Mumbai, Mar 2 (IANS): For Domee Shi, the director of the upcoming animated coming-of-age fantasy comedy 'Turning Red', the film reflects her relationship with her mother and a lot of instances from her childhood have found their way in the film's narrative.

Drawing parallels between the film's lead character Mei Lee and herself, the director said, "'Turning Red' is inspired by my own relationship with my mother. I was born in Chongqing, China, and immigrated to Toronto, Canada, when I was two years old. And like Mei Lee in the movie, I am an only child."

"I was always very, very close with my parents, especially my mom, since my dad had to go away often for work and we were like two peas in a pod. We literally did everything together. We commuted to downtown just work and school together, we went on vacations together", Shi added.

'Turning Red', a Disney and Pixar joint production presents a wild journey of its lead character Mei Lei, who has to overcome her biggest weakness triggered by her emotions that turn her into a giant Red Panda. The film, written by Domee Shi and Julia Cho and produced by Lindsey Collins features voice talents like Rosalie Chiang, Sandra Oh, Orion Lee, Ava Morse, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Hyein Park, Wai Ching Ho and James Hong.

'Turning Red' will be available to stream on Disney+ Hotstar from March 11 in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam.