreme beings who gave you life who sweated and sacrificed so much to put a roof over your head, food on your plate, an epic amount of food. The least you can do in return is every single thing they ask. 'Course some people are like, Be careful. Honoring your parents sounds great, but if you take it too far, well, you might forget to honor yourself. Luckily, I don't have that problem. I'm Meilin Lee. And ever since I turned 13, I've been doin' my own thing, makin' my own moves; 24/7/365. I wear what I want, say what I want, and I will not hesitate to do a spontaneous cartwheel if I feel so moved!
[Mei attempts to do a cartwheel but falls flat on the street]
Meilin Lee: Oh, crap.

[explaining the panda transformation to Mei]
Ming: As you know, our ancestor, Sun Yee, had a mystical connection with red pandas. In fact, she loved them so much that she asked the gods to turn her into one. It was wartime. The men were all gone. Sun Yee was desperate for a way to protect herself and her daughters. Then one night, during a red moon, the gods granted her wish. They gave her the ability to harness her emotions, to transform into a powerful mystical beast. She was able to fend off bandits, protect her village, and save her family from ruin. Sun Yee passed this gift to her daughters, for when they came of age. And they passed it to theirs. But over time, our family chose to come to a new world. And what was a blessing became... an inconvenience.

[Mei's running home to help her mother with the temple at the expense of hanging out with her friends]
Meilin Lee: Okay. I know what it looks like. I am my own person. But that doesn't mean doing whatever I want. Like most adults, I have responsibilities. It's not all about me, you know? I do make my own moves, it's just that... some of my moves are also hers.

Priya: [after Meilin gets sent to the girls' bathroom from dodgeball] Dude, keep it together.
Meilin Lee: I can't. We need to see this concert. Why doesn't my mom get that? I never ask for anything. My whole life, I've been her perfect little Mei Mei. Temple duties, grades...
Abby: Violin!
Priya: Tap dancing.
Meilin Lee: Yeah. We've been so good. If they don't trust us anyway, then what's the point?
Miriam: Wow, who are you? I love it.
Abby: Fight the power!
Meilin Lee: Yeah. Yeah. This isn't just our first concert. This is our first step into womanhood. And we have to do it together.
Miriam: I'm in, girl. We'll say it's a sleepover at my house.
Abby: The perfect crime.
Meilin Lee: Yes. My mom will never know. Now we just to raise the money for tickets.
[sighs]
Meilin Lee: Come on, girls, think!
[They all put into their minds to think]

[after having been publicly embarrassed over her private drawings]
Meilin Lee: You sicko! What were you thinking? Why would you draw those things? Those horrible, awful, sexy things?

Ming: [Holding Meilin in her hand as a colossal red panda] How could you be so... so... CRASS?
Meilin Lee: [squeezing her way out as a red panda] Oh that's nothing, you wanna see crass?
[starts dancing suggestively and shakes her butt at her]
Ming: [covers her eyes] What are you doing? Stop moving like that!
Meilin Lee: [laughs and continues shaking her butt] What's wrong, is this bothering you?

Ming: [while being strugled with security guard] Mei Mei! Tell them it's mommy!

DJ: [On radio] All right, homies, next up is 4-Town. The boys are coming to Toronto on the 25th! So get your tickets now. And check it, they'll be cranking open the SkyDome and performing under a red lunar eclipse.
Meilin Lee: Abby, you said the concert was on the 18th.
Abby: It is! He's wrong! Look! The 18th, Toronto!
[shows the tour date flyer]
Priya: Uh... This says Toledo.
Abby: What?
[looks at flyer to see that it does, indeed, say Toledo and aggravated Korean, whilst tearing up the flyer]
Abby: Huh? What's this? Toledo? Isn't this crazy? Where is this?
[in English, yells]
Abby: What the heck is Toledo?

[after Mei runs off to the concert, leaving her talisman cracked]
Ming: [growing angry] How could she? How could she do this to... her own... MOTHER?
[Her talisman broke out of light, freeing the red panda spirit, who lunges into Ming's body. Everyone gasps, Ming furiously yells with transformation...]
Ming: MEI-MEI!

Meilin Lee: [sees her red panda reflection in the bathroom mirror; screams] This isn't happening. This isn't happening!
[squishes her cheeks; jiggles her belly fat; sniffs her left armpit; winces]
Meilin Lee: Ugh!

Meilin Lee: I'm not your little "Mei-Mei" anymore! I *lied*, Mom!
Ming: *What*?
Meilin Lee: It was *my* idea to hustle the panda! *My* idea to go to Tyler's party! It was *all me*! I like boys, I like loud music, I like gyrating! I'm *thirteen*! *Deal with it*!

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