Turning Red’s star explains her favorite line that was cut from the movie

It’s hard to imagine Turning Red’s Meilin Lee without Rosalie Chiang’s voice-over. From the passionate “AWOOOGA” to the big, sniffly crying, Chiang imbues the plucky 13-year-old protagonist of Pixar’s latest animated movie with captivating zest and specific relatability. Her behind-the-scenes stories from the film have become popular on TikTok, where she shared the genesis of the “AWOOOGA” line. But Chiang was originally just hired to do the film’s scratch audio — the temporary audio track many animated movies use while they’re still in the early stages of production. Her performance won over director Domee Shi and the other filmmakers, however, and they asked her to be Mei’s official voice.

Chiang recently talked to Polygon about the exact moment when the character of Mei really solidified for her — and what Shi told her that informed her approach to the character.

“It was the intro where she goes, ‘I’m Meilin Lee, and ever since I turned 13…’” Chiang says. “And after I said it once, Domee was like, Okay, now you can say that you had 10 Red Bulls.What was my 12-year-old self like? I’ve never had Red Bulls. However, I understood exactly what she meant. Then I said it like I had just drank 10 Red Bulls. That moment was the turning point. Just like that moment, I felt everyone was coming to an understanding. This is the right thing.”

For the most part, Mei’s character came easily to Chiang. As a big K-pop fan, she absolutely channeled her love of boy and girl bands into Mei’s enthusiasm for the in-universe boy band 4*Town.

Image: Pixar

“My squad back home and I — we literally only talk about K-pop. And we can talk for hours and hours and hours about it,” she gushes. “Actually, Domee was one of the people that encouraged me to listen to K-pop. She introduced me to bands like Big Bang, 2PM.”

Chiang said that scenes where Mei was overcome with emotion or crying were those she found most difficult. The first time Mei’s friends see her in panda form, for instance, Chiang says she had to do some real emotional digging. The sequences that came easiest to her — like the iconic “AWOOOGA!” Mei lets out while looking at her crush Devon — ricocheted in the opposite direction. Chiang claims that it was a lot of fun to voice those lines and any funny action.

She says there was one particularly hilarious line from an earlier version of the plot that didn’t make the final cut. It took place after Mei learns about her family’s ties to red pandas — specifically, her ancestor Sun Yee, whose close connection to the creature gave the Lee family the ability to transform in the first place.

“In the original [version of the] legend, it used to be that Sun Yee had any wish,” Chiang explains. “But she chose to be a giant red panda. Mei looks like ‘There was no limit to what you could have! Fame, money, a smokin’ hot bod!’ I love that line so much. Everyone in that room laughed. [when we recorded it]. I was a little sad it didn’t make it.”

The Turning of the RedAvailable on Blu-Ray and DVD. Hidden Easter Eggs and Cut ScenesAvailable to Find.