'Turning Red' star Rosalie Chiang on being 'shocked' Billie Eilish and Finneas wrote the movie's boy band music, the viral 'Awooga' line, and other behind-the-scenes secrets

• Rosalie Chiang is the voice of Meilin Lee in Domee Shi's feature directorial debut at Pixar, "Turning Red."
• Chiang spoke with Insider about working on the film, and how it connected to her own adolescence.

Rosalie Chiang was 12 years old when she first became the voice of Meilin Lee in "Turning Red."

At the time, the actor was hired as a "scratch" voice for the film, meaning that she was recording temporary dialogue for use during the production process, not for the final cut of the film. Two years later into production, when it came time to actually cast the role, director Domee Shi and producer Lindsey Collins realized that "nobody" else who had auditioned "came close" to Chiang's performance, Collins told the San Francisco Chronicle.

And so, in 2020, Chiang became the official voice of Meilin Lee — a confident, Chinese-Canadian 13-year-old who splits time between school, her tight-knit, boy band-loving friends, and working at her family's temple. In the film, Meilin learns the women of her family are cursed: Each of them inherited the power to transform into a giant red panda, but all of her other female relatives sealed away the ability when they were young using a ritual.

Chiang spoke with Insider about her experience working on "Turning Red," including her "confusion and disgust" when one of her most embarrassing lines made it into the film, how it reflects her own experience of girlhood and fandom, and what it was like meeting Billie Eilish at the film's Los Angeles premiere.

Warning: Spoilers for "Turning Red" below.

The home release of this film includes a ton of deleted scenes and featurettes. Obviously, you started recording for this film when you were much younger than you are now. What's it like to look back on your early work for this film?

The things Domee Shi has made me do in that recording booth... People think the scene where Meilin cat-calls Devon is the most embarrassing thing, but there are things that didn't even make it into the actual film. I'm not gonna say anything specific, but that's how weird they were.

Working with Domee, were there a lot of those moments where she pushed you further into that cringe zone?

I would say so, yeah. There were times where I looked at the script and I was like, "I gotta say that?" But it's okay, I said it, it was great.

All these weird things Domee has made me do have really pushed me out of my comfort zone, and I really appreciate that this gives me the opportunity to not be embarrassed and just go all out.

I know you're on TikTok and have spoken about this a bit there, but people love the "Awooga" line. What were you feeling when you realized that the line had made it into the final cut, and then when it went viral after?

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."

@rosaliecchiang Want more turning red bts stories? #turningred #turningred2022 #bts #behindthescenes #pixar #disney #funnystory #pixarturningred ♬ original sound - Rosalie Chiang

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, okay, that went viral." And then I posted that TikTok and it went viral, it's crazy.

One of the other moments that's gone viral on TikTok from "Turning Red" is the scene towards the end where Mei's family is chanting in Cantonese and then her friends and their favorite boy band 4Town join in. What was your reaction to that scene while you were recording, and then when that particular moment went viral like it did?

Actually, when I recorded the scene, I thought it was pretty boring. I just had the stage directions and my lines saying, "Oh, she yells that, oh, she's running there, oh, she punches." And I'm like, "All right, non-verbal, non-verbal, non-verbal, all right, I got it."

I didn't even know that scene existed, so when I saw it at the "Turning Red" wrap party, my mind was blown.

Your character, Meilin, is just so refreshing to see in an animated film. You grew up alongside her while you were making the movie as well — how do you see her as serving as a role model for girls, or what were you feeling in relation to her while working on this film?

What's different with her compared to other coming-of-age films is that I see a lot people online saying they're so annoying and cringey, but everyone at that age was annoying and cringey. A lot of coming-of-age movies I've watched, I never really connect to them because I feel like there's this sort of airbrushed, filtered feel to it, where they're not really showing the horrors of being a tween.

So for this movie to fully depict that, no filter, just these crazy girls, I think it means a lot.

Totally. I remember criticism that this movie was unrealistic, or it's too mature, it's like — no, all of us were like this, actually.

Yeah. My friends can be vulgar. No parents think that, but we are.

On the "cringey" front, one of the things that I love the most about this film is how much it celebrates fandom and cringe. I know you're big into K-pop — were there aspects of that experience, or of generally being a fan, that you brought into this film? What about fandom in the film resonated with you?

Their love for 4Town is so reminiscent of my squad and I's love for K-pop in general. It just felt so real, just seeing these girls have their minds blown about 4Town, which is the exact same reaction I had with my friends.

We actually wanted to go to the Twice concert, because they came to the United States recently. We didn't have enough money. The tickets were expensive as hell, and we almost were like, "Oh gosh, we need to hustle everything we have to make money for this band."

They sell out so fast! I also missed Twice. Are you trying to catch Dreamcatcher, or any other upcoming K-pop tours?

I want to, I really do. Dreamcatcher got their first win on a Korean music show, and I've been mentioning their name in every single interview I possibly could.

I'm manifesting for you. Pivoting a bit, you co-starred with Sandra Oh in this film and did a bunch of press with her. What was that relationship like, and was there any advice that she passed on to you during that time?

I didn't get to work with her during the making of this film, but she did invite me to lunch right before the press tour started, so we were able to speak. And she's such a warm and kind person who just wanted to know about me, and we developed this really cool bond throughout this entire press tour because we're just answering questions over and over, and it can get a little stressful.

But her best piece of advice she's given me is to just be kind to myself, because I feel like as a teenager I can be very self-deprecating and critical of myself.

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I know you spoke a bit on Instagram about coming to terms with, "Oh, I actually killed it in this movie." What did that moment feel like?

It was emotional, because I started acting when I was nine. So it's been seven years, and for the longest time I just wasn't getting anything. I was getting no auditions, let alone bookings or callbacks. And during that period of time, I was still just a temporary voice for Mei in "Turning Red," so there was a chance I would just lose this entire movie. I was just living on the edge, and I sort of thought "Turning Red" was a fluke, and that after this, whether I book it or not, I'm just gonna disappear and that's it.

Watching the movie for the fourth time, it was the first time I realized that I had achieved what I wanted to achieve since I was nine years old. And Sandra Oh put her hand on my shoulder and said, "You did a good job. You worked really hard on this and it really shows." And that just meant the world to me.

"Turning Red'' had so many fun collaborators, and obviously 4Town's music has become very beloved and went viral. What was your reaction when you learned that Billie Eilish and Finneas would be writing the boy band music? What was it like meeting Billie at the Los Angeles premiere?

I was pretty shocked, because at that time, I did know some of Billie Eilish's discography, and I thought, "Really? Boy band songs?" That really speaks to how talented they really are as music artists.

And when I met her, she was so cool and down to earth. I got to hug her, like that's one of the coolest experiences of my life. That day of the LA Premiere is all a blur, honestly. I don't remember anything that day. It's just sort of two seconds, and then done, and I'm back home sleeping.

A lot of the reception to this film has been so wonderful, but there was also people saying that the film wasn't relatable, or that it was too specific, in sometimes racist or sexist ways. What was your take on that sort of reaction to the film?

This movie has gotten every single kind of reaction you can possibly get. The whole thing about not being relatable — I completely respect that review, because if you didn't relate to it, you didn't relate to it, and I'm not gonna say, "Hey, you have to relate to it."

A relatable movie doesn't necessarily mean it's the greatest movie of all time, and I hope people can see this as just a window or a door to another culture, to another life. Because this is something that you have some people saying, "Oh, I don't relate to this, it's too exaggerated and this doesn't happen in real life." And then you have another side saying, "Oh yeah, it does happen, this is literally my life." I say just look at it, and take it with a grain of salt, and just enjoy.

And then, I see a lot of mothers reviewing it, saying it's inappropriate and everything. And I just think that's so funny, because I feel like that's exactly how Meilin's mother Ming would react to this film, saying it's inappropriate, and they're just children. But children go through this! This isn't new, this is really accurate. Like I said earlier, my friends and I are super vulgar.

I'd say, I respect your opinion, but I just hope you enjoy it, whether you relate to it or not.

This conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.

"Turning Red" is currently available to stream on Disney+, as well as digitally and on Blu-Ray, DVD, and 4K Ultra HD.