"No one can see her like this... I never wanted this for her."
A girl turning into a red panda based on her emotions definitely drives a lot of comedy... but, being a Pixar film, it's got plenty of emotional depth to back it up, too.
- Mei has a severe emotional crisis after her red panda form manifests for the first time, and she expresses a lot of very realistic reactions for any kid who experiences something like this, especially after it happens without warning:
- Fearing her parents' reaction, she tries to hide her newfound form from them (unaware, at this point, that they already know it's going to happen someday), and also tries to convince herself the whole thing is just a nightmare.
- While at school, she forces herself to stay calm and act like everything is still normal, but is still very tense and frightened by her changes, and still doesn't understand why this is happening to her.
- When she explodes into her red panda form in the middle of class, she runs away from school, and while running across town, many civilians scream at the sight of her newfound form, one even calling her a "monster". During the chase, Mei does a lot of unintentional damage, is almost hit by cars, and just barely saves herself from a multi-story fall. When Ming finds her at home, the poor child is hiding under the covers in shame and scared out of her mind.Mei: (sobbing intensely) What's happening to me?!
- There's also when Mei discovers that her parents knew to expect the red panda all along, but never warned her, after her father blurts it out. Ming grimaces and winces, and Mei goes from sobbing inconsolably to staring at them in shock. She's understandably deeply hurt by this, especially after her traumatic experiences at school and in town — experiences that could have been avoided if she'd only known. Her look of disbelief says it all when she calls them out.
- After her parents tuck her in, Mei overhears Ming being worried for her daughter, but it only makes her feel like even more of a "monster" than she already did, and she breaks down sobbing and cries herself to sleep. This gets worse as the audience's fears about Mei's mental health are confirmed the next day: she's slamming herself against the walls trying to make the panda go away. When her friends show up, she tries to reassure them that her condition will go away... before promptly bursting into tears again. Rosalie Chiang's performance just sells it here.Mei: I hate this! I'm slobby, I'm smelly... My mom won't even look at me… and now 4*Town?! When are they coming?
Abby: May 18th. They just announced it...
Mei: THE 18TH?! There's no way this will be gone by then! Just go! Go become women without me!
Miriam: Mei. It's gonna be okay.
Mei: No, it's not. I'm a freak! Just... just Leave Me Alone!... (sobbing, she curls up on the floor and grabs her stuffed animal Wilfred, as her friends, even Abby, watch in concern)- Just look at what happens to Mei's bedroom after her parents cleared out all the furniture and belongings to reduce the amount of damage any further transformations could cause. Everything about Mei — her trophies, her photos of family and friends, her books — completely removed from the room. As though Mei herself was getting erased and left with nothing.
- The fact that one of her complaints is that her mother wouldn't even look at her. In the temple, Ming promised "[She'll] be with [Mei] every step of the way" while Mei waits for the red moon, but now we find Ming is doing absolutely nothing to help her daughter deal with the panda transformations. How could any mother turn her back on her daughter that way?
- Ming and Jin expressing concern for Mei's well-being. Just hearing Mei banging against walls, pulling her red panda ears and tail as if to rip them off, and physically harming herself to be normal again is enough to bring tears to your eyes. Their poor little girl is under a lot of external stress and they feel powerless to help her through this. The looks Ming and Jin exchange say very well how worried they truly are.Mei: (physically exhausted and crawling on the floor) Please... just... go away... (curls up into fetal position, right before panda-ing again) Oh, WHY?! Why...?
- While it's also a funny moment, the part when Mei tells Miriam her mom doesn't like her can be a bit hard to watch. The moment she hears this from Mei, her face has a look of disbelief and utter betrayal. It never occurred to her that Ming would actually dislike her, and it's only made worse as she is still dumbfounded and speechless while Mei is closing the blinds and Priya and Abby say goodbye to her. You can just feel how hard the revelation hits her like a truck.
- It's also pretty sad that not only did Mei not consider how Miriam might feel about Ming hating her, whether or not Miriam already knew it, but even after Miriam goes quiet, Mei neither notices nor reacts. She was distracted, yes, but a simple apology or "I'm sure she just needs some time to get to know you" or something else along those lines probably would have softened the blow.
- When Mei proudly tells her parents that she can control her panda transformations by thinking of her loved ones, by which she means her friends, Ming takes it to mean Mei instead thinks of her, making the poor girl feel guilty for betraying her beloved mother's expectations.
- There's a brief moment during the hustle montage where Ming is doing her usual prayer at the temple, and looks sadly at where Mei usually is, clearly missing her presence.
- Similarly, when Ming tries to insist on joining Mei for the "group study session" (really Mei trying to sneak out to Tyler's party), shooting down every reason Mei can think of for Ming not to, Mei eventually blurts out, "But I don't want you to!" It's brief since it's almost immediately followed by the arrival of Mei's aunties, but for the two seconds in between, Ming is clearly hurt and betrayed by the idea that Mei doesn't want her around. Becomes Harsher in Hindsight later when Ming admits that she's scared that Mei is drifting away from her.
- At Tyler's birthday party, Mei initially refuses to change into a panda, after being warned by her grandmother that not doing the ritual will make the transformation permanent. Without the remaining $200 they need for 4 tickets, Abby, Miriam, and Priya decide that if Mei can't see 4*Town, then they won't go to the concert either, as their friendship with Mei is more important. However, given how the three of them become on the verge of tears immediately after doing so, it's very clear how upset they are about missing out. This is what prompts Mei to turn into a panda again, so that none of her friends should give up their chance because of her.
- Mei attacking Tyler at his birthday party after he insults her family. While he was a jerk, the boy is left scratched up, crying in shame, apologizing for his insults, and begging Mei not to hurt him. When Tyler's parents are informed of this, they are so outraged as Tyler's father furiously refuses to accept Ming's apology for the incident and Tyler's mother furiously calls Mei an animal for humiliating her son on his birthday. This event is also what drives a furious Ming to blame Miriam, Abby and Priya for allegedly using Mei's panda form for ticket money. Mei, still desperate for her mother's approval, can't bring herself to defend them.
- Another sad detail about the above scene is that when Ming is yelling at Miriam, Priya and Abby, all three of them are clearly frightened by her behavior, flinching frequently as she screams and clearly moving closer together for protection. They literally just tried to reason with Mei while she was in panda form, which had just proven dangerous (a fact that they probably at least subconsciously knew given how her teeth and claws are visible sharp even when she's not using them as potential weapons) but a furious but otherwise mundane Ming? Terrifies them.
- But after Ming is called out by Tyler's parents, it seems like she's about to yell at Mei for her deception, and the little girl is ready to take it... but to Mei's horror, she's actually angry at her friends, blaming them for "manipulating" her daughter and not even taking into consideration that Mei was the one at fault. She just looks so heartbroken and disillusioned, yet is still afraid of losing her mother's approval and doesn't even say a word in her friends' defenses, understandably much to their shock.
- When Miriam pleads with Mei to tell Ming the truth that it was all her idea, Ming looks worriedly at Mei, as if fearing the idea that her perfect little Mei-Mei would actually choose, of her own volition, to do something like this.
- Mei's reaction when Ming's taking her back home is also gut wrenching, since Mei realises that, not only did she almost seriously injure (or even possible kill) Tyler, but she also betrayed her closest friends.
- Despite their falling out with Mei, Miriam, Priya and Abby are clearly heartbroken that she's not at the 4*Town concert with them. At the ticket booth, they have somber expressions that are so different from the joyous energy of the excited fans surrounding them. When the ticket taker asks how many tickets they're buying, they briefly glance at each other and Miriam hesitates for a second before sighing and saying, "Three, please." You can tell how badly she wishes it was four.
- In particular, Abby, usually such a Genki Girl, is resting her chin on the counter, as if she doesn't even have the energy to hold her head up.
- As pointed out on the Fridge page, Miriam may have actually been under the impression that Mei would be forced to end their friendship at that moment and was already grieving its loss.
- As Mei in the Astral Plane is painfully ripping herself free of the red panda spirit that has bonded to her, it glances back and whimpers mournfully at her. As sad as caging a wild animal that doesn't understand why you're taking its freedom away. The spirit never meant to hurt Mei, and doesn't want to be sealed away for who knows how long; forcing the girl to relive, and recognize all the happy moments it has brought to everyone's lives she touched.
- Not just the happy moments it's brought her, all the moments it's brought her. The happiness with her friends, the confusion of her first transformation, the panic when she transforms at school, etc. That even though not every moment with the spirit has been a happy or good one, it's still not something Mei wants to seal away forever.
- Sun Yee's face the first time Mei tries to rip her panda spirit away. While she doesn't say anything or try to discourage Mei, there's still some resigned sadness. It must have been heartbreaking for her to see her family (at least before Mei) disregard her divine blessing as an "inconvenience", and something to be sealed away rather than embraced.
- When Mei decides that she wants to keep her panda form after all, she openly defies Ming's orders to remain during the ritual and runs off to the concert to reconcile with her friends, stating that she's done being desperate for her mother's approval. Unfortunately, this act of defiance accidentally damages Ming's talisman, and Ming is left in tears while being chastised by her mother, her sisters, her cousin, and niece for her inability to control Mei, though her husband tries to comfort her. As a result of her pride being broken thanks to Mei's defiance and her family's criticisms, Ming can't control her grief and anger anymore, causing her talisman to finally break and unleash Ming's giant panda form, pushing her over the edge to disrupt the concert out of anger; even her husband, mother, sisters, cousin and niece are horrified to witness this, realizing that they pushed Ming too far.Ming: (sobbing intensely over Mei's defiance) How could she... (get extremely furious) ...how could she do this to her own... MOTHER?! (the talisman breaks, and Ming's panda form is released before merging into Ming's body, causing her eyes to glow red) MEI-MEI!!!
- During the fight, you can hear in Mei's "The Reason You Suck" Speech to her mother that she's righteously angry, but her tone also has a sadness to it. She's positively furious at her mother for not accepting her choices and blaming everyone else she cares about in general for making her a "disappointment". At the same time, she's heartbroken that she's fighting against her own mother because Ming just can't control her temper and is too arrogant to admit her own faults. It takes Mei literally knocking some sense into Ming to finally subdue her. After this, Mei is distraught that she just hurt her mother, rendering her unable to move back to the circle. Even Mei's aunties and grandma show genuine concern for her.
- While trying in vain to move her mother's giant panda form back into the circle, Mei is pleading with her mother to get up, but she's too out of it. Ming might've made a lot of mistakes as a mother, but Mei still loves her, and is afraid of losing her with the red moon almost ending and soon be unable to seal away Ming's wrathful Kaiju-panda spirit.
- After the climax where all the women in Mei's family undergo the ritual, Mei finds a young Ming in the astral realm sobbing, having regressed to the state she was in after the fight with her mother that led to Grandma Wu getting her scar. Mei sees that Ming went through the exact same struggle of trying to maintain her mother's approval and the conflict it led to that she did.Teenage Ming: (sobbing) I'm just so sick of being PERFECT! I'll never be good enough for her! ...Or anyone...
- An even more sad interpretation is that Ming is also crying because she realized that in losing control of her temper, she attacked and insulted her beloved daughter.
- The scar that Ming gave Grandma is in a very prominent place on her brow, meaning that ever since that day, Ming has been reminded of her mistake every time she looks her mother in the face.
- As everyone sans Mei walks through the mirror to remove their panda spirits again, Ming's spirit hangs back and looks sadly at Mei for some seconds, as if the spirit is as apologetic as Ming herself is for going after Mei like that.
