Many years ago, Pixar revolutionized the world of animation with the release of Toy Story, and even though the company is already a major player in the industry, it strives to improve year after year, delivering increasingly better productions. Indeed, with Turning Red, Pixar broke the mold, not only for its theme, but for its choice of its main characters and the representation it showcases. This film follows Mei Lee, a 13-year-old Chinese-Canadian girl with an inherited curse: every time she experiences an emotion that is hard to control, she turns into a giant red panda.

Turning Red was the feature film directorial debut of Domee Shi, a filmmaker and animator who has been working at Pixar since 2011 and is coming on strong. While she contributed to the creation of several of the company’s films, her most important work prior to this 2022 movie was the short film Bao, for which she won an Oscar. For her work on this short film and Turning Red, Shi became the first woman to direct a short film for the company and, subsequently, the first one with sole director’s credit on a Pixar film.

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Part of Turning Red’s great success was due to its exploration of important but infrequent themes in children’s productions, such as puberty and inheritance. And, like every Pixar film, Turning Red has also attracted the attention of fans and sparked some very interesting theories to analyze, regarding the characters and their connections to other films. There is one theory that claims that Abby, Mei Lee’s adorable friend, is none other than Boo from Monsters Inc. But is this theory actually true?

Charming, Wild Abby

     Disney / Pixar

Abby Park is the friend that every little girl would love to have. Portrayed by Hyein Park, who made her voice acting debut in Turning Red, this young Korean-Canadian girl grabs the audience’s attention from the very beginning of the film, since she is introduced while she is yelling in Korean at a group of students for throwing their garbage on the floor. However, as soon as she overhears her friend calling out to her, her whole attitude changes and shifts back to her fun-loving, friendly self. That’s Abby: a perfect blend of playfulness, sympathy and rage. Hiding underneath her innocent and sweet appearance, with her purple overalls and glittery headband, lies a personality that is equally breathtaking and entertaining.

Abby is the most outspoken one of the group, she stands out for being unconditionally supportive of her friends, even though sometimes she fails to control her intensity when doing so. She is risk-taking, fearless, a bit chaotic, and always willing to sacrifice her own dreams for Mei, Miriam, and Priya’s sake. At times, she can be a bit over-dramatic and aggressive: she doesn’t hesitate to hit Mei when she asks for it, to lecture schoolmates, not to mention how angry she gets at herself when she makes mistakes. When Mei transforms into the red panda, Abby loses her mind: Mei’s fluffy appearance makes her feel very emotional and, for that reason, she can’t stop hugging her.

Is Abby Really Boo from Monsters Inc.?

     Disney/Pixar

Since Turning Red was released, fans have jumped on social media to share all kinds of theories about the movie and its characters. There have been stories claiming that this movie is connected to Soul, others discussing the origin of 4*Town, and some even claim that Priya transforms into a werewolf when her emotions get out of control. However, the most popular theory regarding Turning Red is the one that claims that Abby is actually Boo from Monsters Inc. As a matter of fact, it’s pretty clear why people keep comparing them: they look remarkably similar to one another! Boo has a very similar hairstyle to Abby’s, with black hair and thick bangs, and she wears a pink t-shirt. Her flower-embellished bedroom door looks very similar to the design of Mei’s friend’s overalls. And to top it all off, they both love anything fluffy: Boo worships Sulley and Abby adores Mei in her red panda form.

This theory went viral on many social networks, especially on TikTok. It became so popular that it even made its way to the film’s director. In an interview with ComicBookMovie, Shi talked about this theory and denied it, saying that Abby was not intended to be an adult version of Boo. She claimed to be highly amused by these kinds of creative theories, and said that she also sees the similarities between these two characters, thinking they could definitely be related. Lastly, she was thrilled by the idea of people thinking that Boo has Korean heritage.

Other Theories Surrounding Pixar

The Boo and Abby theory isn’t the first one that has been going around regarding Pixar movies. Quite the opposite: the company has been wrapped up in theories of all kinds concerning its characters. Some people say that all Pixar movies are connected to one another, and this is explained by a popular theory known as “The Pixar Theory”. Boo’s character in particular has spawned many theories over the years. Certain people claim that she is featured in Toy Story 3 as one of Bonnie’s playmates. There are even those who claim that she also appears in Toy Story 4, or that she grows up to be Violet from The Incredibles. Still, one of the most popular theories surrounding this character is that she is none other than the witch who helps Merida in Brave. Those who support this theory claim that Boo could not bear to be separated from Sulley and Mike, and spent her entire life trying to reunite with them through time travel and the use of portal magic. This theory is further supported by an Easter egg seen in the film: carved on a piece of wood is a figure very similar to Sulley’s. Even though this theory is widely supported, it has not been officially confirmed.