Meilin Lee

“	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 Lee's introduction in the opening scene

Background

Meilin "Mei" Lee is the protagonist of Disney•Pixar's 2022 animated feature film, Turning Red. She is a confident, dorky thirteen-year-old torn between staying her mother's dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Whenever her emotions get the better of her (whether it be getting too excited or too scared), she turns into a giant red panda and has to calm herself in order to change back.

This dropdown contains the synopsis of Mulan's story. Read at your own risk as you may be spoiled otherwise!

Mei, right off the bat, is shown to be a very headstrong 13-year-old girl, full of personality and confidence. Mei is first heard at the beginning of the film, explaining the reasons you should respect your parents, describing them to be “the superior beings that gave you life.” Mei then goes on that it's only obvious that you should give them everything they desire of you. However, Mei points out a flaw, repeating a saying that reads, “If you respect your parents too much, you'll forget to respect yourself.” However, Mei flaunts that she doesn't need to worry about that, going on to fully introduce herself as she walks down a sidewalk in Toronto. Mei explains however since she turned thirteen, she's been doing her own thing, wearing what she wants and saying what she wants “twenty four-seven, three sixty-five.” As she gets on the bus, Mei explains that she's an adult now, at least, according to the Toronto express, while showing her bus pass to the bus driver, who congratulates her uncomfortably. Mei then whips out her math homework and pencil, beginning to work on the bus. She then talks to another commuter, telling them that it's all about the hustle. Mei then makes it to her school, busting in through the doors. With her flute case handle in her mouth, she yells out for the besties to assemble, naming all of her best friends; Miriam, Priya and Abby. They all put their hands together and trill. Then we see a montage of Mei, answering math questions, and French questions. Mei is then seen aggressively playing her flute in band class. Mei then explains that she's in the eighth grade, saying she doesn't have time to mess around. When she leaves from school she meets up with her friends and then go to check out the store clerk Devon, Who Mei isn't fond of at all first glance. She shows her besties that the ideal men are 4✩Town, she and her friends are "4✩Townees" and its always ride or die for all of them. Miriam then challenges Mei to some test which she has to sing with her friends, She is then rewarded a disc. Her friends ask her if she wants to go out to karaoke, But Mei denies the offer to go and work at the temple with the one she looks very highly upon; Ming. She guides tourist to teach them facts about the temple and the legend of Sun Yee. After her work shift, Mei goes into her room to study and then catches trace of her sketching Devon. She bluffs at first saying he isn't that hot, but then looses thought into his appearance until she ends up drawing him completely. Getting lost in her daydreams, Mei hides under her bed and shifts more pages and makes more strokes with the pencil she has, covering the whole notebook left right and center with Devon. This however is stopped by Ming entering. Mei hops onto the bed trying her best to keep on a straight face, yet desperately wishing for Ming to not look at the notebook. But that said notebook was peeking out of the sheets. Mei stops Ming, however it was too late, as Ming drives to daisy mart in a fit of rage. With all the exposure and humiliation she is given Mei wanted to just shout at Ming but couldn't. On the way home Mei reassures her mother that everything is "all good".....When it obviously isn't. As she throws a fit at herself for letting her own mother down. She promises herself to never do that to Ming ever again, and settles herself to sleep. During her slumber, She has a vivid nightmare with lots of red imagery, that ends with the 2 red pandas in the tapestry leaping out and merging into Mei, and manifests into a physical red panda form for herself. She is unaware of this newly gained form however, considering she just woke up. She starts her daily routine and then sees a unfamiliar being in the mirror, She bends down to see that said being has her own eyes. She screams and in absolute shock and utter disbelief, cannot believe at all that that red panda is her, with her weight being too big for her, and her scent being rancid, She believes that she is still inside a dream and begs herself to wake up. Hearing the calls of Ming panics her, she first tries the window for escape, and then gets her foot stuck in the toilet. She then dashes into the shower curtains. Mei begs Ming to leave, Even snapping at her at times, and then breaks into tears saying that she is a "Gross red monster". Mei murmurs to herself "no" when Ming pulls the curtains open slowly, When she notices Ming leaves the bathroom. She takes this time by dashing into her room and hops onto her bed which breaks under her weight, and goes to sleep. Until the effects of the transformation reverse for her, first by her ears, and then her tail. She then takes to brushes to further calm herself down, which reverses her transformation, but gets a little too ecstatic and then transforms into a red panda again. She however notices that the key to not be a red panda is to remain emotionally calm. She tries to reassure herself that she is "Calm" and "Zen". She returns into a human again and then says "yes" in a more calmer way. Then she takes notice that her hair color has taken affect by the transformation, with her black locks now gone, being replaced with red. She then goes onto her bed and knows that this is not a dream and in fact reality, She tells herself that its gonna be fine. Later in the day Ming takes Mei to school, Mei is now wearing a beanie to hide the change. Ming hopes for her best, as Mei gives a fake smile with two thumbs up, as she goes into the school. She goes into the school to meet with her friends, but she is acting oddly monotonous. Her friends take notice that she is acting very uncharacteristic, and wonder if she's alright. Mei notices a guy that passes by her and she gets lovestruck. She gets back to her senses by Miriam and her friends notice Tyler exposing Mei for her love of Devon. Mei gets so mad that her powers show up again. Mei hides her paw, and then her tail appears, which she cannot hide despite her desperate attempt. Mei then dashes into her math class, and her tail disappears. She takes her math class as Miriam passes a note to Mei that reads "are you ok?" which Mei writes back "Yep!" and then another note gets passed to her that notifies her "Your Mom is outside." Mei then panics and hides from Ming's sight. Until too much emotional pressure gets onto her and she transforms into a red panda. She then notices that she is gonna be caught by a lot of people seeing her, and being seen by people did happen. Mei goes out of the school and to her house as quick as she can. Along the way Mei causes some damage to the town trying to escape. Even spotting Devon at one point. She then tries to calm down while in tears when Ming sees and knows that Mei has transformed. After Jin says that "it has happened already" Mei slowly gets up from the sheets slowly asking "What did you say?" She learns the story of Sun Yee and how she gained her power. She is told that this blessing became some "inconvenience". But Mei with a slow realization that becomes pure fury calls it out as a curse. She attempts to attack the tapestry as Ming and Jin hold her back and tell her that there is a cure for her. There is a ritual that seals the red panda spirit into a jewelry piece, But Ming tells her that the more Mei transforms the harder it is for the ritual be done. Mei and her family take all the stuff out of her room leaving only her bed sheet, Winifred, pillow, and blanket. Her rooms gonna remain like that for a while. Mei hears her parents talking through the closed door, and cries in her sleep, which transforms her. Next morning Mei wrestles with her red panda form, trying her best to keep it in, But there is no use. Mei notices her friends arrived, she keeps her friends out until she takes notice that 4✩Town is coming to Toronto, exposing herself to her friends. They get scared by her presence, as Mei takes in her friends to tell her that red panda is her, and tells them all to chill. Mei then notices Priya and Abby like her red panda form a lot. Mei then tells her friends that this form is a inconvenient genetic thing, and has hope that it will go away. Until she breaks into tears, knowing all of this is too much for her, and 4✩Town's arrival might not help it. Believing she has no hope that this form will go away from her and tells her friends to go on without her. But with an acapella version of "Nobody Like U" Mei cheers up and thanks her friends. This calms herself into her human form, Her friends are impressed by the new red color she has on her hair. Abby kind of disappointed her red panda forms not present, pinches her cheek. Which Mei takes notice that she didn't transform this time, and asks fort Abby to hit her, which didn't transform her yet again. She then notices her friends are the people that help her maintain this panda. Then she hides her friends when Ming comes and tells her that she is ready for the trigger test. She is then tested to see if she can keep it in which she knows she can by the plan she has, She maintains herself and almost slips on the 3rd testing, but then keeps the thought of her friends in her mind and passes the 3rd test, and then endures the 4th one, which is a box of kitties. Mei almost looses it but then visualizes the cats as her friends, and keeps calm. Passing the test entirely and telling them that she thinks of the ones she loves, which she lies and says that her parents are those ones. She then asks them for one request, To go to a 4✩Town concert. Which is turned down by Ming way too quickly because Mei will loose it and become a panda way too quickly, Mei gets mad at this and takes all the stuff she set up away. It turns out that Mei's Damage was on the news and unknown to her, Ming's Grandma and reinforcements on on their way. During dodgeball Mei and her friends are all annoyed that they didn't manage to get tickets for the 4✩Town concert, Miriam quickly gets trace of Ming spectating Mei, Which Tyler teases her for calling her a "Mama's girl". Mei slowly gets mad and turns her hand into that of a red pandas, and throws the ball so fast it breaks a window. She is then takin into the bathroom to tell her friends she can't take it anymore getting tired of being the "perfect little mei-mei" for Ming. Mei then notices that Abby wants her to be a red panda, Abby brings the hug in on Mei as she fantasizes about a mermaid Robaire. She transforms again and then gets caught by Stacy and her group of people, Her friends hide her in the bathroom. Mei expects Stacy to not be so fond of it. But the response is surprisingly different, as Stacy and her friends would do so much as give their own liver for it. Mei and her friends know the source to make money for. Mei commences "Operation 4✩Town shake down". Mei and her friends operate the plan by directing students to Room 202 for "panda pics" Then Mei's panda form becomes a hit among the school, with T-shirts, prop Panda ears and Tails etc. Mei hides all this stuff underneath her bed, knowing that her and her friends are gonna get that $800 for the tickets in no time. Mei and her friends are working on some red panda pendants. Mei then sees 3 guys and makes the flirt that "Are you a triangle? cause you Acute!" Tyler then thinks of snitching Mei to Ming about her Panda form flocking about. Which Mei gets up to Tyler's face about, shouting at him he has nothing to do with this. Tyler then tells her that he will to tell it to Ming unless if she did one thing. Join Tyler's Birthday as a red panda. She reluctantly agrees, and then prepares for the party. Ming however wants to go with Mei. Mei gets very scared of this and begs her not to follow her, Then her aunts come in along with Ming's grandmother; Wu. Mei then has to be stuck with her aunts for a while, As Tyler and her friends await her appearance. Mei then attempts to leave. But not before Wu comes in and tells her that she has a tuft of her red panda fur, and how dangerous the red panda is, and that she cannot transform too often. Mei then escapes to go to the party. Then Mei arrives at the party...the party however is ruined when Mei appears in a cheaply made red panda outfit. Tyler says that she needs to become a panda and calls this whole party a sellout. Mei then tells she cannot transform cause she is afraid that the red panda is too dangerous to keep. But after she notices her friends agree to not want to get tickets at all. She then endures the temptation and turns into a red panda. And then the party gets moving, as Mei dances with everybody and people ride upon her. Mei and her friends chill on the roof and talk about how all of them finally get to meet 4✩Town and get excited till Mei and her friends take notice on the radio that the 4✩Town tour to Toronto on the 25. Mei gets angry knowing that the ritual will also be on the same exact day. Tyler demands Mei a ride when she clearly isn't in the mood. She and him argue until Mei jumps off the roof and attacks Tyler. Ming was called to Tyler's house and scolds her friends for rotting Mei's brain to get 4✩Town tickets. Mei wants to tell the truth to Ming but falls silent. She is then taken home to prep for the ritual that night. During the night of May 25th. Mei and her family eat a meal before the ritual. She has to not let any of her female family member's down. She then gets dressed in her ritual outfit, and gets a horrible flashback of her red panda form harming Tyler. She gets scared and then settles that she does want her panda spirit out of her. Then Jin tells her that some moments of her being a red panda made him laugh. Jin then tells her that her mother got into a fight with her grandmother because of her wanting to love him. Mei then is called to start the ritual. She is settled into a circle made of chalk, and then her family sing's in Mandarin. With Mr. Gao telling her to let the harmonizing voices guide her to the astral realm. She focuses on the voices and then her spirit goes out of her body and into the heavens, straight to the astral realm. Mei then walks past some bamboo sticks and then meets Sun Yee's ghost. Sun Yee then forms a mirror for her to go through. She walks closer to her reflection to be met with herself with black hair. She phases her hands through the mirror, which her paws appear from the opposite end. She hesitates a bit, and then goes into the mirror with all the force she got. She goes through an unbearable pain, but pushes herself through. But one glance at her red panda spirit, And all the memories of her being a red panda and cherishing every bit of it, through good and bad came back to her. Mei then rejects getting healed all together and fuses into her red panda spirit, coming back as a red panda. Mei then notices that Ming wants Mei to start the ritual over again. But Mei refuses to finish it and escapes the temple to go to the concert. Mei runs through the streets and roads, and then transforms which shoots her into the air this time. Mei gets scared by the impact at first...but then notices she gains temporary flight with this method. Using that method, Mei jumps and leaps switching between human and red panda forms to get to the concert fast. She then sky dives into the crowd to get to Miriam, Priya and Abby. She transforms to a human to soften the fall, and tells her that she came back to watch the concert and couldn't do the ritual. Miriam is disappointed with Mei and tells her that she isn't part of the group. But it doesn't take too long for Mei to take notice that Miriam was keeping check of Robaire Jr. and then gets together with her friends. Then they notice that Tyler is also a 4✩Townee himself, and get very excited. Then the concert begins, Mei gets very immersed in the concert and climbs up some people to touch Robaire's hand, Until Ming as a giant red panda (But drastically bigger then Mei.) crashes the party. She gets Mei by the paw and shouts at her saying that this isn't her. Mei says that it is. Mei comes clean to Ming with everything she has done, claiming that she does like boy's She does like music, and she does like gyrating. Wu tells Mei to keep Ming busy, Which Mei accepts. Mei then runs from Ming, Who tells Mei that "How can she be so crass?" Mei then challenges Ming by showing her something that is truly crass, Mei then shakes her tush right Infront of Ming. Ming finds this repulsive, and backs away from seeing it. Her friends and Tyler all root for her. Mei shouts at Ming to "Take it!". Ming hits Mei with her tail. Mei shouts her mother that all she wanted to do was go to a concert. Ming retorts by saying she always puts her family first. She tells her that she was always wanted to be the perfect daughter. Mei then tells Ming that she is never perfect, and tells her that she is sorry that she will never be like her. Flying to Ming and knocking her out with a headbutt to the face. Mei then attempts to wake up Ming and bring her back into the circle. Mei's female family members and grandmother then come to her assistance. They sing the ritual. With her friends and 4✩Town joining in the song by singing Nobody like U. Then the whole crowd joins in and Mei and her female siblings all ascend into the astral realm altogether. Mei then goes to find Ming in the astral realm, only to find her as a 16 year old. Ming cries saying that she had hurt her mother and she was never the perfect daughter for her at all. Mei then tells her that she knows. Mei takes her hand and walks with her as Ming grows up to her current age. They meet their female family members. Ming apologizes to Wu, and Wu hugs her telling her she has nothing to apologize about. Mei watches as her Mom, grandmother, and aunts all enter the mirror, and diffuse with their red panda spirits. Mei tells Ming that she is not separating from her spirit, and Ming tells her that she will go by with her on that decision all the way through. The mirror disappears, and Sun Yee flies Mei to the moon, and then sends her back to the mortal world. Mei is now shown that ever since she was 13, it has been a lot, with the whole "pandapocolypse", but Mei and Ming call it "growing pains". They then get ready for their next tour guiding, selling merch alongside to raise money to rebuild Skydome. Mei meets with her friends with Tyler now added alongside the group. Miriam asks to go to karaoke with them, Mei accepts and then turns into a human, however having her ears and tail present. Ming then notices this and Mei responds with "My panda, My choice." Mei then leaves to go sing with her friends, and knows that some people don't let their inner red panda out, but she did.

Statistics

Tier: 10-B, At least 9-B likely higher in red panda form

Name: Meilin Lee

Origin: Turning Red

Sex: Female

Age: 13 years old

Classification: Human

Dimensionality: 3-D

Attack Potency: Human level, At least Wall level (Mei could throw a ball so fast it caught fire), likely higher (Mei could knock out her mother with a headbutt) in red panda form

Durability: Human level, At least Wall level, likely higher in red panda form

Striking Strength: Human Class, At least Wall level, likely higher in red panda form

Lifting Strength: Average Human, higher in red panda form

Travel Speed: Normal Human, Peak Human (Red pandas can run 24 mph)

Combat Speed: Peak Human, possibly Supersonic

Reaction Speed: Peak Human, possibly Supersonic (Comparable to Tyler who could dodge Mei's dodgeball)

Stamina: Unknown

Range: Standard Melee, higher in panda form, Extended Melee by transforming

Intelligence: Gifted (Mei is a straight A student who is proficient in french and in playing the flute, she also made merchandise to make more money in order to attend a 4town concert)

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Powers and Abilities

Multilingualism (Mei can speak both english and french), Human Achievements (Mei can play the flute), Breaking the Fourth Wall (Meilin speaks to the audience during the intro), Minor Sheer Will (Meilin can keep herself calm by thinking of people she loves), Transformation, Air Manipulation, Smoke Manipulation and Limited Flight (Type 3; Mei can turn into a giant red panda which cause a large burst of air along with pink smoke which she can use to remain air born), Limited Resistance to Sealing (Mei must agree to seal away her panda spirit)

Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Enhanced Senses, Natural Weaponry (With Claws and teeth), Acrobatics (Mei can jump large distances), Camouflage (Red Panda use their fur for camouflage), Resistance to Poison Manipulation (Red pandas can eat raw bamboo which contains cyanide)

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Standard Equipment

Nothing Notable

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Other

Standard Tactics: Mei uses her transformation to outmaneuvers her opponent while using her panda form to attack

Weaknesses: Mei can lose control of her emotions

Battle Records

None.

None.

None.