Dude casually drops "new jack swing" at the beginning which is American R&B from before he was born. I'm not sure he doesn't have a direct internet connection in his brain for the amount of things he is able to reference that he shouldn't have even had to the chance to be exposed to.
I would like to see a video where he gives us a history lesson. He's so smart. I am American but it was nice to here someone talk about our history from their point of view.
when her mom said "The further u go, the prouder ill be" absolutely destroyed me. To get a parent to say that they're proud of u as long as u make it far no matter how you do it, is so huge. All parents have expectations for their child, but to not force that expectation on them is very mature.
As a Chinese Canadian, speaking Cantonese, this movie really hit close to home. 💕 I had the same rebellious phase with my mom when I was younger. We just both didn't know how to communicate with each other. It's gotten better because we both learned how to communicate our feelings. So we both had much growth. Seeing a similar journey made me bawl. Cos, finally reaching an understanding with family feels really good. I think alot of Asian girls had a similar relationship with their mums. It's really relatable. I really appreciate the references you pointed out! Especially the Cantonese aunties. LOL!! They really do look like that, and they really did pinch my face like that. 🤣 And the Taoist reference, using "My Date With a Vampire", it's really nostalgic!
I always really enjoy it when Lee is on the show. He's so insightful, and provides so much knowledge and outside information to make you think of things you would not have when watching a particular scene.
It depends on the family, but even in the West, children usually treasure their family, but not at the expense of their individuality and sanity. However, like Asian families, expectations of how a child should act and behave are also put on a pedestal in the West, and some reviews of the movie show that families of Christian religion dislike it because the movie "encourages disobedience". That is why this movie is relatable, regardless of the culture.
This is true. My Christian Asian mother didn’t like the movie that much. She says it’s about “teenage rebellion”. Perhaps she didn’t want to look deeper or ignored the other meanings
Same with being indigenous, always the expectation to be the first to break every generational cycle. I have aunts and grandmas that never got to go to uni that expect me to do great things and it hurt when I failed out of classes
Treasure their families in the West. aren't mostly westerners always the one who gets kicked out by their parents, having to pay for their stuff and have a higher poll for abuse, divorce, and family issues????
very nice both the commentary about the movie and the thoughts about your upbringing and the changes in your cultures and western cultures as well. well done you two!
9:43 from what I've seen over the years with western shows and films, that sport is 'dodge ball'! it works exactly like what Lee said "You just throw the ball at the other team, and you win if the ball hits them.", all members of the opposing team must be hit in order to have a winner! Love the video as always! I've been getting recommendations to watch Turning Red ever since it came out and this might just be the final sign to do so 哈哈哈哈哈哈 keep up the amazing work!
You're right! Dodgeball is a game where different teams try to hit other teams' players with a ball. If they dodge the ball or catch the ball, they're still in the game. If the ball hits them and they don't catch it, however, they're out. The last team with players still in the game wins!
@@ChinesewithJessie Also, when the opposing team catches your ball, then you, the thrower, is out instead, and a previous member who was knocked out earlier at the opposing team can return to the game.
@@ChinesewithJessie It certainly is a fun sport but it can get painful if you're not careful haha I used to play it a lot as a kid in school and in my neighborhood. I had a lot of good memories with it. Thanks so much for the reaction!
Holy moly Lee's american cultural knowledge to compare the similiarities of generational thinking gaps of Chinese Generations and Western Generations and bridging the gap between the two cultures in the understanding of conflict between parent and child in both worlds = MIND BLOWN.
Thank you for sharing your reaction to the movie! Your insight made me appreciate the message a lot more, and I loved how you related it to wider cultural changes at the end!
7:00 As a canadian, Its so easy to trigger a smoke alarm!! I have so many childhood memories of the panic of waving cloths in front of the smoke alarm to turn it off or my family getting so annoyed that we "disabled" it (aka we smashed or ripped it out of the ceiling XD). They are required to be that sensitive in every home by law. I thought it was like that everywhere, I guess not lol
I'm Chinese American and parties is such a western thing. my parents didn't understand, block parties, barbeque parties, birthday parties, graduation parties, christmas parties, 4th of July parties, sleep over parties, so I rarely went. My mom eventually figured out that parties was a way for kids to safely hang and play together in one place, and a way for kids to make friends. But my mom figured out too late and by the time she said "you can go to your friends parties", no one invited me because I was the kid who never went. The kids are playing dodgeball. you throw the ball, you hit someone they leave the game, but if they catch your ball, you leave the game. some variations allow you to tag your team mate back into the game if you catch a ball and run to them and hand them the ball. To win is to empty your opponents team field. But many schools no longer play dodgeball after the early 2000s because it was considered "too dangerous". but many schools still play a variation of it. I'm so happy I found a video where someone could read the temple writings. I'm illiterate, I tried to search the characters using the dictionary but I'm not very good at using it.😂 so I'm like Mei, I don't understand. But I at least caught the "Wei?" and "do you have to walk so fast?" I was always taught family first, parents know best. Serve yourself last. While in western culture, it is family first, but also value and personal growth, be you. Individuality is very important. So immigrant kids have a hard time balancing family first and personal growth, because alot of of it is like in the movie. If I follow my parents, I will be them, not me. But if I am too much of myself, am I disrespecting my parents will they let me go?
It's always rough for first gens. I'm 4th from a very different culture, but I can see some of what you're saying when I think back to my grandparents. Thanks for giving us a window into what it was like for you though. :)
Both Enchanto and Turning Red made me cry cause I feel that everyday lol. I felt like and still do many years later that I still not good enough for my mom and her side of the family and even my self. It's stressful.
I loved this reaction - TH-cam recommended it to me. Your post-film discussion was fascinating, looking at the way people in China and the West interpret stories. The intergenerational history was also very revealing; I had never considered how much had changed just from roughly my lifespan to the current date. Thank you so much for sharing!
Watched this film tonight and really enjoyed it. The pressure put on the younger family from their parents was ridiculous. Lee has an amazing knowledge of pop culture. I am always surprised.
This man has seen every movie, he can reference everything from classic Chinese films to titanic to Biggie’s biopic! Edit: he even knows Carters jersey number. The man is a media encyclopedia
After watching the movie, I was hoping to see Chinese people react to it. I loved the movie, but while I do have some general knowledge about Chinese culture, I'm not Chinese, so I was sure there was a lot of cultural details that I missed. Thank you to both of you!
I've watched a bunch of different reviews of Turning Red from other Chinese creators but this is the only one that actually translated the chant they were singing which was super cool, thank you both so much! I loved hearing your thoughts and insights!
Such an eye opening video. As an Asian American I can understand the polarity of western and old world views and this movie really hammered that home. Awesome work!
I know you said it's hard for a producer who grew up in a western culture find it hard to tell a Chinese story well and directors who grew up in China find it hard to tell a story that a western audience can relate but Turning Red can do it is because it's Canada. You can come from somewhere else and still be Canadian. It's not perfect and it's hard to explain really but it's ... nice.
The game they were playing throwing balls is called Dodgeball it’s where you have two teams, both teams try to get the other out by hitting them with the ball to get that team member to sit out, if you hit someone in the head with the ball or they catch it then you’re out, and if one of your teammates catches a ball one of the team members who were out can come back in the game is won once there’s only one team standing
Yes Lee has such an insight into the era I grew up in usa and his understanding of culture gap between generations . Yes would love to see a video with more about his and your perspectives about 60's , 70's , 80's of usa and how it may have influenced your cultures if at all. I also liked hearing about what the parent's expectations were when you grew up and your story . I worked in a University with lots of Chinese students and this helps me understand some things now.
I find it really interesting how you guys really focus on the Chinese aspects of the movie. Which should be obvious why. But not knowing what dodgeball is was really interesting. I wonder if anything else was weird to you?
Oh here's another thing I don't get, why do people wear winter boots in summer? I saw Penny from The Big Bang Theory wear them at home too, it's been bothering me for years.
@@ChinesewithJessie most of the boots in the movie looked like UGG boots, which were really, really popular in the early 2000s. they were worn more for fashion and trends than warmth.
@@ChinesewithJessie they're also not extremely warm so people were them for fashion, alot of times with yoga pants. My knowledge on the subject ends here 🤷🏼♂️
@@ChinesewithJessie As a Toronto born Chinese person, really related to the movie. And loved your insights into the depiction of Chinese culture. As for wearing boots in non-winter months, agree with everyone else. It's very much a fashion thing especially of that time. Just like wearing a "toque" (Canadian word for winter wool hat) that Mei and her friend Miriam are wearing. Unlike the boots, wearing a toque all year round is still common today among the "cool kids".
@@ChinesewithJessie Those were Ugg boots (or cheaper imitations). They were just trendy at the time. Ironically, you'd freeze your feet off wearing those during a real Canadian winter. The company that makes them is actually from Australia, so they were definitely not designed for warmth or to be waterproof. (I always found them to be horribly ugly, add to that the fact that they were really expensive, I could never understand why they became so popular)
Thank you both so much for reacting to this! I think your comments, perspectives, and opinions are fascinating, thoughtful, engaging, open-minded, and--most importantly (to me)--contemporaneously relevant. I'm American-Born Chinese (ABC), and I gotta tell y'all: It's tough to raise kids as immigrant parents in a Western world--a world that often espouses thoughts & behaviors that are directly at odds with the culture & beliefs of their home countries. I know, 'cause--along with sooooo many others--I was a kid who rebelled against my parents, despite the love I had (and still have) for them, and despite the pain of guilt. So, I understand--from the perspective of a formally-defiant young'un--that the struggle of being raised "between worlds" is a point of pain & contention that many immigrant families suffer. These issues continue to be relevant now, and so long as different cultures & ideologies exist, immigrant families will always grapple with their youth, who were raised in two worlds. That being said, such struggles between older & younger generations have always existed--even within a prosperous & culturally cohesive society--'cause there's always an inevitable gap in understanding between the youth and their parents/grandparents. Soooooooo, the strife will always continue! The older generations, fearing & despising the new, will always seek to control/contain them. The newer generations will always struggle forwards to wrest control from the old & stagnant. I absolutely hate destructive revolutions, though, during which historical & culturally significant treasures (including historical texts, religious scriptures, cultural & ideological treatises, landmarks, works of art, ancient buildings & artifacts) are destroyed & burned. Knowledge of the past & previous foundations should always be respected & studied, otherwise what will new generations have to improve and build forwards from?
Wow, I loved your reaction so much! I'm a white Canadian who grew up just outside of Toronto (my dad worked for the TTC when I was growing up so I spent a lot of time in Toronto) and this is very representative of what it's like living in Toronto. Canada is a mosaic of cultures, we encourage people from other cultures to bring their celebrations and traditions with them and to share them with others (if appropriate) so that everyone can learn about the world as a whole. I can remember learning about Indian, Asian, and Caribbean cultures and traditions all throughout school. We celebrated Chinese New Year, Diwali and a ton of other festivals and celebrations in my class to honor the traditions of all the kids in my class, not just the Western/Christian traditions.
Fun casting bit: Waipo is voiced by Wai Ching Ho, who was Madame Gao in “Daredevil,” and Mr. Gao the priest is James Hong, who was David Lo Pan in “Big Trouble in Little China.” One of the aunties is Lori Tan Chinn, who plays grandma in “Nora from Queens” (which I don’t remember you ever doing a reaction video about).
Oh my god that's why I found Mr. Gao's voice really familiar, especially when drawing the circle, but I forgot to mention in the video. That's really cool, James Hong is awesome!
@@ChinesewithJessie James Hong is a HUGE Chinese Film and TV star. He was the voice of Dao Lon Wong in Jackie Chan's cartoon, he's Po's dad in Kung Fu Panda, and SO many different movies and tv dramas. Love him so much. As soon as I heard Mr Gao playing chess I thought "Ai YAAAAA! Dark Magic!!!"
This movie along with encanto, have been my favorite movies really showing how generational trauma can affect the next generations. Everything is a cycle until you are aware of that cycle and work to overcome it, which is very true to our current generations, people are becoming more aware of how our parents and their parents affected the way we view the world. I related to this movie, despite not being part of this specific culture, and that shows how storytelling can communicate a message even with cultural barriers
Great reaction and commentary for Turning Red. I appreciated Jessie being honest and crying when she watched the movie. Also, thank you for speaking in Chinese and having Chinese subtitles. This always improves my skills. As for the American generation in the 60s and 70s becoming hippies, I think they rebelled because they felt things needed to change in America. Yes, after World War II people were wealthy and had families. This was when America had a baby boom. But these Baby Boomers saw how there was not a lot of freedom in American society. People had to act, think, and conform to one way because that way was stable and produced wealth. However, in the 1960s, there were a lot of movements starting to happen. People realized that things were not fair or just in America. People wanted to fight for the civil rights for Blacks, Latinos, Asians, women, and gays. Many people were also against the Vietnam War. That is why many young people went against their parents during that time.
Terrific job with the review and cultural translations, along with the Chinese language translations. I appreciated that you shared your emotions, since our adult daughters found it moving, too. And you kept Lee on task, event though he did have some nicely sophisticated comments!
When you talk about western countries, just remember central/south america exists UwU , hehe I'm mentioning this just cause our culture here is so similar in matters like family, this days since ENCANTO (another disney movie) it's trending the concept of "generational trauma" given from our parents, grandparents, it's about all this expectations they put on us, so, if you think 'oh maybe they don't know about this' ...well I wish we didn't :'( , and something trending too is the fact that in the end of both movies the parents/grandparents apologize, and we're like 🙃yeah parents don't say sorry in here, anyway I cried a lot with the movie too Jessie, sending hugs your way ✨😎💚. P.S. you both know a LOT of things, even if you think you went off topic I was so interested, you keep talking that I will be listening
Thank you for this video! I was born and raised in Taiwan but my knowledge regarding the Chinese culture and methodology is not as good as you guys, so it's amazing to see you guys' input so more people can know about the backstory and references, especially the Cantonese parts. Another thing that I caught how accurate it is portrayed in the movie is how they never say "I love you" at all (unless I missed it after watching this movie for 10 times). Even at the end of the movie when Mei hugs her mom, she simply says "I'll be home by dinner," which is completely opposite from the ending in Luca. This is so accurate because the last time I said "I love you" to my mom was when my middle school teacher forced all the kids to say that to our parents as a homework assignment (which all our parents all thought we wanted money or something 😂). We don't say that to each other because it's just not normal in Asian culture in general. Of course we love our parents and they love us, but we NEVER say it out loud to each other.
This channel is soooooooooooo underrated. I love the personality Jessie brings to it, and the knowledge of Chinese culture and language you both bring to it, and the random encyclopedic knowledge Lee brings to it. You can watch a video about Rush Hour, and learn about The Police suing for full rights to a song written about the death of Tupac Shakur, or you can watch a video about a Disney animated film about a red panda girl, and hear an insightful perspective on the rebellious youth culture of the 1960s. Keep it up you guys!!!
I was watching this movie and as soon as they introduced the friends I was shocked because I was Abby at 13! 🤣 Short, chubby, in overalls, with bangs and a headband. Also her aggressiveness and intensity..
Old white guy in California here; I loved this, impressed how you edited it to get your points across, impressed with your breadth of knowledge and the sincere way you discussed your reactions. I got a lot of deeper insight into this sweet film from you as well. Thank you. ♥♥♥
I enjoyed watching this reaction with you guys translating Chinese and Cantonese for us who don’t speak the language. This one thing I just noticed is that when Mai enters the temple, she refers to the panda statues as “Bart and Lisa”. Mai must like watching The Simpsons in her spare time.
I enjoyed watching the movie. Based on the trailers, I was not interested. But then I saw more about it that made me think "maybe it's a good Chinese-Disney movie and not a bad one". I did enjoy it. I am Chinese Diaspora. I've been displaced from Vietnam and my grandparents were displaced from China. So I felt the immigrant life in USA very strongly. It appears that Mei Mei might be 1st generation Canadian and her mom is from an immigrant background. I loved analysis of the movie and post movie discussion! Lee and Jessie had great chemistry while discussing the movie. You two saw much more details in each scene than I saw. Although I understand you can't pause every minute of the movie to analyze every scene, the scenes that you did chose to pause are very interesting. Of all TH-cam reactors, the scenes you both decide to pause/discuss at were different and offered interesting insight/history. I watched the video on my own because of our busy schedules but I plan to share this with my wife. She's not Chinese, not Asian, not immigrant but she related to Mei a lot. So I am curious what she'll think of yours/Lee's analysis of the film.
9:42 Yeah that's "dodgeball" that they were playing. We play it all the time in the US and it was my school's default sport when we had nothing else to do in gym class. I can't imagine it's too different in Canada. For us, the seniors would always pick on the freshmen though so we had to replace the rubber balls with foam so people could keep their teeth lol. With enough speed you can really hurt eachother and I think that was what made it fun to a lot of the kids. But yeah, Lee mainly got it, you hit the other team members with the ball to get them out and when the team's out of players they lose. You can also get your players back in if you throw the ball over the opposing team to the "Jail" where your teammates who are out. If they catch it, they come back. We always played with the rule that if you catch the ball, the kid who threw it got out and you could call back in one of your teammates. I was never much of a fan of it, but I just never really liked gym at all so lol
2:38 I'm so happy that I know what F4 is. I've watched both Boys Over Flowers/Meteor Garden (the older and the newer adaptations) and I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for the reaction!
10:40 this happens a lot in American media as a plot device, but how often it occurs in real life varies. Big parties with lots of kids are common with small children, as they are expected to just run around and play and eat cake. As they get older, how many “friends” they have over and the level of party varies based on how outgoing and active the birthday kid is. It also depends on money - this kid in the movie is obviously from a wealthy family, so he can afford to throw a big party. By the time I was 13 I didn’t really have birthday parties anymore, I would have a dinner with my relatives and then maybe get cards/small presents from my friends at school or when we hung out. I was an introverted teen and not interested in big parties, and I was not the only one.
I've super recently starting learning about Chinese language and culture from scratch, and yours is one of two or three channels I've started following. But this is my favorite video so far, I love hearing all these snippets of memories form growing up and TV shows, etc. that you remember and recognize. (Loved the Wayne's World video too). Anyway your content is fun, and I hope you keep it up.
This guy understands American history and American people better than a lot of us do ourselves 🤣 I'm totally impressed. 我可不可以请你来我们这儿讲美国历史课 🤣 反正你已经讲得至少跟我的老师一样好
Really enjoyed your commentary about this film! I accidentally stumbled upon your channel and i'm definitively subscribing hahaha. I saw the trailer when it dropped and had really low expectations for it, but it is a really goofy, relatable, enjoyable movie. Btw, about Spain not allowing doing homework out of school hours, I'm a spaniard and i had to look up that law lol: its from 2018 and kinda talks about children being people and having rights, and how it would be preferable if most work was done at the classrooms, but as it is more of a recommendation. I can tell you once you start highschool here (we start when the American middle school starts, so ages 12-18), you get progressibly more and more homework (Although i think you guys have a much more demanding educational system in general).
This was such an amazing video ♥️ I love the conversation between you two towards the end. Especially how generations have difficulty communicating emotionally and slight convo the history of US. You guys are awesome!! Please keep making videos like these!! I love you guys 😊 these videos make my day.
This movie also made me cry! Especially the line "you try so hard to make everyone happy but are so hard on yourself... if I taught you that, I'm sorry". That made me cry my eyes out, especially as someone who relates heavily to the intergenerational trauma (from great grandmother to grandma to mom to us) in my family, where respecting elders matters more than everyone's mental wellbeing and relationship with each other.
I wanted you to go back off-topic it was getting so interesting 😭 comparing the two rebellious generations of the western and eastern (chinese) culture. I learnt a lot from your video!! Thank you for watching Turning Red! 😊
It was very interesting and enjoyable to get a Chinese perspective on this awesome movie. And if Lee wants to talk about Woodstock 1969, it's perfectly OK by me...LOL!
Subscribed! I really enjoyed your commentary and how you both fit in personal knowledge and stories. Thanks for translating the background stuff as well.
love how you guys are speaking mandarin while reacting to this movie. your english is really good lol. based on the chinese family in this film being cantonese, these are the type of people i've met when i go around places. XD rarely met any mandarin speakers.
I haven't seen the movie yet so I'll have to put this video on my watch-later, but it's awesome to see you reacting to this movie! Can't wait to come back to this commentary
Wow I learned so much from your commentary! You are both knowledgeable especially Lee I'm so impressed! As a Chinese-American it's interesting for me to see what Chinese think of this movie.
Thank you so much for the reaction video. I now understand the various cultural and linguistic references (made in the movie) much better. I absolutely loved Turning Red by the way. Coming from a formal Indian family, I could relate so much. Also, I was 13 years old in 2002 and I too went through a couple of things Mei went through.
Wow.. I've never seen a movie reaction as informative and as educational as this one. This is the first video of you that I've watched and I was really amazed. Thank you for sharing so much about your culture! ❤
I am from Latinoamérica and I can asure you we have the same family dynamic. I loved this reaction, both are really great reactors and your comments are in point. Great attention to details and informed comments.
It must have taken a lot of effort to translate the whole video, it was wonderful seeing your perspectives! This movie was exactly my childhood, but not quite my relationship with my mother. I lived in the USA around 2002 where this movie takes place, but it's essentially the same. I'm glad they also managed to capture Chinese culture, though mostly westernized version, so well in this movie!
you guys are so cute! thank you for the reaction! loved listening to all your experiences, relations to the movie, and overall reaction and knowledge! My relationship with my mom is similar to the one where you described when we keep everything to ourselves because it’s hard to express the feelings directly to each other, but they would still be there for me in any situation. oh and just so you know, this is coming from a filipino-american whose mother came from the Philippines to America to “have a better life” as they say. idk if that adds anything to context or however you call it, but I also relate to not following all my parents’ views and beliefs so there was a time where there was a lot of in-fighting between my mom and I (as I used to follow everything she told me to do without question so it was hard to calmly express my feelings and thoughts before which led me to be quick tempered whenever I couldn’t properly express myself to her) though that has calmed down a lot now that I’m post graduating college and am job searching (I’ve also become more confident in what I want to do and who I am so I can better calmly express myself now).
I loved taking this journey with you guys. And hearing your stories and how you related to it. It’s fun to hear which references you did and did not know!
This movie left me in tears. I went in completely blind, hadn't even heard of it until the day I watched it lol. Anyways, your video popped up on my recommendations and decided to click on it. Very insightful review, it was really nice to hear your perspective and getting translations for the signs and chanting were awesome. I had been wondering about them afterward so it was great to get that. Really impressed with his knowledge on history of different cultures, really blew me away. You two were so nice to watch, I went ahead and subscribed and look forward to looking at past videos as well as future ones too. :)
For the record, as someone who split their childhood between western countries, I’ve never seen the “inviting all the kids from school to a party at your house while your parents are away” thing in real life, nor anything close to it. I’ve heard people say it’s just certain kids do it, maybe that’s true, but personally it’s as foreign to me as it is for you guys lmao. For me it’s just a movie thing
This was great, super entertaining and interesting to see your reactions and also to gain so much insight not just about the Chinese side but the American side! That comparison to the 60s in America was so interesting and made so much sense but I'd never have thought of that, even though I grew up in a Western country. Please do more movie reactions and things like this where you and Lee can share your experiences and knowledge!
I find it incredibly insightful listening from native Chinese people who lived, experienced and grew up in China and their thoughts on this movie in such great detail about every little thing this movie had to show. I believe it's important share and express one's culture with other people like this through the eyes of the people who have experienced these things. Also it would be super validating to hear the words Ming said to Mei from our own parents: _"The further you go, the prouder I'll be."_ whether they have high expectations of how far you will make it or not, or at the very least come to find a closure on terrible relationship to reconcile with them.
I really enjoy watching your conversation go off on a tangent. We can see that you have a great relationship because your conversations are complex and balanced
To answer your question about whether or not western kids can relate to the idea of family first like it's portrayed in this film: It's a little complicate. In a lot of western cultures, family is very important. However, in the late 20th century (especially in the US) western cultures began drifting from the mindset that family is everything. I'll use my own experience as an example. I'm a relatively young person (30-something) who actually grew up in a very family centric family on both sides. Divorce was even still very taboo on my father's side, which is something that was fairly normal by the time my parents actually divorced here in the US. I was taught that family was the only group of people who would always be there for you no matter what. I was taught that family was more important than any other relationship in my life. That family love is unconditional. As I grew up in my teens after my parents' divorce, I became more aware of what happened around me. I noticed the generational trauma and toxic relationships in my family that actually stemmed from this idea that family had to be there no matter what. In my family, people took advantage of this. Instead of taking "family is important" to mean that we should treat our family well and be there for them, they took it to mean that family will always be there to excuse or cover up for our bad decisions or horrible actions. From what I can tell, the family structure that my parents grew up in was very similar to what I saw in this movie and what you talk about in your video. However, I think later generations in the west have taken a more careful approach to family matters, because of the problems that they witnessed in that structure. Personally, I believe in the concept of chosen family. Whether they're my blood or not, if someone is important to me and we treat each other as such, then we're family.
if it wasnt for one of my brothers putting this movie as soon it came out I wouldn't have talked about it to a chinese girl I dated. I'm still ignorant about telling the difference between canto & manderin so I asked her what they were saying in the ritual. She didn't know & later told me it was canto. This was fun movie & liked how it was people of same culture creating this. Like how you guys reference your own experiences
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the movie. It was weird and really out there, and that's what I liked about it. I really enjoy when animated projects that don't shy away from family problems, teenage drama or social issues. The characters, animation and voice acting were all done very well. They did a good job of showing how scary changing and growing up can be, but it happens for a reason. But like any other Disney movie, the problem is mostly resolved to quickly. Forgiving and moving on is important, but its not easy (like they make it seem in their movies). Ming did the exact same thing to Mei that her mother did to her - and she didn't see that? If nothing is ever going to be good enough, you shouldn't push a child to be perfect. Healing can happen...but it takes time. (Ming shouldn't need to apologize. She may have given her mother that scar, but it was Wu's controlling and overbearing nature that caused such an act.) People may call the portrayal of Chinese culture in this movie racist or stereotypical; but it isn't if its all fact. Most families of Asian cultures are very controlling and pass that toxic quirk to their children. Parents shouldn't push their desires onto their children, because than the children never get to live their own lives. If your kids rebel, its most likely because you're refusing to listen to them. If there's a sequel, I seriously hope that Disney doesn't tone down the problems and issues of growing up.
7:56 The snowboots she's wearing is called UGGs and very popular with popular kids "OMG" is popular to show the "valley girl" type of personality (Paris Hilton). Kids will say it but not every kid will ^^
there have always been generational clashes and i think this is universal...for example...this can be seen in that 70's show. red, the father told foreman, "at your age i was in korea."
This was so cool! You guys caught a lot of references that those of us from the West would probably not catch, and I feel like I learned a lot more about this movie and Chinese culture in general just from watching this! Thank you!
This movie made me cry too, so yeah... like Jessie said, it's also relatable for westerners. (Although my mom's parenting style was very similar to that of Asian parents, so there is that.)
This is the best reaction around! You pay attention to small details that i would never know. Usually i don't like when people talk much during reaction but it's fun watching you guys did that, awesome!
I'm always impressed by Lee's cultural knowledge, movies, music, Western, Eastern, he knows it all xD
100% agree. I very much appreciated his comments in the end around the generational gap etc. Super insightful!
His knowledge is almost like he had been living through it. But like they say - if you remember it , you weren't there !
Yesss! Thank you Lee! :D This video helped us understand more about this wonderful culture!
Recognizing Vince Carter's jersey was an impressive catch.
Dude casually drops "new jack swing" at the beginning which is American R&B from before he was born. I'm not sure he doesn't have a direct internet connection in his brain for the amount of things he is able to reference that he shouldn't have even had to the chance to be exposed to.
I would like to see a video where he gives us a history lesson. He's so smart. I am American but it was nice to here someone talk about our history from their point of view.
Yeah I'm thoroughly impressed.
when her mom said "The further u go, the prouder ill be" absolutely destroyed me. To get a parent to say that they're proud of u as long as u make it far no matter how you do it, is so huge. All parents have expectations for their child, but to not force that expectation on them is very mature.
As a Chinese Canadian, speaking Cantonese, this movie really hit close to home. 💕 I had the same rebellious phase with my mom when I was younger. We just both didn't know how to communicate with each other. It's gotten better because we both learned how to communicate our feelings. So we both had much growth. Seeing a similar journey made me bawl. Cos, finally reaching an understanding with family feels really good. I think alot of Asian girls had a similar relationship with their mums. It's really relatable.
I really appreciate the references you pointed out! Especially the Cantonese aunties. LOL!! They really do look like that, and they really did pinch my face like that. 🤣 And the Taoist reference, using "My Date With a Vampire", it's really nostalgic!
Loved the blend of Chinese and Canadian culture. “WHO do they think they are? CELINE DION?!” had me wheezing
I always really enjoy it when Lee is on the show. He's so insightful, and provides so much knowledge and outside information to make you think of things you would not have when watching a particular scene.
It depends on the family, but even in the West, children usually treasure their family, but not at the expense of their individuality and sanity. However, like Asian families, expectations of how a child should act and behave are also put on a pedestal in the West, and some reviews of the movie show that families of Christian religion dislike it because the movie "encourages disobedience". That is why this movie is relatable, regardless of the culture.
This is true. My Christian Asian mother didn’t like the movie that much. She says it’s about “teenage rebellion”. Perhaps she didn’t want to look deeper or ignored the other meanings
@@monkeke9595 Quite. Show me a child that always listened to their parents even through adulthood, and I can show you 99 more that didn't.
Same with being indigenous, always the expectation to be the first to break every generational cycle. I have aunts and grandmas that never got to go to uni that expect me to do great things and it hurt when I failed out of classes
Treasure their families in the West. aren't mostly westerners always the one who gets kicked out by their parents, having to pay for their stuff and have a higher poll for abuse, divorce, and family issues????
@@αιη-τ5φ That's a stereotype.
very nice both the commentary about the movie and the thoughts about your upbringing and the changes in your cultures and western cultures as well. well done you two!
9:43 from what I've seen over the years with western shows and films, that sport is 'dodge ball'! it works exactly like what Lee said "You just throw the ball at the other team, and you win if the ball hits them.", all members of the opposing team must be hit in order to have a winner!
Love the video as always! I've been getting recommendations to watch Turning Red ever since it came out and this might just be the final sign to do so 哈哈哈哈哈哈 keep up the amazing work!
You're right! Dodgeball is a game where different teams try to hit other teams' players with a ball. If they dodge the ball or catch the ball, they're still in the game. If the ball hits them and they don't catch it, however, they're out. The last team with players still in the game wins!
Thank you both! It sounds like a fun sport!
@@ChinesewithJessie Also, when the opposing team catches your ball, then you, the thrower, is out instead, and a previous member who was knocked out earlier at the opposing team can return to the game.
@@ChinesewithJessie It certainly is a fun sport but it can get painful if you're not careful haha
I used to play it a lot as a kid in school and in my neighborhood. I had a lot of good memories with it. Thanks so much for the reaction!
'Popular' is a relative thing.
I HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATED Dodgeball. Seems like setting up torture at school. Blah.
Holy moly Lee's american cultural knowledge to compare the similiarities of generational thinking gaps of Chinese Generations and Western Generations and bridging the gap between the two cultures in the understanding of conflict between parent and child in both worlds = MIND BLOWN.
Thank you for sharing your reaction to the movie! Your insight made me appreciate the message a lot more, and I loved how you related it to wider cultural changes at the end!
7:00
As a canadian, Its so easy to trigger a smoke alarm!! I have so many childhood memories of the panic of waving cloths in front of the smoke alarm to turn it off or my family getting so annoyed that we "disabled" it (aka we smashed or ripped it out of the ceiling XD). They are required to be that sensitive in every home by law. I thought it was like that everywhere, I guess not lol
I'm Chinese American and parties is such a western thing. my parents didn't understand, block parties, barbeque parties, birthday parties, graduation parties, christmas parties, 4th of July parties, sleep over parties, so I rarely went. My mom eventually figured out that parties was a way for kids to safely hang and play together in one place, and a way for kids to make friends. But my mom figured out too late and by the time she said "you can go to your friends parties", no one invited me because I was the kid who never went.
The kids are playing dodgeball. you throw the ball, you hit someone they leave the game, but if they catch your ball, you leave the game. some variations allow you to tag your team mate back into the game if you catch a ball and run to them and hand them the ball. To win is to empty your opponents team field. But many schools no longer play dodgeball after the early 2000s because it was considered "too dangerous". but many schools still play a variation of it.
I'm so happy I found a video where someone could read the temple writings. I'm illiterate, I tried to search the characters using the dictionary but I'm not very good at using it.😂 so I'm like Mei, I don't understand. But I at least caught the "Wei?" and "do you have to walk so fast?"
I was always taught family first, parents know best. Serve yourself last. While in western culture, it is family first, but also value and personal growth, be you. Individuality is very important. So immigrant kids have a hard time balancing family first and personal growth, because alot of of it is like in the movie. If I follow my parents, I will be them, not me. But if I am too much of myself, am I disrespecting my parents will they let me go?
It's always rough for first gens. I'm 4th from a very different culture, but I can see some of what you're saying when I think back to my grandparents. Thanks for giving us a window into what it was like for you though. :)
Both Enchanto and Turning Red made me cry cause I feel that everyday lol. I felt like and still do many years later that I still not good enough for my mom and her side of the family and even my self. It's stressful.
They're both movies about intergenerational trauma, though it's expressed in very different ways.
15:06 -- I was wondering what the words were, when it came to that chant. Thank you.
Me too!
I loved this reaction - TH-cam recommended it to me. Your post-film discussion was fascinating, looking at the way people in China and the West interpret stories. The intergenerational history was also very revealing; I had never considered how much had changed just from roughly my lifespan to the current date. Thank you so much for sharing!
just want to say my entire HS mandarin class watches ur videos and we love it, please keep making great content!!
Aww that means a lot to me! Thank you guys! Say hello to the class for me! ❤
Watched this film tonight and really enjoyed it. The pressure put on the younger family from their parents was ridiculous.
Lee has an amazing knowledge of pop culture. I am always surprised.
This man has seen every movie, he can reference everything from classic Chinese films to titanic to Biggie’s biopic! Edit: he even knows Carters jersey number. The man is a media encyclopedia
After watching the movie, I was hoping to see Chinese people react to it.
I loved the movie, but while I do have some general knowledge about Chinese culture, I'm not Chinese, so I was sure there was a lot of cultural details that I missed.
Thank you to both of you!
Best review of Turning Red on TH-cam. All my questions about the Chinese aspects have been answered. Thank you for making this video.
I've watched a bunch of different reviews of Turning Red from other Chinese creators but this is the only one that actually translated the chant they were singing which was super cool, thank you both so much! I loved hearing your thoughts and insights!
Such an eye opening video. As an Asian American I can understand the polarity of western and old world views and this movie really hammered that home. Awesome work!
I know you said it's hard for a producer who grew up in a western culture find it hard to tell a Chinese story well and directors who grew up in China find it hard to tell a story that a western audience can relate but Turning Red can do it is because it's Canada.
You can come from somewhere else and still be Canadian. It's not perfect and it's hard to explain really but it's ... nice.
The game they were playing throwing balls is called Dodgeball it’s where you have two teams, both teams try to get the other out by hitting them with the ball to get that team member to sit out, if you hit someone in the head with the ball or they catch it then you’re out, and if one of your teammates catches a ball one of the team members who were out can come back in the game is won once there’s only one team standing
Damn how much does this guy know about North American history and pop culture? He’s so informative :-)
He also never visited USA. Impressive.
Yes Lee has such an insight into the era I grew up in usa and his understanding of culture gap between generations . Yes would love to see a video with more about his and your perspectives about 60's , 70's , 80's of usa and how it may have influenced your cultures if at all. I also liked hearing about what the parent's expectations were when you grew up and your story . I worked in a University with lots of Chinese students and this helps me understand some things now.
I find it really interesting how you guys really focus on the Chinese aspects of the movie. Which should be obvious why.
But not knowing what dodgeball is was really interesting. I wonder if anything else was weird to you?
Oh here's another thing I don't get, why do people wear winter boots in summer? I saw Penny from The Big Bang Theory wear them at home too, it's been bothering me for years.
@@ChinesewithJessie most of the boots in the movie looked like UGG boots, which were really, really popular in the early 2000s. they were worn more for fashion and trends than warmth.
@@ChinesewithJessie they're also not extremely warm so people were them for fashion, alot of times with yoga pants. My knowledge on the subject ends here 🤷🏼♂️
@@ChinesewithJessie As a Toronto born Chinese person, really related to the movie. And loved your insights into the depiction of Chinese culture. As for wearing boots in non-winter months, agree with everyone else. It's very much a fashion thing especially of that time. Just like wearing a "toque" (Canadian word for winter wool hat) that Mei and her friend Miriam are wearing. Unlike the boots, wearing a toque all year round is still common today among the "cool kids".
@@ChinesewithJessie Those were Ugg boots (or cheaper imitations). They were just trendy at the time.
Ironically, you'd freeze your feet off wearing those during a real Canadian winter. The company that makes them is actually from Australia, so they were definitely not designed for warmth or to be waterproof.
(I always found them to be horribly ugly, add to that the fact that they were really expensive, I could never understand why they became so popular)
Thank you both so much for reacting to this! I think your comments, perspectives, and opinions are fascinating, thoughtful, engaging, open-minded, and--most importantly (to me)--contemporaneously relevant.
I'm American-Born Chinese (ABC), and I gotta tell y'all: It's tough to raise kids as immigrant parents in a Western world--a world that often espouses thoughts & behaviors that are directly at odds with the culture & beliefs of their home countries. I know, 'cause--along with sooooo many others--I was a kid who rebelled against my parents, despite the love I had (and still have) for them, and despite the pain of guilt. So, I understand--from the perspective of a formally-defiant young'un--that the struggle of being raised "between worlds" is a point of pain & contention that many immigrant families suffer. These issues continue to be relevant now, and so long as different cultures & ideologies exist, immigrant families will always grapple with their youth, who were raised in two worlds.
That being said, such struggles between older & younger generations have always existed--even within a prosperous & culturally cohesive society--'cause there's always an inevitable gap in understanding between the youth and their parents/grandparents. Soooooooo, the strife will always continue! The older generations, fearing & despising the new, will always seek to control/contain them. The newer generations will always struggle forwards to wrest control from the old & stagnant.
I absolutely hate destructive revolutions, though, during which historical & culturally significant treasures (including historical texts, religious scriptures, cultural & ideological treatises, landmarks, works of art, ancient buildings & artifacts) are destroyed & burned. Knowledge of the past & previous foundations should always be respected & studied, otherwise what will new generations have to improve and build forwards from?
Wow, I loved your reaction so much! I'm a white Canadian who grew up just outside of Toronto (my dad worked for the TTC when I was growing up so I spent a lot of time in Toronto) and this is very representative of what it's like living in Toronto. Canada is a mosaic of cultures, we encourage people from other cultures to bring their celebrations and traditions with them and to share them with others (if appropriate) so that everyone can learn about the world as a whole. I can remember learning about Indian, Asian, and Caribbean cultures and traditions all throughout school. We celebrated Chinese New Year, Diwali and a ton of other festivals and celebrations in my class to honor the traditions of all the kids in my class, not just the Western/Christian traditions.
Fun casting bit: Waipo is voiced by Wai Ching Ho, who was Madame Gao in “Daredevil,” and Mr. Gao the priest is James Hong, who was David Lo Pan in “Big Trouble in Little China.” One of the aunties is Lori Tan Chinn, who plays grandma in “Nora from Queens” (which I don’t remember you ever doing a reaction video about).
Oh my god that's why I found Mr. Gao's voice really familiar, especially when drawing the circle, but I forgot to mention in the video. That's really cool, James Hong is awesome!
@@ChinesewithJessie James Hong is a HUGE Chinese Film and TV star. He was the voice of Dao Lon Wong in Jackie Chan's cartoon, he's Po's dad in Kung Fu Panda, and SO many different movies and tv dramas. Love him so much. As soon as I heard Mr Gao playing chess I thought "Ai YAAAAA! Dark Magic!!!"
@@BuuTube don't forget, he was the advisor in Disney's animated Mulan.
"You boys owe me a pair of new slippers!!"
😂
This movie along with encanto, have been my favorite movies really showing how generational trauma can affect the next generations. Everything is a cycle until you are aware of that cycle and work to overcome it, which is very true to our current generations, people are becoming more aware of how our parents and their parents affected the way we view the world. I related to this movie, despite not being part of this specific culture, and that shows how storytelling can communicate a message even with cultural barriers
Great reaction and commentary for Turning Red. I appreciated Jessie being honest and crying when she watched the movie. Also, thank you for speaking in Chinese and having Chinese subtitles. This always improves my skills. As for the American generation in the 60s and 70s becoming hippies, I think they rebelled because they felt things needed to change in America. Yes, after World War II people were wealthy and had families. This was when America had a baby boom. But these Baby Boomers saw how there was not a lot of freedom in American society. People had to act, think, and conform to one way because that way was stable and produced wealth. However, in the 1960s, there were a lot of movements starting to happen. People realized that things were not fair or just in America. People wanted to fight for the civil rights for Blacks, Latinos, Asians, women, and gays. Many people were also against the Vietnam War. That is why many young people went against their parents during that time.
15:58 ♥️ always nice to see human emotion
thanks i seeking 4 dis
Terrific job with the review and cultural translations, along with the Chinese language translations. I appreciated that you shared your emotions, since our adult daughters found it moving, too. And you kept Lee on task, event though he did have some nicely sophisticated comments!
When you talk about western countries, just remember central/south america exists UwU , hehe I'm mentioning this just cause our culture here is so similar in matters like family, this days since ENCANTO (another disney movie) it's trending the concept of "generational trauma" given from our parents, grandparents, it's about all this expectations they put on us, so, if you think 'oh maybe they don't know about this' ...well I wish we didn't :'( , and something trending too is the fact that in the end of both movies the parents/grandparents apologize, and we're like 🙃yeah parents don't say sorry in here, anyway I cried a lot with the movie too Jessie, sending hugs your way ✨😎💚. P.S. you both know a LOT of things, even if you think you went off topic I was so interested, you keep talking that I will be listening
Thank you for this video! I was born and raised in Taiwan but my knowledge regarding the Chinese culture and methodology is not as good as you guys, so it's amazing to see you guys' input so more people can know about the backstory and references, especially the Cantonese parts.
Another thing that I caught how accurate it is portrayed in the movie is how they never say "I love you" at all (unless I missed it after watching this movie for 10 times). Even at the end of the movie when Mei hugs her mom, she simply says "I'll be home by dinner," which is completely opposite from the ending in Luca. This is so accurate because the last time I said "I love you" to my mom was when my middle school teacher forced all the kids to say that to our parents as a homework assignment (which all our parents all thought we wanted money or something 😂). We don't say that to each other because it's just not normal in Asian culture in general. Of course we love our parents and they love us, but we NEVER say it out loud to each other.
Though out of curiosity Taiwan has quite a similar culture in China right? Like Confucianism and pressure for kids or is it more relaxed or something?
This channel is soooooooooooo underrated. I love the personality Jessie brings to it, and the knowledge of Chinese culture and language you both bring to it, and the random encyclopedic knowledge Lee brings to it. You can watch a video about Rush Hour, and learn about The Police suing for full rights to a song written about the death of Tupac Shakur, or you can watch a video about a Disney animated film about a red panda girl, and hear an insightful perspective on the rebellious youth culture of the 1960s. Keep it up you guys!!!
I was watching this movie and as soon as they introduced the friends I was shocked because I was Abby at 13! 🤣
Short, chubby, in overalls, with bangs and a headband. Also her aggressiveness and intensity..
Old white guy in California here; I loved this, impressed how you edited it to get your points across, impressed with your breadth of knowledge and the sincere way you discussed your reactions. I got a lot of deeper insight into this sweet film from you as well. Thank you. ♥♥♥
I enjoyed watching this reaction with you guys translating Chinese and Cantonese for us who don’t speak the language. This one thing I just noticed is that when Mai enters the temple, she refers to the panda statues as “Bart and Lisa”. Mai must like watching The Simpsons in her spare time.
I enjoyed watching the movie. Based on the trailers, I was not interested. But then I saw more about it that made me think "maybe it's a good Chinese-Disney movie and not a bad one". I did enjoy it. I am Chinese Diaspora. I've been displaced from Vietnam and my grandparents were displaced from China. So I felt the immigrant life in USA very strongly. It appears that Mei Mei might be 1st generation Canadian and her mom is from an immigrant background.
I loved analysis of the movie and post movie discussion! Lee and Jessie had great chemistry while discussing the movie. You two saw much more details in each scene than I saw. Although I understand you can't pause every minute of the movie to analyze every scene, the scenes that you did chose to pause are very interesting. Of all TH-cam reactors, the scenes you both decide to pause/discuss at were different and offered interesting insight/history.
I watched the video on my own because of our busy schedules but I plan to share this with my wife. She's not Chinese, not Asian, not immigrant but she related to Mei a lot. So I am curious what she'll think of yours/Lee's analysis of the film.
I love when you two watch movies together because I'm able to learn about Chinese culture from your perspectives.
I loved the movie as just a sweet mother-daughter movie and retro aesthetic, but the additional cultural context makes it even better.
9:42 Yeah that's "dodgeball" that they were playing. We play it all the time in the US and it was my school's default sport when we had nothing else to do in gym class. I can't imagine it's too different in Canada. For us, the seniors would always pick on the freshmen though so we had to replace the rubber balls with foam so people could keep their teeth lol. With enough speed you can really hurt eachother and I think that was what made it fun to a lot of the kids.
But yeah, Lee mainly got it, you hit the other team members with the ball to get them out and when the team's out of players they lose. You can also get your players back in if you throw the ball over the opposing team to the "Jail" where your teammates who are out. If they catch it, they come back. We always played with the rule that if you catch the ball, the kid who threw it got out and you could call back in one of your teammates. I was never much of a fan of it, but I just never really liked gym at all so lol
2:38 I'm so happy that I know what F4 is. I've watched both Boys Over Flowers/Meteor Garden (the older and the newer adaptations) and I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much for the reaction!
Finally found a channel that could translate the chant😍…
Just for that I’m staying😂
10:40 this happens a lot in American media as a plot device, but how often it occurs in real life varies. Big parties with lots of kids are common with small children, as they are expected to just run around and play and eat cake. As they get older, how many “friends” they have over and the level of party varies based on how outgoing and active the birthday kid is. It also depends on money - this kid in the movie is obviously from a wealthy family, so he can afford to throw a big party.
By the time I was 13 I didn’t really have birthday parties anymore, I would have a dinner with my relatives and then maybe get cards/small presents from my friends at school or when we hung out. I was an introverted teen and not interested in big parties, and I was not the only one.
I love you two, I speak Cantonese and i want to learn mandarin. The reactions are amazing and honestly, this was so INTERESTING!!! Great review 😙✌️
I've super recently starting learning about Chinese language and culture from scratch, and yours is one of two or three channels I've started following. But this is my favorite video so far, I love hearing all these snippets of memories form growing up and TV shows, etc. that you remember and recognize. (Loved the Wayne's World video too). Anyway your content is fun, and I hope you keep it up.
This guy understands American history and American people better than a lot of us do ourselves 🤣 I'm totally impressed. 我可不可以请你来我们这儿讲美国历史课 🤣 反正你已经讲得至少跟我的老师一样好
Really enjoyed your commentary about this film! I accidentally stumbled upon your channel and i'm definitively subscribing hahaha. I saw the trailer when it dropped and had really low expectations for it, but it is a really goofy, relatable, enjoyable movie.
Btw, about Spain not allowing doing homework out of school hours, I'm a spaniard and i had to look up that law lol: its from 2018 and kinda talks about children being people and having rights, and how it would be preferable if most work was done at the classrooms, but as it is more of a recommendation. I can tell you once you start highschool here (we start when the American middle school starts, so ages 12-18), you get progressibly more and more homework (Although i think you guys have a much more demanding educational system in general).
you guys provide such great insight into chinese culture, and are so open and understanding of other cultures. Thank you for doing what you do!
This was such an amazing video ♥️ I love the conversation between you two towards the end. Especially how generations have difficulty communicating emotionally and slight convo the history of US. You guys are awesome!! Please keep making videos like these!! I love you guys 😊 these videos make my day.
This movie also made me cry! Especially the line "you try so hard to make everyone happy but are so hard on yourself... if I taught you that, I'm sorry". That made me cry my eyes out, especially as someone who relates heavily to the intergenerational trauma (from great grandmother to grandma to mom to us) in my family, where respecting elders matters more than everyone's mental wellbeing and relationship with each other.
I wanted you to go back off-topic it was getting so interesting 😭 comparing the two rebellious generations of the western and eastern (chinese) culture.
I learnt a lot from your video!! Thank you for watching Turning Red! 😊
It was very interesting and enjoyable to get a Chinese perspective on this awesome movie. And if Lee wants to talk about Woodstock 1969, it's perfectly OK by me...LOL!
Subscribed! I really enjoyed your commentary and how you both fit in personal knowledge and stories. Thanks for translating the background stuff as well.
This is the most informative reaction channel I've seen. So much insight!
love how you guys are speaking mandarin while reacting to this movie. your english is really good lol.
based on the chinese family in this film being cantonese, these are the type of people i've met when
i go around places. XD rarely met any mandarin speakers.
I haven't seen the movie yet so I'll have to put this video on my watch-later, but it's awesome to see you reacting to this movie! Can't wait to come back to this commentary
It's a great movie, enjoy it in the cinema and come back soon! ❤
I love the breakdown from these movie react more than the actual react. You guys summarize the direction and emotions so well.
Such a Wonderful movie I really feel and believe people from all over the world can relate.
Wow I learned so much from your commentary! You are both knowledgeable especially Lee I'm so impressed! As a Chinese-American it's interesting for me to see what Chinese think of this movie.
Thank you so much for the reaction video. I now understand the various cultural and linguistic references (made in the movie) much better.
I absolutely loved Turning Red by the way. Coming from a formal Indian family, I could relate so much. Also, I was 13 years old in 2002 and I too went through a couple of things Mei went through.
Wow.. I've never seen a movie reaction as informative and as educational as this one. This is the first video of you that I've watched and I was really amazed. Thank you for sharing so much about your culture! ❤
im so glad i stumbled upon this channel today! absolutely love that you guys do commentaries in mandarin
I am from Latinoamérica and I can asure you we have the same family dynamic. I loved this reaction, both are really great reactors and your comments are in point. Great attention to details and informed comments.
It must have taken a lot of effort to translate the whole video, it was wonderful seeing your perspectives! This movie was exactly my childhood, but not quite my relationship with my mother. I lived in the USA around 2002 where this movie takes place, but it's essentially the same. I'm glad they also managed to capture Chinese culture, though mostly westernized version, so well in this movie!
you guys are so cute! thank you for the reaction! loved listening to all your experiences, relations to the movie, and overall reaction and knowledge!
My relationship with my mom is similar to the one where you described when we keep everything to ourselves because it’s hard to express the feelings directly to each other, but they would still be there for me in any situation.
oh and just so you know, this is coming from a filipino-american whose mother came from the Philippines to America to “have a better life” as they say. idk if that adds anything to context or however you call it, but I also relate to not following all my parents’ views and beliefs so there was a time where there was a lot of in-fighting between my mom and I (as I used to follow everything she told me to do without question so it was hard to calmly express my feelings and thoughts before which led me to be quick tempered whenever I couldn’t properly express myself to her) though that has calmed down a lot now that I’m post graduating college and am job searching (I’ve also become more confident in what I want to do and who I am so I can better calmly express myself now).
I really loved the film and with your commentary and reaction, I realized there were even more details I haven't noticed ! :D
I loved taking this journey with you guys. And hearing your stories and how you related to it. It’s fun to hear which references you did and did not know!
I feel so old. @1:32 Canada’s most famous people, that I was saying “Celine Dion” and shocked when I didn’t hear her name listed 😳
I know it's not the point of the video but, wow. Lee is amazing, he gets everything and have lot of knowledge surround this media contents.
I'm happy you really liked the movie and you could see yourself in Mei, I cried with you btw, Turning Red never fails to make me cry !
This movie left me in tears. I went in completely blind, hadn't even heard of it until the day I watched it lol. Anyways, your video popped up on my recommendations and decided to click on it. Very insightful review, it was really nice to hear your perspective and getting translations for the signs and chanting were awesome. I had been wondering about them afterward so it was great to get that. Really impressed with his knowledge on history of different cultures, really blew me away. You two were so nice to watch, I went ahead and subscribed and look forward to looking at past videos as well as future ones too. :)
How much does Lee charge for a history/culture lecture ? 😂😂 在歷史和流行文化上有這麼豐富的知識
The rumor of kids in spain not having homework in middle school is false, but i wish
I hope they turn this into a TV show. I would love to explore that world they built and the characters they introduced
For the record, as someone who split their childhood between western countries, I’ve never seen the “inviting all the kids from school to a party at your house while your parents are away” thing in real life, nor anything close to it. I’ve heard people say it’s just certain kids do it, maybe that’s true, but personally it’s as foreign to me as it is for you guys lmao. For me it’s just a movie thing
This was great, super entertaining and interesting to see your reactions and also to gain so much insight not just about the Chinese side but the American side! That comparison to the 60s in America was so interesting and made so much sense but I'd never have thought of that, even though I grew up in a Western country. Please do more movie reactions and things like this where you and Lee can share your experiences and knowledge!
I found the entire conversation from 19:50 onwards really fascinating and amazing to listen to. I would love hearing more discussions like that
I find it incredibly insightful listening from native Chinese people who lived, experienced and grew up in China and their thoughts on this movie in such great detail about every little thing this movie had to show. I believe it's important share and express one's culture with other people like this through the eyes of the people who have experienced these things. Also it would be super validating to hear the words Ming said to Mei from our own parents: _"The further you go, the prouder I'll be."_ whether they have high expectations of how far you will make it or not, or at the very least come to find a closure on terrible relationship to reconcile with them.
I really enjoy watching your conversation go off on a tangent. We can see that you have a great relationship because your conversations are complex and balanced
To answer your question about whether or not western kids can relate to the idea of family first like it's portrayed in this film: It's a little complicate. In a lot of western cultures, family is very important. However, in the late 20th century (especially in the US) western cultures began drifting from the mindset that family is everything. I'll use my own experience as an example.
I'm a relatively young person (30-something) who actually grew up in a very family centric family on both sides. Divorce was even still very taboo on my father's side, which is something that was fairly normal by the time my parents actually divorced here in the US. I was taught that family was the only group of people who would always be there for you no matter what. I was taught that family was more important than any other relationship in my life. That family love is unconditional.
As I grew up in my teens after my parents' divorce, I became more aware of what happened around me. I noticed the generational trauma and toxic relationships in my family that actually stemmed from this idea that family had to be there no matter what. In my family, people took advantage of this. Instead of taking "family is important" to mean that we should treat our family well and be there for them, they took it to mean that family will always be there to excuse or cover up for our bad decisions or horrible actions.
From what I can tell, the family structure that my parents grew up in was very similar to what I saw in this movie and what you talk about in your video. However, I think later generations in the west have taken a more careful approach to family matters, because of the problems that they witnessed in that structure. Personally, I believe in the concept of chosen family. Whether they're my blood or not, if someone is important to me and we treat each other as such, then we're family.
if it wasnt for one of my brothers putting this movie as soon it came out I wouldn't have talked about it to a chinese girl I dated. I'm still ignorant about telling the difference between canto & manderin so I asked her what they were saying in the ritual. She didn't know & later told me it was canto. This was fun movie & liked how it was people of same culture creating this. Like how you guys reference your own experiences
9:45 dodgeball
躲避球
Was not expecting the What Remains of Edith Finch reference, one of my favorite games of all time! Nice!
Apart from the movie reaction itself, I found all the trivia and insights very very interesting. You two are very knowleadgable people!
Amazing video! I loved all of your commentary and translations. You guys had a lot of interesting things to say
I have to admit that I really enjoyed the movie. It was weird and really out there, and that's what I liked about it. I really enjoy when animated projects that don't shy away from family problems, teenage drama or social issues. The characters, animation and voice acting were all done very well. They did a good job of showing how scary changing and growing up can be, but it happens for a reason.
But like any other Disney movie, the problem is mostly resolved to quickly. Forgiving and moving on is important, but its not easy (like they make it seem in their movies). Ming did the exact same thing to Mei that her mother did to her - and she didn't see that? If nothing is ever going to be good enough, you shouldn't push a child to be perfect. Healing can happen...but it takes time.
(Ming shouldn't need to apologize. She may have given her mother that scar, but it was Wu's controlling and overbearing nature that caused such an act.)
People may call the portrayal of Chinese culture in this movie racist or stereotypical; but it isn't if its all fact. Most families of Asian cultures are very controlling and pass that toxic quirk to their children. Parents shouldn't push their desires onto their children, because than the children never get to live their own lives. If your kids rebel, its most likely because you're refusing to listen to them.
If there's a sequel, I seriously hope that Disney doesn't tone down the problems and issues of growing up.
7:56 The snowboots she's wearing is called UGGs and very popular with popular kids
"OMG" is popular to show the "valley girl" type of personality (Paris Hilton). Kids will say it but not every kid will ^^
there have always been generational clashes and i think this is universal...for example...this can be seen in that 70's show. red, the father told foreman, "at your age i was in korea."
This was so cool! You guys caught a lot of references that those of us from the West would probably not catch, and I feel like I learned a lot more about this movie and Chinese culture in general just from watching this! Thank you!
Brilliant reaction! I really appreciated all the cultural insight, its added a lot to my appreciation of this film.
This movie made me cry too, so yeah... like Jessie said, it's also relatable for westerners. (Although my mom's parenting style was very similar to that of Asian parents, so there is that.)
This is the best reaction around! You pay attention to small details that i would never know. Usually i don't like when people talk much during reaction but it's fun watching you guys did that, awesome!
Your record collection behind you is so cool! Maybe a tour some time?
This guy is amazing!! Turning Red to generational differences to Woodstock!
1:18 it's the CN Tower. :) CN was the Canadian National railway, and they built the tower.
I'm american and Lee knows more about the west than I do LOL what a freakin genius