Ne Zha 2

Ne Zha 2 is the latest sensation, grossing $2.1 billion at the box office since its release on January 29, 2025. Its characters have been cosplayed and drawn by hundreds if not thousands of people and it beat the first movie, which was already acclaimed, by over a billion dollars. So why have more people not heard of it? To put it simply, it’s a Chinese film created for a Chinese audience that made most of its money in China. However, I believe it has global appeal, especially for anime fans.

#Plot
The movie stars two characters from Chinese mythology, Nezha and Ao Bing, and is part of a planned trilogy that will cover the events of the 16th-century novel Investiture of the Gods. It deviates significantly from the original by making Nezha a (human-shaped) reincarnation of demonic energy and Ao Bing a (dragon-shaped) reincarnation of spiritual energy; in the original, Nezha was the reincarnation of spiritual energy and Ao Bing was an ordinary dragon. In fact, in the original, they aren’t even friends; instead, Nezha murders Ao Bing! In contrast, Ne Zha (2019) and Ne Zha 2 are fun all-ages movies about the values of friendship, family, and non-discrimination. This doesn’t mean they’re boring, as they’re still filled with pathos and interest. For example, in the first movie, Ao Bing is burdened with generations of familial expectations and tasked with killing Nezha, his only friend, in what’s perceived as the only way to help his father and other family escape their current state (unfairly trapped in prison for years). The second movie is a little less suspenseful, but still includes familial drama, ethical drama, and startlingly brutal scenes for a kids’ movie.

#Why do I think it's great?
The most breathtaking part of this movie is its animation. I saw it in IMAX and was blown away. Ne Zha 2 includes massive battle scenes with so many characters they look at times like gigantic waves battling against each other and at other times like golden blossoms on a giant tree. The action scenes are fast and fun, and the majority of scenes take place in gorgeous environments with creative setpieces. The dragons live under the ocean in a prison full of bubbling lava, chained to mountains, while the immortals of the Chen sect live and train in beautiful jade halls. As for the character design, the designs include handsome and beautiful men and women who have captured the public eye as well as characters varied in size, shape, silhouette and age, including the main character, Nezha, who looks like a little kid and was intentionally designed to appear ugly (he’s a sort of cute-ugly) to support the movie’s themes of overcoming discrimination and at-a-glance prejudice. The soundtrack didn't stand out to me, but it's also good-quality.

I can't get across how good the animation looks with my words, or even with still images. I would highly recommend watching it on a big screen yourself.

#Issues
This movie isn't understandable without watching Ne Zha first, as it follows directly from the end of that movie. However, Ne Zha is also worth a watch. The animation is taken up a notch in Ne Zha 2, but the quality is high even in the first.

At times, the humor wasn't my thing. I don't really like kids' cartoons or family movies, and both Ne Zha movies are those things. But I could still get past it and enjoy some jokes, and I think my issue with that style of humor has more to do with me than the movie.

#In conclusion
A hit for a reason and worth a watch, especially if you have a big-screen TV, a projector setup, or can catch it in theaters. The plot and characters are great, but not enough to make it a ten on its own, so I'd specifically recommend it for animation fans with a good place to watch.