Who Are The Famous Voices Behind Turning Red's Boy Band 4 Town?
Pixar's latest coming-of-age film "Turning Red" is a light-hearted take on the growing pains of teen years with a supernatural twist. Direceted by Domee Shi, the film premieres on Disney+ March 11. Shi directed the 2018 award-winning short "Bao," which also had a relatable message about family dynamics.
The film marks a new era of Pixar animation, one that is a bit divisive. Shi was inspired by the style of anime, which differs from studio classics like "Toy Story." However, "Turning Red" is receiving rave reviews from critics thus far. The film tells the story of Mei Lee (voiced by Rosalie Chiang), a 13-year-old girl who is trying to come into her own while dealing with her overprotective mother Ming (voiced by Sandra Oh). At school, Mei Lee loves to gossip with her friends about their favorite boyband 4*Town. However, her mom is so overbearing that she feels the need to stifle her personality at home, especially when it comes to her budding interest in boys. This results in some emotional outbursts that manifest in an unusual manner.
Whenever Mei Lee is generally stressed, she literally transforms into a giant red panda. It's an inconvenience, to say the least, and causes her plenty of trouble along her journey through middle school. Thankfully, the boyband 4*Town plays a big part in helping Mei Lee come into her own. If you're curious who the voices behind each heartthrob are, they happen to be a mix of well-known and up-and-coming stars.
Billie Eilish and FINNEAS are behind the boy band's sound
The group 4*Town may have been created for "Turning Red," but they did record a real song "Nobody Like U" that has its own official music video. The group is reminiscent of your typical boybands like NYSNC or New Kids On The Block, who perform choreographed dances while singing to screaming crowds of fangirls. However, the group also is influenced by modern day K-Pop sensations, which also garner massive cult-like fandoms. In both cases, 4*Town also takes inspiration from K-pop by creating five distinct personalities for each member so that fans can pick their favorites.
"Nobody Like U" was written for "Turning Red" by Grammy-winning sibling duo Billie Eilish and FINNEAS. Alongside working behind-the-scenes for the film, FINNEAS (or Finneas O'Connell), is the voice of Jesse, the oldest 4*Town member, who's a father of two. It makes sense for FINNEAS to voice one of the members considering his impact on the music, especially considering he's done work for other films like the "No Time To Die" soundtrack in the past (via IMDb).
The boy band featured established voice actors and new talent
As for the other members of 4*Town, their voice actors all have experience working professionally in the entertainment industry prior to "Turning Red." The leader of the group is Robaire, voiced by actor/singer Jordan Fisher. Fisher has worked all over Hollywood, acting in shows like "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" and films like "To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You." He's also an experienced voice actor and worked on other film soundtracks, such as Disney's 2016 hit "Moana" (via IMDb).
Next we have Aaron Z., the best dancer in 4*Town, who is voiced by Josh Levi. Levi is an actor, appearing in series like "Royal Crush" and "Friday Night Lights" (via IMDb). He is not to be confused with Aaron T., the funny one of the group who's voiced by Topher Ngo, a rising Vietnamese-American bass vocalist, according to Ngo's website.
Finally, there is Tae Young, the youngest guy in 4*Town who has a sensitive side. He's voiced by singer/beatboxer/vocal arranger Grayson Villanueva (via Grayson V).