- “People have all kinds of sides to them, Mei. And some sides are... messy. The point isn't to push the bad stuff away. It's to... make room for it. Live with it.”
- ―Jin when talking to Mei about her panda form before the ritual.
Jin Lee is a supporting character in Disney•Pixar's 2022 animated feature film Turning Red. He is Mei's soft-but-stoic father, who is aware of his daughter's weird abilities.
Background[]
Official Description[]
- Jin is the quiet, steady presence in the Lee family works hard and aspires to a life of simple pleasures: cooking a good meal for his family, sneaking the occasional donut, and gardening. He's a necessary balance to his strong-willed wife Ming, and a doting and loving father to his daughter Mei. But when an ancient phenomenon throws his family into chaos, Jin's quiet life is upended.[1]
Personality[]
Jin is a quiet man, a steady presence in his family. He is a hard worker who wishes only for a simple life of small pleasures: cooking for his family, gardening, and sneaking the occasional Timbit. He is a necessary balance to Ming, his strong-willed wife, as he is there to keep her grounded. Though he is not as close to their daughter Meilin as Ming is, he nonetheless loves Mei very much. He can switch between offering words of wisdom and funny dad jokes. When Mei's powers activate, Jin's quiet life is thrown into chaos. While Ming is very averse to Mei's ancestral gift, Jin is a bit more patient with the strange phenomenon and tries his best to help his daughter through it.[2]
Having witnessed his wife go through the Panda transformation before, Jin somewhat agreed with his wife and relatives that Mei should go through the sealing ritual, but after seeing footage of Mei with her friends, where Mei was able to be herself thanks to the panda transformation giving her the confidence to do so, Jin understood and remembered that Mei was growing up and becoming her own person, something his wife had forgotten, and encouraged Mei to choose for herself what she wanted while giving her some needed advice and wisdom regarding how people change as they grow, gaining new sides of themselves, and that some sides can be messy. But the point of growing up wasn't to get rid of those messy sides by pushing it away, but to make room for them and learn to live with them, so that one can find peace within themselves. He tells her that she can erase the footage if she wants, but seeing that side of her (her panda form) makes him laugh.
Physical Appearance[]
Jin is an average height, adult, Chinese-Canadian man with light skin, black hair, and brown eyes. He also wears glasses, just like his daughter, Mei. He is typically seen in a light collared shirt and jeans. When cooking, he adopts a blue and red apron.
Appearances[]
Turning Red[]
Jin is first seen preparing dinner for his family where he is seen stir frying meat, cabbage, and chili peppers on it while adding some salt on it as well as cooking dumplings just as Mei's father sees his wife and daughter watching television. He then calls Mei and her mother that he made dinner. The next day while Ming prepares a congee for Mei's breakfast, Jin attempts to eat a donut hole but his wife tells him not to eat donuts for breakfast. He later reacts to Mei Lee who finds herself as a red panda just as he and his wife try to solve the situation about what is going on when Mei keeps turning into a red panda to which Mei couldn't reason to know what is happening to her. As Mei tries discuss what is happening to her as a red panda, Ming suddenly hears an alarm coming from Jin's overcooked porridge just as he grabs the extinguisher to extinguish the smoke. Back at home, Ming and her husband prepare a bed big enough for Mei in case she transforms into a giant red panda just as she explains to Mei that this bed is temporary just before saying good night to her.
As Mei returns home, Jin sees his daughter who transformed into a red panda just as he tells his wife to take his daughter to the Sun Yee Hall. Jin then listens to his wife telling a story of how Sun Yee had a mystical connection with red pandas. As Ming is discussing with her daughter about why she must banish the spirit, Jin points to the calendar and explains that the next lunar eclipse will be on May 25, 2002, on a Saturday. Back at home, Jin and his wife prepare a bed big enough for Mei in case she transforms into a giant red panda just as he gives her plush dog Wilfred to her as his wife explains that this bed is temporary just before leaving as Jin explains to his daughter that red is a lucky color.
The next day, Jin reacts to Mei hitting the walls as a red panda just as his coffee maker almost falls to which he manages to catch it. Later, Mei discusses with her parents at the dining room to make sure she can control her emotions to which Jin shows pictures of a clear cut, an unhappy orangutan, and Mei herself in second place during spelling bee while Mei tries to think that these pictures are the one that give Mei negative energy. After doing so, Jin then shows his daughter a box full of kittens to which Mei decides to calm herself to which Jin reacts to his daughter who is happy that she can handle controlling her emotions to avoid turning into a red panda as Mei explains to her parents that when she starts to get emotional, all she does is to think positive about the people she loves the most in the whole world.
During the discussion between Ming and her daughter, Jin tells his wife that they should trust their daughter, she replies that she doesn't trust the band 4*Town to which Mei tells her mother that she wants to broaden her musical horizons to which Ming tells her daughter that attending the concert is not worth jeopardizing her life. As Mei leaves, Ming talks to her husband about Mei's interests for attending 4*Town performing on stage, fearing that she would waste too much money for attending the concert. After Mei does a plan to accumulate $800 to purchase four concert tickets to see 4*Town performing at the SkyDome, Jin is seen at the dining room having dinner with his wife, only for Mei to go to her room to put the items under her bed.
During the lunar eclipse on the same day as 4*Town performing at the SkyDome, Jin is seen having dinner with his family at the Lee Family's Temple to help Mei get ready for the ritual and after dinner with the family, Grandma Wu then tells Jin to clear the table. While clearing the table, Jin becomes distracted using his camera seeing his daughter's moments in helping earn money for the tickets for 4*Town. He then enters Mei in her room who tells him that the panda spirit has gone out of control which Jin curiously asks his daughter about what she told her about the red panda. While discussing with Mei, Jin tells her that her grandmother Wu didn't approve of him after having a terrible fight with her mother Ming, explaining to Mei that people have all kinds of sides to them with some sides leading to disadvantages. Ming tells her daughter to get ready for the ritual just as Jin clears the table away while Mr. Gao draws a white circle to send Mei to the astral realm so that she can have a chance to banish the red panda spirit. During the ritual, Jin joins in the singing alongside the rest of Mei's family members while Mr. Gao speaks to Sun Yee to send Mei to the astral real, so that she can have a chance to banish the red panda spirit. The ritual was unsuccessful as Mei instead decides to go to the SkyDome to catch up with her friends, much to her family members' worry and Ming's fury.
As Ming Lee in her red panda form arrives and causes rampage across the SkyDome, Jin and the rest of Mei's family and Mr. Gao plan to do the ritual again to send Ming to the astral realm to which as Mei's grandmother and aunties sing the ritual song, Jin uses a line marker to draw a circle to send Ming to the astral realm and as he completes it, Jin joins in the singing while Mr. Gao helps Mei's family send Ming to the astral realm. Later when Mei's grandmother and aunties plan to bring Ming Lee into the circle outline to send Ming to the astral realm, Jin tells them to sing louder to make open the portal sending Ming to the astral realm along with Mr. Gao doing the same plan to send Ming to the astral realm; Miriam, Priya, Abby, and the rest of the 4*Town members then sing along, successfully sending Ming to the spiritual realm.
The next day, Mei decides to keep her red panda spirit, the Lee Family's Temple suddenly reopens, Jin guides visitors across the temple grounds with Ming raising a charity to rebuild the SkyDome. Soon as Mei approaches her friends Miriam, Priya, and Abby, Ming allows her daughter to hang out with them while Ming and her husband Jin continue guiding visitors at the Lee Family's Temple.
During a post-credits scene, Jin is seen dancing and listening to the song "U Know What's Up" by 4*Town while Mei tries to get her father's attention.
Trivia[]
- He is secretly a 4★Town fan, as shown when he dances to their songs in the basement during the post-credits scene.
- Jin is represented by bland beige colors. At first glance, this would represent his lack of action or control, as his wife is more dominant, as well as his somewhat conservative demeanor. However, this also references his safe and comforting side, as he finally manages to tell Mei exactly what she needs to hear when she finally decides to keep the panda power.
- Jin shares the same surname as his voice actor, Orion Lee.
- At one point during the climax of the film where the Lee family and Mr. Gao are at the SkyDome, Jin is seen using a line marker, "The Chalker", labeled as "Professional Model A113".
Gallery[]
Screenshots[]
Miscellaneous[]
References[]
- ↑ Team, D23 (March 10, 2022). "Meet the Characters of Turning Red". D23.
- ↑ Turning Red Advance Disney
External links[]
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