Why Mei's Mom in “Turning Red” Sounds So Familiar

In “Turning Red” Rosalie Chiang voices main character Mei Lee. Prior to her role in the film, Rosalie acted in the TV series “Clique Wars” and a few short films. The actress was originally hired as a “scratch voice” for “Turning Red” in the early stages of producing the film, but director Domee Shi realised over time that Rosalie was the only option for the voice of Mei.

Shi told “The San Francisco Chronicle,” “The role of Mei and Rosalie had become way too intertwined. She had just infused herself into the role.”

Actress Sandra Oh is known for her extensive career in both film and television, with her most notable roles including Dr. Cristina Yang in “Grey’s Anatomy” and Eve Polastri in “Killing Eve.” In “Turning Red,” Oh voices Ming Lee, Mei’s overprotective, but loving mother.

For the character of Ming, Oh drew from her own personal experiences, telling Looper, “I guess, for me, to represent the parents in this film – because the film is about Mei – but to represent Ming well, I absolutely drew from my own experience. The experience of loving your child, and then having to let them go, is a very difficult part about parenting.” As of 2022, Oh is also the voice behind Debbie Grayson on the Amazon Prime animated series “Invincible.”

Esteemed actor Orion Lee has a career that spans across theater, television, and film. Alongside playing Mei’s father, Jin Lee, in “Turning Red,” the actor is also known for his roles in “Star Wars: Episode III- The Last Jedi” and A24’s “First Cow.”

Mei’s supportive, empathetic friend Miriam is voiced by Ava Morse. Though Morse is less established in her career, she’s appeared in a few notable titles, including “Chicago P.D.” and “Ron’s Gone Wrong.” Alongside acting, the actress also released her first EP “Close My Eyes” in 2019 and trains in dance, according to her website.

Another girl in Mei’s friend group, Priya, is voiced by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan. The actress is best known as Devi Vishwakumar from Netflix’s coming-of-age series “Never Have I Ever.” She’ll also voices pony Zipp Storm in the upcoming Netflix animated series “My Little Pony: Make Your Mark.”

“Turning Red” is Hyein Park’s first acting role, and she voices Mei’s friend Abby. While it is Park’s first role as an actor, it’s not her first rodeo with Pixar. The actress has worked as a storyboard artist for films “Toy Story 4” and “Soul,” as well as short films “22 vs. Earth” and “Bao,” which was directed by none other than Domee Shi.

Tristan Allerick Chen voices Mei’s bully-turned-fellow 4*Town fan bestie, Tyler. Chen has an extensive voice acting career, having also voiced characters in projects such as “Poupelle of Chimney Town,” “Ron’s Gone Wrong,” and “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.”