Ne Zha II pairs a 16th-century novel and Chinese mythology with breathtaking digital imagery and has become a global box-office phenomenon, earning about $2 billion. The narrative follows Ne Zha, a demonic, flaming child, and Ao Bing, an ethereal, water-based do-gooder born from halves of the same celestial pearl, who are trapped together in a single body while rebuilding their forms. The film delivers astonishing, otherworldly visuals—lava rains, rising dragons and unexpectedly menacing cherry blossom trees—though character animation and the English voice cast feel uneven at times. Honey Don't! and Lurker also open in theaters this weekend.
Head-spinningly gorgeous in every frame, if also head-scratchingly impenetrable in many scenes (at least for some Western audiences), this mix of a 16th century novel, Chinese mythology and breathtaking digital imagery is already a worldwide box-office juggernaut. It's taken in about $2 billion worldwide (more than Inside Out 2, Hollywood's top-grossing animated film). And the film is likely to win new fans, as it's only now being released in the U.S. with an English voice cast.
The story centers on best buds Ne Zha, a demonic, literally flaming tyke, and ethereal, water-based do-gooder Ao Bing who were born from two halves of the same celestial pearl. As the film begins, they are rebuilding their physical forms after whatever happened in the first Ne Zha film. But before the rebuilding can happen, events conspire to trap them both in a single body.
There's perhaps seven movies' worth of plot, none of it terribly crucial if what you're intent on is absorbing the astonishing visuals from an animation team of thousands. Otherworldly, and consistently surprising it had never occurred to me that a cherry blossom tree could look so threatening they are reason enough to see the film, though their gorgeousness is undercut slightly by character animation and an English voice cast that are less-than-subtle. (Disney/Pixar do those aspects better). Bob Mondello
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