Shang-Chi’s Parents Meet Turning Red’s Mei in Pixar/Marvel Crossover Art
Hilarious crossover fan art has Turning Red's Mei run into Shang-Chi's parents in a bamboo forest. Produced by Pixar, Turning Red tells the story of Mei Lee, a girl who discovers she can turn into a giant red panda after she turns thirteen. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, meanwhile, is the MCU adaptation of the Marvel Comics superhero, and both movies were historic instances of representation for their respective studios.
Although both Turning Red and Shang-Chi focus on Asian immigrant families, the two films' worlds have very little in common. Mei's journey in Turning Red takes her through a very relatable coming-of-age conflict with her mother, and her magical red panda transformation serves as a metaphor for puberty, among other things. Meanwhile, Shang-Chi's ultimate conflict comes from outside the hero's family and has potentially world-ending consequences. One thing the two films do share is imagery connected to Chinese culture, such as the bamboo forest that Mei and her mother reconcile in at the end of Turning Red. A similar bamboo forest where Shang-Chi's parents, Wenwu and Ying Li, first meet hides the entrance to Ta Lo in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
Picking up on the similarity, Instagram user raychelwho posts an adorable fan-made comic combining Turning Red and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. In the short six-panel comic, Turning Red's emotional ending between Mei and her mother gets a humorous twist, with the pair discovering Shang-Chi's parents flirting over some steamed dumplings as they walk through the bamboo forest. Mei and her mother respond perfectly in character, with shock at the PDA showing on their faces, while both Wenwu and Ying Li blush. Check out raychelwho's comic below:
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Although this Pixar/MCU crossover meeting is highly unlikely - if not completely impossible - the comic struck a chord for many fans. Several commenters on the Instagram post noted that they also thought of Wenwu and Ying Li when they saw the bamboo forest in Turning Red. Still, even if a Marvel/Pixar crossover will never actually happen, raychelwho's comic illustrates the comedic potential in the what-if moment.
In addition to the critical acclaim each film received, both Turning Red, as the first Pixar film solo-directed by a woman and the second with an Asian lead, and Shang-Chi, as the first Marvel film with an Asian headliner, served as important milestones for Hollywood representation. It is a positive step forward that will hopefully be continued in future projects. For now, fans of both Turning Red and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings will continue to show their love for the films online.
Source: raychelwho