The 2019 Chinese animated film ‘Ne Zha’ tells the story of a pre-teen demon and a dragon prince who transition from being enemies to friends. This movie single-handedly changed the animation industry in China, becoming the highest-grossing animated film in the country’s history. Since its release, it has spawned various spinoffs and imitations, none of which managed to capture the mix of comedy, action, and drama that made ‘N Ne Zha’ great.
At this point, it is common knowledge that the sequel to ‘Ne Zha,’ titled ‘Ne Zha 2’ released this year, has blown all competition out of the water, and is now the leading film in China as of now. Here in New York City, it’s showing dozens of times a day, and the reaction from the viewers has been great. This new sequel centers around battles between dragons, gods, humans, and monsters while still containing emotions that stemmed from the original movie. ‘Ne Zha 2’ is special in the sense that it delivers in both action and drama while also maintaining all aspects that the viewers loved from the first movie. It truly is a marvel.
It is no mean feat to focus on and cultivate human emotions in “Ne Zha 2,” especially when the source material is the two-volume mythological adventure The Investiture of the Gods. Just like many other adaptations of “Journey to the West,” this along with a few other riffs of The Investiture of the Gods, such as the recent “Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force,” contain dozens of main and supporting characters who are deeply intertwined through complex backstories and intricate social structures. The good part is that the adventures of the obnoxious demon child Ne Zha (Yanting Lü) and his dragon prince friend, Ao Bing (Mo Han), is something that one can easily follow and enjoy. Admittedly, it may still be useful to watch the first “Ne Zha” before “Ne Zha 2,” but it is likely that you can understand most of the story without having seen the first one.
At the beginning of “Ne Zha 2,” this one starts with the entire populace recovering from “Ne Zha.” Breathing in. There exists a conflict between the gallant human inhabitants of the Chentang Pass and the dragon rulers of the Four Seas, though the conflict halts quite swiftly. Lady Yin( Qi Lü) and Li Jing(Hao Chen) try to balance the tension while their son, Ne Zha, flies off to Yu Xu Palace to become an immortal. Becoming an immortal means he’ll have access to a magical potion… Long breath out.
Tragically, not much has changed for Ne Zha since the last movie. He remains the immensely immature and greatly uncontrolled child who just wishes to play shuttlecock with his oblivious parents. Ne Zha, after all, means the world to Ao Bing. This is partly because they share the possession of one supernatural entity(the Chaos Pearl), and primarily because they bonded in the last movie. Together, they unveil a scheme that contrasts the hostile and fickle dragon kings (and queen) to the provably good Chan Sect immortals of Yu Xu Palace, mainly embodied by Wuliang(Deshun Wang).
Director Yu Yang, who returns after the first “ Ne Zha,” adds depth to this sequel with tiny moments that highlight the magnitude of family not only for Ne Zha and Ao Bing but for their cast of friends, foes, and voluminous rolodex. Even side characters like the grumpy demon Sheng Gongbao (Wei Yang) have a moment or two that expresses their need to take care of or please someone close to them. That means a lot in a mythological action-adventure that depends on enormous size battle and action scenes and an amalgamation of pee, poop, and vomit jokes. (After all, Ne Zha continues to be a young lad…) The humor alongside is always outrageous, if not necessarily laugh-out-loud funny. For however little thought may be put into some sub-plots, the action sequences are always a wonderful triumph of the animation team and, of the Yu too, because they concern both from second to second and character exposure work. Even the most absurdly animated characters – and I for one admire the rotund, trident brandishing shark – are moving with a class and a dignity of cartoon physics that makes this expensive cartoon look like it was not pieced together by a creative committee but crafted by its animators.
Despite everything looking larger than life in “Ne Zha 2,” It’s still an eager-to-please children’s movie about a demon boy with a gap in his teeth wondering if immortals poop, while he’s not ripping the heavens apart with his bare hands. The sequel will be coming, along with my hopes for more excitement and still the same old themes.
To Watch More Movies Like Ne Zha 2 (2025), Visit Soap2day.