The Chinese are so bad at marketing this film that a lot still might have not heard about it (they live in their own space anyway). About how it is now the highest grossing animated movie of all time and the 5th highest grossing movie of all time joining the honor roll of Avatar, Avengers Endgame, Avatar Way of Water and Titanic. It really went under everyone's radar who rely on the Hollywood machine for their usual staple of blockbuster movies. But there comes a time when you get fed up with the constant bombardment of unimaginative products from Hollywood in recent years. Remakes, live-action treatments, sequels no one want, nostalgia baits and so on.
Ne Zha 2 came in as a breath of fresh air in this environment of mediocre Hollywood blockbuster content. And it deserves every penny it is getting right now.
The first act starts off with the grandeur of a third act. Might feel a bit rushed to others but director Jiaozi made sure to bring in some refresher on what happened during the first film. Ne Zha's parents, Li Jing and Lady Yin are now given more time to shine and show their fighting prowess which was absent in the first film. The action sequences are a beauty to watch with the animation bringing life to the different colors on the screen. And after such a major sequence at the start of the movie, you might ask yourself what might be in store in the last stretch? And that felt exciting this early in the movie.
It is obvious that director Jiaozi had some heavy influences from shonen manga/anime and even borrowed some western concepts. For example, this is very much a macguffin story in at least half of the movie and I cant recall any Chinese movie being like this. Or I might not have watched that many aside from those epic Stephen Chow or Jacky Chan movies.
The shonen manga/anime references are what adds bombast into the movie. A protagonist that gets a power up at the end, a "frenemy" that acts both as a rival and a comrade, a teacher to guide him and not be astray, an organization of powered up invididuals, fighting techniques and spells, you name it, Jiaozi follows the formula perfectly. This combination of Chinese myth and Japanese storytelling blends really well that it doesn't feel forced or shoehorned. Japan has borrowed a lot of Chinese stories in their manga and anime that it comes full circle that a Chinese film borrows some concepts from them. And the film's individuality as a Chinese film is also not lost. A child who yearns to be useful to his parents inspite of being a demon-child, parents who will do anything for their child and a family centric film without needing to say the word x number of times like Dominic Toretto.
And the film is really funny. It has snot, fart, pee and poop jokes like the first movie, your main protagonist is a demon-child anyway so these antics fit the character perfectly. And a dash of some Mo lei tau. I feel like he Jiaozi is a Stephen Chow fan and I like it. And to those disappointed with the Snow White film, this might give you a good Snow White (ish) sequence to somewhat wash away that disappointment.
I don't find these problematic, it depends on who is watching it anyway, but it is worth mentioning that too much shifting of alliances might not be one's cup of tea. The first film is also guilty of this and if I am to guess here, the director don't want to fully set his characters as a hero and a villain, just like Yin and Yang. Characters known to be bad are shown to have good sides and their actions rationalized. It all depends on the viewers on what actions they deem bad or not.
The imagination and creativity is something here, and animation is really the best medium for such storytelling. It has been told that director Jiaozi is a pharmacist but had his sights set on being an animator that he left that career. So he really has the love and talent for it. There are a lot of memorable sequences that will leave one in awe but there is one major sequence where it was very emotional and man tears will try to come out and just after that, another breathtaking sequence happens that will suck up all your oxygen in a needle drop moment. I have seen this film five times and it never fails. It is that epic.
And in typical MCU fashion (at least the old one), I am looking forward to what happens next. It borrowed the mid credits scene approach and the excitement it brings is pre MCU phase 4 levels. The first movie also had this. It took me a second viewing that I noticed a major easter egg within the film that is really making me excited on what is to come for this franchise.
Overall, Ne Zha 2 is the film that has satiated my cravings for a quality blockbuster movie. It might take a while before we get another movie on this universe but I'm sure the wait will be really worth it. Got watch it when you get the chance.