Who Voices Meilin In Turning Red?

"Turning Red" is the latest offering from Pixar destined for Disney+ on March 11. The film, which is largely based on the life experiences of director Domee Shi, centers its story on a young girl named Meilin living in Toronto, Canada, who finds herself trying to balance her relationship with her mother (voiced by Sandra Oh) with her desire to act out in rebellious ways. The added wrinkle to the equation? Whenever she gets excited, she turns into a giant red panda-like creature.

Early reviews for "Turning Red" have been overwhelmingly positive thus far (via Rotten Tomatoes), with critics praising the direction of filmmaker Domee Shi for her ability to tell a universal story through a very specific cultural lens. Like her earlier work on Pixar's "Bao" (which was released ahead of screenings of "The Incredibles 2"), "Turning Red" uses outlandish storytelling techniques to explore very real themes that audiences can understand. In "Bao," it was the feeling of being the parent of an adult child and dealing with an empty nest, and in "Turning Red," it is the feeling of (literally) changing as one grows up and exits childhood.

One of the most widely-praised elements of "Turning Red" is the film's central performance. Meilin has quickly become a fan-favorite element of the movie, and much of that is due to the actress behind the character. With that in-mind, let's take a look at the performer who helped bring the animated protagonist of "Turning Red" to life.

Meilin is voiced by Rosalie Chiang. A young actress born in California's Bay Area, she is relatively new to the Hollywood scene with very few IMDb credits to her name. Chiang was hired for "Turning Red" very early in the development of the project. The creative team brought her aboard in 2017 to provide "scratch vocals" when she was only 12. These vocals were intended to be temporary until another voice actor could be found. Still, director Domee Shi became so fond of the performance that she actually kept Chiang aboard the project.

Despite her relative newness in the entertainment world, Chiang is a notable fan of animation. In fact, in a recent interview with SF Chronicle (the same interview that chronicled her journey from scratch vocalist to movie star) she admitted that her favorite film is the 1997 anime "Perfect Blue." Moreover, her favorite actress is Nancy Cartwright, the iconic voice of Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Ralph Wiggum, and many more on "The Simpsons."

In terms of major credits, "Turning Red" is Rosalie Chiang's first feature and voice role. However, prior to her work on the latest entry in the Pixar library, she had appeared in projects such as "The Interns" and "Soiled" as well as on two episodes of the TV series "Clique Wars." With "Turning Red" debuting on Disney+, it seems reasonable to assume that Chiang is about to be introduced to a much broader pool of potential fans.