Turning Red has become the coming-of-age film of 2022 with critical and commercial acclaim to boot. Of course, a movie that touches on adolescence is bound to have some moments or lines that connect with Millennials and Gen Z. The one specific line viewers have gravitated toward is the scene where Mei Lee spies on her crush Devon at the convenience store. Shouting “Awooga” turned an out-of-character moment into a viral sensation. Now the character’s voice actress Rosalie Chiang has been fielding questions about the viral line. The Turning Red actress finally opened up about the confusion and disgust over it making the Disney+ movie.
The young author spilled to Insider why the viral line took her by surprise. Originally, she laughed off the line as a throwaway compared to the original line. Growing up in the age of social media, she was self-aware of how the line would be received upon seeing the final film. The Turning Red actress revealed what it was like to hear and see the throwaway line on the big screen for the first time.
Probably a mix of confusion and disgust. I was just shocked, because I completely convinced myself that they’re not gonna put that in the film. I was like, 'Oh, this is okay, no one cares about this line.' And then it made it into the film, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s going to become a meme isn’t it.’
Thankfully, Chiang is tapped in enough with meme and viral culture to know the scene would be all over the internet. Of course, like many Gen Zers, the actress is on TikTok with a huge following to match. It didn’t take long before someone posted the moment online. The multihyphenate saw the viral post and responded to it. It was what happened next that surprised her.
Next thing I know, I see someone just had a clip of that moment that had like 8 million views. I’m just like, ‘Wow, OK, that went viral.’ And then I posted that on TikTok and it went viral, it’s crazy.
Having their clip reposted and broken down by the film’s star must’ve made that person’s day. At least, she got to give some insight into the viral clip. Besides being a writer and actress, Chiang is a TikTok star. So, like many young influencers, she decided to give her followers a behind-the-scenes peek into the hit animated film. She broke down how the line wasn’t originally part of the movie in her now-viral post. You can check out her entire breakdown in her TikTok post below.
@rosaliecchiang ♬ original sound - Rosalie Chiang
It’s nothing like spilling a nice secret after a hit movie comes out. Usually, it takes years for those to come out, but Chiang wasn’t waiting that long. Revealing the original line made viewers realize director Domee Shi and Disney made the right decision. It captured Mei’s puberty journey perfectly as she was thrown off by the moment as well.
The “Awooga” line may be the breakout moment, but there are several other moments that stand out from the film. Hopefully, the film’s viral and commercial appeal will translate into moviegoers seeing more of Mei’s adolescent journey as her co-star Sandra Oh has already pitched the perfect idea for a potential sequel.
The animated coming-of-age film is currently streaming alongside some of the best Disney+ movies. Of course, there are other upcoming animated movies dropping throughout 2022.
