REVIEW: ‘Ne Zha 2’ Is One Of The Most Epic Feats Of Animation

Written and directed by Yu Yang and animated by Chengdu Coco Cartoon, Ne Zha II (Ne Zha 2) is a direct sequel, picking up where the last film left off with both the titular character Ne Zha (Yanting Lü/Crystal Lee) who carries the power of the demon orb and his best friend Ao Bing (Mo Han/Aleks Le) who carries the powers of spirit pearl, without their bodies. As Ne Zha’s master recreates their bodies, Ao Bing’s father, Ao Guang (Li Nan/Christopher Swindle), has sent forth forces to avenge his son, unaware that he is very much still alive. 

When the body creation process fails for Ao Bing, he jumps into Ne Zha’s body, and the two begin a trial to find the one elixir that can bring Ao Bing back, which means going into heaven and ascending to immortality. This is a little hard, though, for a kid who radiates demonic energy. 

A rebellious young boy, Ne Zha, is feared by the gods and born to mortal parents with wild, uncontrolled powers that respond to his anger. And angry is what he is, a lot. On the other hand, Ao Bing is calm and cool, channeling ice powers that complement Ne Zha’s fire.

As the two work together to bring Ao Bing’s body back, they wind up in the middle of a large conspiracy with an ancient force intent on destroying humanity. Ne Zha is forced to grow up and to become the hero the world needs, even if they struggle to accept him.

A24 has chosen the right time and the right movie to highlight Chinese Animation.

While other studios like Light Chaser Animation have brought Ne Zha to life (in their New Gods series), only  Chengdu Coco Cartoon’s Ne Zha 2, a sequel to 2020’s Ne Zha, is the highest-grossing animated film of all time. And there is a reason for that; it’s an epic experience that makes you feel the magic of animation and the beauty of mythology.

Chinese mythology and the fantasy stories inspired by it are experiencing a resurgence in the United States. In video games Black Myth: Wukong took home multiple game of the year nominations and wins, with more titles like Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, Swords of Legends, Honor of Kings: World, and more coming to pick up the baton. When it comes to donghua (Chinese animation), we’re now seeing simulcast releases on Crunchyroll like To Be Hero X, which has been lauded as one of the best “anime” of this year. 

And then of course the growing popularity of danmei and manhua with many being picked up for physical publication and official localization into English by companies like Seven Seas Entertainment. Now is the perfect time for more theatrical releases of Chinese animated feature films. 

Having had a North American limited theatrical run earlier this year, A24 picked up the animation sensation and is bringing it to wide release, and it’s one of the most intelligent decisions that the distributor has made. 

It cannot be overstated how beautiful Ne Zha 2 is as an animated film. It’s full of spectacle, artistry, expansive landscapes, armies, and even the small fine details like hair or costuming details, all of which shine. Not a single detail isn’t crafted brilliantly. This film is gorgeous by all means, and it layers new styles of animation and colors as each act progresses.

Ne Zha‘s artistic style develops over time. While it’s all beautiful, the depth of skill in providing audiences with adorable animals and visual gags to dark malevolent violence in action sequences is not only interesting, but necessary to create an epic for a character who also develops throughout the film. The visual language of Ne Zha 2’s final act is unmatched and unlike anything I have seen before.

Director Yu Yang looks to myth and folklore and recreates it for audiences, blending absurd visuals with starkly contrasting character designs. There is nothing that the team is scared to put on film. The angular features and harsh lines of another always balance the softness in some characters.

Chengdu Coco Cartoon and their support studios’ animation quality is outstanding and untouchable. 

It helps let the audience know visually the character personalities on first glance, but also allows them to break assumptions when they perform against stereotypes. Things aren’t always as they seem in the film, and like life, the studio encourages you to let the characters show you who they are as you get to know them. 

As the story matures in the back half of the film, Ne Zha and Ao Bing become even more emotionally connected. While there is one particular scene that the director leaves up to the imagination, where Ao Bing in Ne Zha’s body meets Ne Zha’s brother, it’s just as powerful as when we see the two rely on each other and save each other. However, it’s when we watch Ao Bing and Ne Zha fight side by side that their bond is fully realized. 

In action cinema, you tell stories with your body, how close you are to someone, if you trust them to watch your back no matter what, and if they can adapt to your change in strategy without a word. We watch all of this in action films, and that is what happens in Ne Zha 2’s final act.

While the two shared a body earlier in the film, this is the closest they’ve been. They know what the other is going to do, and they use their strengths to propel the other. It’s magical to see and hammers home the importance of community and connection above all else, yes, even in anger. 

What makes Ne Zha 2 as strong narratively as it is visually is the entire third act. Up until this point, Ne Zha has been shaped by his circumstances and forced into a mold that doesn’t fit him. In the end, his fire and rage are the reason that he saved the world. Because at a certain point, conforming to pressure and breaking free as a tree of oppression roots you into the ground isn’t an option; anger and spite are. 

This isn’t to say that the film doesn’t show Ne Zha’s growth and understanding of his anger; in fact, it’s the opposite. He learns how to listen, but he also learns how important he is. As the child who causes too much trouble, with bags under his eyes, with fiery words, with selfishness, all of that is okay. 

Ne Zha and Ao Bing’s friendship is foundational to the film, but justice against systems of power is its heart.

Ne Zha 2 doesn’t just tell its young audience that they are the ones left to fight a system built to harm people; it tells them that their flaws are okay. And the film does so with one of the most emotional mother-son moments I’ve seen in a film. With needles sticking out of his skin due to a freezing curse, his mother, Lady Yin (Lü Qi/Michelle Yeoh), hugs him.

The needles cut her skin, and she doesn’t care; she doesn’t wince, and Ne Zha cries. He’s scared and ashamed, he’s hurt, and he hates himself for not being the son that was easy to love. He screams all of this, and yet his mother responds that he has always been perfect. 

Ne Zha 2 isn’t the highest-grossing animated film of all time because it’s gorgeous. It has that status because it is meeting people in an increasingly scary world, and it is giving them hope. It is giving them a hope to fight even if the odds are stacked against them, and more importantly, it is showing that being angry doesn’t remove your capacity for love or your deservingness to be loved. 

The film’s narrative arc isn’t about subtext; Yu Yang has written dialogue that doesn’t allow the audience to miss its intention. In the beginning, it’s fairly rudimentary, with fart jokes and levity coating every point. But when Ne Zha stops hating who he is, the film’s dialogue rises to meet it.

As betrayals are revealed and the fight for the future begins, the film’s message becomes more forceful. And by the end, the film calls for the older generation who have no fight left in them to step aside and allow the young ones to pick up the battle for what’s right. 

This makes Ne Zha 2 accessible to all audiences. Still, more importantly, because the film slowly transforms throughout its runtime, younger audiences are given everything they need to understand it. This is a coming-of-age story, a story about justice and rising up, and all of its narrative is thoughtfully constructed to ensure no one is left behind.

Director Yu Yang has created a perfect story for today’s climate, and a hopeful push to keep fighting. 

This is doubly effective through exposition moments and on-screen notes that detail to audiences the names and identities of the Immortals, allowing the mythology to be easily understood by audiences who aren’t familiar with it. And that’s where Chengdu Coco Cartoon succeeds as an animation studio, even more so than their talent for animation as an art.

The studio understands how to tell a culturally specific story that resonates beyond one country and taps into something we all need right now. The permission to be angry, the permission to not give up, and ultimately, the permission to change things and know that we don’t have to be alone while doing so.

Ne Zha 2 shows the depth and themes of Chinese mythology, and its complexity and large ensemble cast of characters pull it all together beautifully. This is what an epic looks like. This is the best animated film of the year, and there is no competition. 

NE ZHA II releases in IMAX and theaters nationwide on August 22, 2024, distributed by A24 in both English dub and original Mandarin.