Pixar's Turning Red is a film full of firsts for the company — first woman of color to direct, first animated film for Ludwig Göransson to score, first Pixar film to not only mention but show feminine products — and the first Pixar film to take place in Canada.
Like with all Pixar movies, the animation studio takes its settings seriously. Lucashowcased the boys eating pesto and longing for Vespas to portray its Italian atmosphere. Ratatouillewowed with everyone's favorite animated rat admiring the flickering city lights and the Eiffel Tower. While Turning Red features many nods to Mei's Chinese heritage, it also includes notable sights, brands, and Easter eggs to its primary setting of Toronto, Canada.
CN Tower
One of the first glimpses of Toronto viewers get in the film is when a photo shows Mei and her mother in front of the famous CN Tower. Later in the movie, it appears out in the distance while red panda Mei and her friends sit on a roof as the sun sets behind the landmark.
Built in 1973, the CN Tower — originally known as the Canadian National Tower — has become a 1,800-foot-tall tourist destination, offering thrilling EdgeWalk and dining at 360 Restaurant.
Timbits From Tim Horton's
The morning of Mei's big, red transformation, her parents are seen sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Despite the cutesy eggs-and-bacon smiley face Ming makes for her daughter, you can catch her husband snagging a doughnut hole from a bakery box with a familiar-looking logo.
These little doughnut holes are what Canadians refer to as Timbits, famously sold at coffee-and-doughnut chain Tim Horton's, Canada's version of Dunkin Donuts.
SkyDome
When Mei and her friends finally see their favorite boy band live in Toronto, the concert is held at the SkyDome, where the dreamy 4*Town boys fly through the audience on wires and dance suspiciously similar choreography to that of the Backstreet Boys. That is until Mei's mother's enormous red panda persona destroys the stadium.
While there is no such thing as a SkyDome in Toronto anymore, that's because the venue was renamed Rogers' Centre in 2005. Because this film takes place in 2002, it's still referred to as the SkyDome.
Lester B. Pearson Middle School
Half of the film is set at Mei's school, Lester B. Pearson Middle School, where she meets up with her friends, sells photo shoots with her red panda persona to her classmates, and is mortified by her mother, who is caught spying on her behind trees and whacking out Mei's forgotten pads.
While there is no such middle school with this name in Toronto, it still has a special meaning, named after Canada's former prime minister Lester B. Pearson.
Maitreyi Ramakrishnan As Priya
Mei's friend Priya is sarcastic, gothic, unofficially bisexual, and the future wife of 4*Town's Jesse (or so she wishes). Her portrayer, actress Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, is a nod to Canada in and of herself.
The rising star from the Netflix series Never Have I Ever was born and raised in Mississauga, Ontario, and even deferred her acceptance into Toronto's York University theater program to film Never Have I Ever in Los Angeles.
Blue Jay
Near the end of the film, when the SkyDome is being rebuilt after the "pandapocalypse," a little blue jay can be seen perched on a fence. This is a clear shout-out to baseball team Toronto Blue Jays, who the SkyDome-turned-Rogers'-Centre is home to.
While this bird is used to reference Canada, it's also a typical Pixar Easter egg. The bird is recycled animation and can be found in an episode of Pixar's Dug Days on Disney+.
Maple Leaf T-shirt
When Mei poofs in and out of panda form in her bedroom, she's seen wearing what looks to be a white nightshirt with a big, red maple leaf on the front and matching red rings on the sleeves.
This shirt is a direct nod to one of the known symbols of Canada and their national tree, and a similar style has even been sold by clothing brand The Goozler.
Daisy Mart
The Daisy Mart is the little convenience store where Mei and her friends peak through the store windows and pine over the bored-out-of-his-brains clerk, Devon. It's later where Mei's mother storms off to and reveals her daughter's private drawings of her crush, to which every viewer on and off the screen watched on in horror.
A fun tidbit about the Daisy Mart is that it's not a made-up convenience store but a real-life chain of stores in Canada of the same name. Director Domee Shieven said in a promotional video, "I love that we give a shout-out to Daisy Mart!"
Chinatown
Chinatown's gorgeous colors and architecture play a considerable part in Turning Red, where Mei lives and works at her family's temple with her parents.
Chinatown has been a huge part of Toronto since the 1950s, and the movie's version even includes a restaurant called Bao, a nod to director Domee Shi's Oscar-winning 2018 Pixar short.
TTC Metropass And Buses
One of the things Mei is most excited about when she turns 13 is how she gets to have her Metropass for the Toronto Transit Commission. When the movie shows a close-up of the pass, it's almost identical to the actual passes used in 2002, minus the actual TTC logo.
The specific color and shape of the buses were also well-known in Toronto in the early 2000s, and the TTC even brought back a retired streetcar just for the Turning Red cast in celebration of the movie's release.
