On March 16, a young boy riding on wind-and-fire wheels is rewriting global film history—Nezha 2: The demon child churns the sea has surged into the top five highest-grossing films worldwide with a box office of 151 billion yuan(20.88 billion dollars), claiming the throne as the highest-grossing animated film globally.
I watched this film at the ODEON cinema in Belfast, United Kingdom, where the theater was fully packed. Due to the high demand, the cinema promptly added more showtimes. Overall, Ne Zha 2 stands as an excellent animated film.
When Shen Gongbao leaped alone to battle the demon dragon, when Ne Zha burned his body to break the curse, and when Lady Yin transformed into a pill to aid her son’s breakthrough, Ne Zha 2 uses one subversive scene after another to provide a contemporary interpretation of traditional Chinese mythology. This phenomenal animated film is neither a simple replication of classical texts nor a clumsy imitation of Western narratives; rather, it grows from the roots of Eastern aesthetics, developing a cinematic poetics with global resonance.
I. Narrative Reconstruction: From “Returning Flesh to Father”to “Breaking the Curse Through Pain”
The film’s most ingenious adaptation lies in the creative transformation of the “cutting bones to return to father” motif. In traditional stories, this theme is filled with tragic ethical severance. However, under director Jiaozi’s lens, it metamorphoses into an emotional redemption mediated through the sensation of pain. The setting of the “Heart-Piercing Curse” is a stroke of genius—the visual spectacle of countless blood-red curse marks piercing the body retains the ritualistic sense of bodily deconstruction while turning the violence into a catalyst for awakening. When Lady Yin sacrifices her life to break the talismanic curse, the filial piety ethics of “the body, hair, and skin are received from the parents” in Eastern culture are sublimated into a more modern familial bond. This adaptation not only avoids narrative risks for an all-ages animation but also spiritually continues the cultural genes of the mythological archetype.
II. Visual Revolution: The Digital Rebirth of Ink and Wash
The box office miracle of Ne Zha 2 also stems from the collective efforts of 138 Chinese animation companies and over 4,000 animators. From the mysterious iron chains of the underwater Dragon Palace to the glazed lights and shadows of the Jade Void Treasury, the film’s visual system showcases astonishing aesthetic self-awareness. The moment when the three Dragon Kings break through the ice, the trajectory of shattering ice crystals subtly aligns with the brushwork of Song Dynasty landscape paintings; the ice-fire duel between Ne Zha and Ao Bing recreates the Daoist philosophy of yin-yang interplay through particle effects. Notably commendable is the expression of pain in the “Heart-Piercing Curse”—the director eschews bloody visual stimuli, instead opting for a digital deconstruction of the body into 600 fragmented pieces. This approach maintains the hypothetical nature of animation while allowing the audience to empathetically experience the agony. Such a creative approach, integrating traditional aesthetics with modern technology, is akin to using digital brushstrokes to continue the fantastical chapters of the Classic of Mountains and Seas.
III. Cultural Decoding: The Generational Evolution of Rebellious Spirit
The transformation trajectory of Ne Zha’s image mirrors the spiritual landscape of contemporary Chinese youth. From the identity anxiety of “my fate is determined by me, not by heaven” in The Devil Child Comes into the World to the value awakening of “whether I’m a demon or an immortal, it’s up to me” in this film, this classical rebel is imbued with a new era’s soul. When Ne Zha questions the celestial order, asking “what gives you the right to define good and evil,” and when Ao Bing struggles between the fate of the dragon clan and personal morality, the film essentially constructs a modern allegory beneath its mythological exterior. Young people entangled in academic assessments and urbanites struggling within workplace rules can see their own existential predicaments reflected in these confrontations between immortals and demons.
IV. Emotional Resonance: The Universal Code of Family Narratives
The director’s portrayal of family relationships demonstrates narrative wisdom that transcends cultural barriers. The restrained warmth of Li Jing and his wife’s farewell at the bridge contrasts with Ao Guang’s obsession of “I just want you to live,” creating dramatic tension; the misplaced familial affection between Shen Gongbao and his brother mirrors Lady Stone’s survival philosophy of “as long as the green hills last.” These emotional subplots, wrapped in the shell of immortal heroism, encompass universal themes of modern families: generational communication gaps, the tussle between familial affection and ideals, and the conflict between individual destiny and family expectations.
V. Industrial Ambition: The Breakthrough of Chinese Animation Aesthetics
The meticulous craftsmanship honed over five years is crystallized into an industrial declaration of Chinese animation within 1,900 special effects shots. In the long take of the underwater ten-thousand-dragon prison break, every collision of chains is precisely calculated; within the particle torrents of the battle between immortals and demons, the blank-leaving aesthetics of Eastern ink wash achieve a subtle balance with Western surrealism. More noteworthy is the film’s creative transformation of traditional cultural elements: the Hun Tian Ling disperses into data streams ascending to the clouds, and the Wind-Fire Wheels trace Tai Chi trajectories within cyber spaces. These details reveal the creative team’s cultural ambition—not merely transplanting traditional symbols but constructing a uniquely Eastern sci-fi mythos.
As the end credits roll, the figure treading on wind-and-fire wheels breaking through the sky has transcended the confines of the screen. He is both the tragic hero of classical mythology who cut flesh and bones and the cultural icon in the eyes of Generation Z who breaks rules. The film’s success is not just about box office numbers, but about its ability to merge tradition with innovation, creating a visually stunning and emotionally resonant cinematic experience.
Author: Terence Tianpeng Yao
16/03/20
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