Quote:
"Of all the 'firsts' that distinguish this latest Pixar instalment (first to be directed solely by a woman; first to feature a female Asian lead; first to be set in Canada) the most significant is dropped into frame roughly ten minutes in. It's a packet of sanitary towels, rendered in close-up and eagerly held by Ming Lee (Sandra Oh, Killing Eve) the overprotective 'Tiger mom' of the 13-year-old protagonist Mei (Rosalie Chiang). The shot—the first of menstrual products in a Pixar animation—is as significant as the first shot of a flushing toilet in Hollywood cinema, from Hitchcock's Psycho in 1960. And like that cutaway, which Hitch made vital to the plot (evidence is being flushed), the pads in Turning Red are crucial to the wider narrative."
-- Kevin Maher

Source:
Maher, Kevin. "Turning Red review—Pixar's menstruation adventure is ingenious and deeply lovely." Review of Turning Red. Times (London), March 8, 2022.