- “We love you Mei, no matter what. Panda or no panda.”
- ―Miriam to Mei
Miriam "Mir" Mendelsohn is a main character of Disney•Pixar's 2022 animated feature film Turning Red. She is one of Mei's best friends.
Background[]
Official Description[]
- Miriam is loyal, easygoing, and a total goof who can make her besties laugh when they need it most. A bit of a tomboy, Miriam regularly rocks a flannel shirt and slouchy cap, and she shares her friends' obsession with boy band 4*Town. Mei's mom, however, is not a fan of Miriam. Ming sees Miriam as a threat to her relationship with her daughter, despite the girl's stellar support for Mei.[1]
Personality[]
Miriam is a fun loving and caring girl who looks out and supports her friends. She is easygoing, loyal, a bit of a tomboy, and can make people laugh when they need it most.[2] Miriam can be firm with her friends when she needs to be, but she is also very nurturing and kind, especially towards Mei, whose life has been turned upside down by her red panda powers. Miriam always lets Mei know she is loved, no matter what she looks like.
Physical appearance[]
Miriam is a tall, 13-year-old Jewish-Canadian girl with light skin, curly auburn hair tied in braids, freckles on her face, a slightly big nose and green eyes. She has stud earrings, as well as braces and a green tuque. She wears a plaid green shirt with a black choker, with a light green stone in the middle with what seems to be a flower inside it, and light green t-shirt that reads "SK8R" in light orange, along with leaf green pants and dark magenta slip-on shoes that have a checkered pattern by the side. She has a rainbow friendship bracelet on the left arm, and a green slap bracelet on the right.
Miriam's gym clothes consist of a white t-shirt that has dark green lines on the collar and sleeves and a "Lester B. Peason phys ed" logo on the top right of her shirt. She wears green and white shorts.
During the 4★Town concert, Miriam wears a white t-shirt that reads "4★Town" in orange and blue with orange and blue stars and markers-made tattoo with hearts and saying "4 EVA", "4 Townie", and "4" on her cheeks, hands, and t-shirt.
Appearances[]
Turning Red[]
Miriam is first seen eating some chips she stores in her locker, and meets up with Mei and her to other friends; Priya and Abby. All of them go to Mei and take her to peek at Devon. Miriam then tells Abby to "hook a sister up". She then gets immersed in the 4★Town experience by Mei. But Miriam then asks her to sing along with them, which Mei doesn't want to do. But then after some convincing, joins in with Miriam. She then rewards Mei with a mix CD. Then Miriam asks Mei to join them for karaoke, she gives her the puppy eyes along with Abby and Priya. However Mei leaves too soon, making the excuse that she has to do other stuff.
A few days later Miriam and her friends notice that Mei isn't acting right. She then notices Tyler teasing Mei about her love with Devon and She shouts at him along with Priya and Abby. She then goes to class with Mei and backtalks a student who asks "what's with her" with "what's with your face?" She gets very concerned for Mei, passing a note wondering if she is alright, and then she notifies Mei that her mom is outside. She then gets impacted by the pink smoke that emerged from Mei's transformation. Miriam is unaware of the fact that Mei has a red panda form at the moment. A couple more days later and Miriam goes to Mei's house asking if she is alright, Priya offers her some pads, But Abby then exclaims that 4★Town is coming to Toronto, Which leads Mei to expose her Panda form. Miriam screams and then gets taken in as Mei tells everyone of her friends to calm down. Miriam tells Abby and Priya to back away from Mei, and she asks her what caused this. Miriam then gets a bit confused when Mei tells that this red panda form is some kind of "Inconvenient genetic thingy", and then comforts her when she breaks down in tears. Miriam reassures Mei its alright, which Mei rejects. Mei then tells all of them to go to the concert without her. Not wanting to let Mei's spirit down, Miriam starts up a beat, Which Priya and Abby hop in. They all then sing an acapella version of "Nobody like U". They then all hug as Mei turns into a human. Miriam is fond of Mei's new hair color change. Miriam also notices she is then quickly shoved outside by Mei.
During dodgeball, Miriam remarks that her parents approved of her idea to attend the 4★Town concert as long as she buys a ticket. She then notifies Ming's prescience and then witnesses Mei using her power at Tyler and then takes her into the bathroom. She tells her that they are gonna make it to the concert. She then has to think of a way of how they are gonna get money for the tickets themselves, She sees Abby hug Mei while she transforms, and then notices Stacy and her own group of friends come in. She hides Mei in the stall and then corrects one of Stacy's friends that she is a red panda along with Priya, Abby and Mei. She then notices that Stacy and her friends love the panda, and then her along with her friends find the exact plan to get those dollars for the tickets. She participates in the plan of "Operation 4★Town shakedown" and then works with her friends to gain lots of money. She then works with her friends on some red panda pendants. She then calms Mei down when she panics that there is not enough cash asking her "What's the point of getting to the concert if you're too exhausted to enjoy it?" She then notices that Tyler wants to spread the rumor and takes notice that he wants to have a party with Mei's panda form in it. She then goes to the party with Priya and Abby.
Later on Miriam gets super bored that Mei hasn't arrived yet, until she does...but in a cheaply made red panda outfit. She then talks with Mei and agrees with her other friends that if Mei doesn't go, she doesn't go. Mei then turns into a red panda and gets the party going. Miriam has a fun time and then chills on the roof with Priya, Abby and Mei. She gets upset when Tyler was looking for Mei, but gets excited that her and her friends are gonna go to the concert soon....until hearing from the radio that 4★Town is coming on May 25th instead. Miriam along with her friends try to calm Mei down when she transforms into a panda and is outright scared when she attacks Tyler. When Ming shows up to take her daughter away, she scolds her along with her friends and Miriam is visibly upset and even disappointed when Mei doesn't stand up for them. After Mei and Ming leave Tyler's house, they all decide to go to the concert without Mei, while Miriam disbands Mei from the friend group. But she secretly takes care of Robaire Jr.
At the night of the concert, Miriam looks at Priya and Abby when ordering the tickets and with knowing full well Mei cannot make it, settles on three tickets. Minutes later, Mei leaps into the concert, Miriam denies that she is part of their group until Abby and Priya tell her that she took care of Robaire Jr. while Mei was away. They all then reunite and then spot Tyler in the crowd, they all become very excited for him and join him along the group. The concert then begins, as Miriam cheers for Aaron T. comes onstage. The concert then gets destroyed by Ming and Miriam evades alongside her friends. She then helps Mei and her family with the ritual by joining in with singing "Nobody Like U". After a while, Abby, Priya, Miriam, and Tyler all meet Mei at the temple tour and they all go for Karaoke.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Miriam is most likely based on Avril Lavigne, particularly her "Sk8er Boi" phase as evidenced by her t-shirt.
- Miriam is represented by the color green. This works in contrast to Mei who is represented by the color red. Green is usually a sign of calm, relaxation and nurturing. This best represents Miriam as she is the most comforting towards Mei and is usually the first to reach out to her when things are going wrong with her.
- Ironically, Ming is mostly adorned in green as well. This represents how both Miriam and Ming have their own nurturing take on Mei in her most difficult time of need.
- Despite her name being given as "Miriam Wexler" on the "Nobody Like U" music video, the Pixar website states that her name is "Miriam Mendelsohn".
- Her previous surname could be a reference to dictionary publisher Merriam-Webster.
- Miriam is likely Jewish as her last name, Mendelsohn, is a Polish/German Jewish surname.
- Miriam is one of the very few Pixar characters to wear prominent braces, along with Sid Phillips, Darla Sherman, Tyler Nguyen-Baker, and Riley Andersen.
- In one of the deleted scenes, Miriam says her parents are divorced. However, it is unknown if Miriam's parents are still divorced in the final product as it possibly could've been scrapped.
- However, if divorced, she possibly lives with her dad, as in the film Mei tells Ming: "Miriam's dad is ordering us pizza!"
References[]
- ↑ Team, D23 (March 10, 2022). "Meet the Characters of Turning Red". D23.
- ↑ Turning Red Advance Disney
External links[]
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