When the trailer was released for Disney/Pixar’s newest animated film, “Turning Red,” Naperville teen Ava Morse was front and center.
“My beat boxing was the first thing people heard in the trailer,” said Ava, 16, a Naperville School District 203 high school student. “The second I could tell people I did.”
“Turning Red,” which premiered last week on Disney+, tells the story of 13-year-old Meilin “Mei” Lee, a Chinese-Canadian girl in Toronto who’s juggling the throes of becoming a teenager while trying to meet the expectations of her parents.
“And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren’t enough,” the Disney/Pixar movie description says, “whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she ‘poofs’ into a giant red panda.”
Ava plays Miriam one of Mei’s best friends.
“The best friend anybody could ask for,” Ava said. “She’s a tomboy at heart. It was really fun to play her.”
It is the aspiring actor/singer’s biggest role yet and one she says is especially meaningful to her given the movie’s themes.
“I’m so honored,” Ava said. “(‘Turning Red’) is so groundbreaking from anything else (Pixar) has done.”
She auditioned for the film via Zoom at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and for the same reason ended up recording the role at home and in a studio in Chicago between summer 2020 and summer 2021, she said.
“I was recording the movie in a closet, which was a really interesting experience,” Ava said. “Eventually when COVID started chilling out, I went out more to this studio in Chicago and did it there.”
Setting up the home studio was “pretty straightforward,” said Debra Morse, Ava’s mother.
“Pixar sent us some equipment, and we could just plug in,” she said.
If that was the easy part, the recording was harder, Ava said.
“It takes a super long time to do, it takes so many people to do,” she said. “Voiceover is like you have to go for it. It can be embarrassing at times. Especially for this movie, you had to constantly go crazy, laugh, sing and have fun.”
Because of COVID-19, Ava didn’t get to meet her fellow cast mates or the filmmakers in person until the red carpet premiere and press appearances earlier this month.
Director and cowriter Domee Shi is the first woman to have a directorial credit for a Pixar feature film, a historic aspect of the project for which Ava said she was particularly proud.
The “Turning Red” story also addresses themes she believes will resonate with girls, women and families.
“The movie itself opens up everyone’s eyes to culture and gender and relationships. It shows puberty in a way nobody has seen before,” Ava said. “It shows very strong healthy friendships with Miriam and her friends. … It’s such a beautiful thing to say I’m a part of.”
Her mother added: “It’s such an honor to be a part of that project that she was graced with this opportunity. It’s really incredible.”
Ava started acting and singing at age 5. She did musical theater until she was about 10, and then decided to make a shift to on-camera work.
She’s done one other voice role in the 2021 animated movie “Ron’s Gone Wrong,” and has appeared on screen in HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere,” NBC’s “Chicago P.D.,” and the TV movie “The History of Us.” Her television commercials include ads for Cosentyx, Cinnamon Frosted Flakes and Hebrew National.
“It doesn’t just happen overnight,” Ava said. “I’ve been working my whole life for this. I’ve stayed centered, I’ve stayed focused. And I’m only 16, yet I’ve come so far to get to this moment.”
raguerrero@tribpub.com
