Thanks to the creativity of the director Dome Shianimation fans have discovered “Red: Growing up is a Beast”, a film which premiered in March 2022 and which tells the story of Mei Leea 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl who turns into a giant red panda whenever she gets nervous or anxious.

However, more than 20 years ago, in the 90s, game lovers had the opportunity to play for the first time the title created by Satoshi Tajiri: Pokémon, a series of games that began with the launch of ‘Pokémon Red Version’ and ‘Pokémon Blue Version’ for Gameboy, and quickly expanded to include TV series, movies, manga, toys and games. collectibles.

With just the main descriptions of the two titles above, it’s hard to relate the two works, however, in an interview with The Washington Post, Shitold what is the link between his film and the productions of Satoshi Tajirirevealing that the Pokémon games were the original inspiration for the feature film which follows Mei Lee’s puberty transformations, new passions, and conflicts with her mother.

How did Pokémon inspire the creation of “Red: Growing up is a Beast”?

It is true that ‘Red: Growing up is a beast‘ brings some elements of the personal life of Shilike the character’s nationality, which like its creator is Chinese-Canadian, but in addition, the contents that were part of its childhood were also portrayed in the film, in one way or another.

This is because, during the conversation with the Washington Post, Shi said he watched fan-translated anime episodes and secretly played Nintendo games. So through that experience, combined with the love that the production designer, Rona Liushared by Nintendo, the film’s look ended up being inspired by titles like “Pokemon”:

We both love that chunky, fluffy aesthetic, and it’s definitely been enhanced by playing Nintendo games like ‘Pokémon’ like ‘EarthBound’,” Shi said. So attractive, sturdy, and cute. When we were reviewing the developing our movie look, we watched ‘Breath of the Wild’ and thought, ‘Wow, how are they able to make the world look so beautiful and rich, but can you still simplify it ?’ ”

Still, these are just some of the film’s inspirations, as 4*Town, the boy band adored by Mei Lee and her friends in the plot, has elements of Korean pop music, as well as, in the scene. where the character scribbles a manga under the bed that features images adapted from Japanese comics like “One Piece” and “Sailor Moon,” as mentioned by TWP.