Turning Red, 4*Town and Boy Bands: An Interview with Domee Shi.

The plot of Pixar’s new film, Blushing, revolves around 13-year-old Mei’s desperate quest to attend a boy band concert with her friends. “We are going to this concert, girls,” May says, looking at her with a starry look, “and out, women.” May and her friends, fit for a film that explores the sweaty anxiety of early teens, are all about little boys, but the boys they love the most are 4*Town, whose five(?) members are Robert, Jessie, Tae, Aaron T and Aaron Z are the embodiment of the boy band style of the late 90s. I spoke with Turning Red director and co-creator Domi Shi about respecting the girl fandom, working with Billie Eilish and Behind the Music: 4*Town. Our conversation has been edited and compressed.

Slate: I just want to warn you that this interview is all about 4*Town.

Domi Shi: This is my favorite topic!

I have two teenage girls, so I’ve seen a lot of pop culture portraits of teenagers in my life. One of the main ways in which “Blushing” differs from the typical depiction of teenage girls is that it really takes girls’ love for 4*Town seriously.

pixar

Yes. It was important for us to take the boy bands seriously in this film. Boy bands are often ridiculed in the media, as are many things that teenage girls enjoy, but when you’re at that age, boy bands are our gateway to the opposite sex. In boys, in relationships, in the concepts of love, dating and grief. And all this in this reliable, beautiful, stylish package. For many girls, it’s coming of age to be obsessed with their first boy band. For a movie about a teenage girl, it seemed right that the movie’s stakes, the movie’s goal is not to save the world. This is not to save the princess. It means going to their first boy band concert and becoming women together when they watch it.

It’s safe, but I think teenage girls don’t feel safe either, which is a bit of a worry. You have what you feel is your personal relationship with the members of this group.

Yea Yea. It feels like when they sing, they sing directly to you. We try to capture that feeling in the film by simply having the boys look directly into the camera and sing sincerely to May and her friends. I remember when we sent these shots to the animators, I took care to say in my notes that we are not making fun of boy bands. We’re not going to play the Chippendales, the Blue Steels, with pursed lips. Treat it like an Oscar-nominated film. Go deeper, dramatize the eyes and face. Really genuinely make me feel like he’s talking to me. I think the animators did a very good job.

The first thing I drew and posted was Draco Malfoy. It’s somewhere on the internet. Try to find it. — Domi Shi of Turning Red

Was it fun creating your boy band from scratch? That’s a lot for a kid in the 90s.

It’s kind of a dream. We assigned different roles and characters to each boy. Taeyong is cute and Aaron Z is athletic. Robert will pursue a solo career after the breakup of the boy band. Jesse is too old to be in the band and has two kids and he probably drives them around and buys them beer.

This is the 4*Town backstory I was hoping for. What is Tae Young’s favorite animal?

Dove, right? In the film, Mei says that Tae-young is raising injured pigeons. He loves animals very much. When he nuzzles the pigeon, you will see that the pigeon has a small cast on one of its legs. I like to imagine that he wrapped it.

I dipped tiny strips of papier-mâché on my own.

I know he’s the same [sensitive boy voice] “This is fine?”

4*City, in a brighter moment. pixar

You talked about how you explained the atmosphere to the animators. What did you say to the songwriters, Billie Eilish and Finneas? How has 4*Town’s music changed over time?

They were so excited about the idea because I think they were Mae and her friends at some point. Billy herself was a big fan of Justin Bieber. So we thought, “We just need lyrics that will talk to Mei and her friends.” We gave them three specific types of songs that we needed. Because those scenes where we needed songs were already written. For example, the third song was known to everyone. It’s that hit song and we needed it to play during the editing when Mae and her friends are making money like a panda. So we thought, “If you could include some lyrics about making money and hustling, that would be great.” Then also, “Could you also include a call and answer section so we can play it in concert?” We were very specific in our question and they were amazing in the sense that they covered our entire wishlist of what we needed songs for but still made them our own.

I feel a bit sorry for the unsung members Aaron T and Aaron Z who are also very talented. Can you tell me what they bring to the group?

Well, Aaron Zee is athletic, and he’s very tough. He’s Tyler’s favorite member of 4*Town, which I think is kind of a spoiler. But Tyler is really attached to him because he is too… they are both Blasians. So he really sees himself in Aaron Z. And then we have this whole backstory – I wish we could put it all in the movie, but a lot was cut!

I’m ready for Behind the Music: 4*Town.

Aaron Zee considers himself a rival to Robert.

Blimey.

Then Aaron Tee is kind of a jerk. He’s funny, someone who plays pranks on the other boy band members a lot. Ugh. I wish there was a whole show about it, that would be amazing.

I mean, the concept of brand extension is not unusual for Disney.

I know, come on, Disney.

Domi Shi. pixar

Who was your 4*City as a child?

I definitely liked NSYNC, but I wasn’t as into boy bands as May and her friends were in the movie. I liked their music, but mostly I drew from this obsession and that excitement for one thing that you have at this age. For May, I chose a boy band, but technically my 4* city was Harry Potter. This was what was the glue for me and my friends. We lined up for the release of books. We went to the movies, read fanfiction, drew fan art. This was my 4* City.

Can I find Domi Shea’s Harry Potter fanfiction anywhere on the Internet?

Oh, there must be fan art. The very first fan art I posted is still on the internet if you can find it. It was dated 2004. I was 14 and had just bought a tablet with all the money I had saved up and convinced my parents to buy me a version of Photoshop. The first thing I drew and posted was Draco Malfoy. Yes. It’s somewhere on the internet. Try to find it.

Fine. Last question. Why are they called 4*Town when there are five of them?

I think it all happened because of this joke and just because of the desire to put this joke in the movie! But then it became practical. Oh, another reason for [Mei’s mother] Ming to disapprove of 4 * Town because four is a very unlucky number in Chinese culture. So wouldn’t it be funny if she just saw her daughter covered in fours? But I like to think that in 4*Town canon they were all born on the fourth of another month or something like that.

Or, if they weren’t, that’s the story they tell.

Yes Yes Yes. This is the story they tell. Or there were four of them, but then a fifth member joined, but they didn’t change all the logos because it would cost too much money.