Rob Reviews "Ne Zha II"

As an American, it was tough for me to wrap my brain around the fact that Ne Zha II is the highest-grossing Chinese, and non-English, and animated (beating out Inside Out 2) film in the history of EVER.  It is also the first non-Hollywood film to pass the billion-dollar mark (it has actually topped two billion, and did it in thirty-three days, only beaten in THAT category by Avengers: Endgame).  After witnessing it for myself, I can actually understand why.

Six years ago, director Yu Yang (also known as Jiaozi or Jokelate) directed its predecessor, telling the teal of Nezha and Aobing, whose bodies are destroyed after the possession of the Demon Orb and Spirit Pearl (respectively) leads to a strike of heavenly lightning.  As Nezha’s master, Taiyi Zhenren, uses his Seven-Colored Sacred Lotus to try and remake their bodies, the duo’s impatience leads to a race against time to save Nezeha’s village and Aobing’s family from imminent destruction from an unknown power.

Two words here:  HOLY.  COW.  This film is nothing short of amazing.  For a two-and-a-half-hour film, Ne Zha II held my attention at a pace that was perfect for the multiple twists and turns this story took.  Not knowing the source material or even having seen its 2019 predecessor, the filmmakers do an outstanding job anticipating this fact for the larger audience, telling the backstory as it is warranted after a brief history of the two main characters before diving in.  The English dub of the film was not on par with some of the other anime translations I have seen, but this seems to be a lot more difficult with CGI animation than it is with traditional-style animation.  Having grown up in the era that I did, this was not a problem for me.

The visuals here are also nothing sort of flawless.  Not only did I get the opportunity to watch this film in IMAX, I was also surprised to find out I would be doing so in 3-D.  The conversion here felt more like giving the art style more depth than trying to do anything with the “comin’ at ‘cha” type of thing, and I had no issue whatsoever with it.  Any more of the latter would have felt like it was trying to take away from this amazing presentation more than anything else.

Crystal Lee (mostly known for Genshin Impact) voices the main character and embraces Nezha PERFECTLY.  Having the power of a demon that has to be kept under control while understanding the stakes of the matter at hand fits into what I would imagine the character to sound like, especially in an anime presentation.  Michelle Yeoh is the only other voice actor of the main cast that I recognize as Nezha’s mother, Lady Yin, and you put her in just about anything and you have my attention.

Ne Zha II has every right to be recognized by every awards committee that exists and could win all of them.  This film is THAT good, and the larger animation companies stateside need to realize that in 2025, they could be on notice.  It also would not be a bad idea for A24 to get ahold of the first film and work with some chains like Alamo Draftouse to show them in a double feature, even if the first one (which also did about $750 million globally) has to be subtitled.  That would be a day at the theater I would block out for sure.