‘Ne Zha II’ Review – The Highest-Grossing Animated Film Of All Time Has To Be Seen To Be Believed

Being a new parent is hard enough. (So I’ve heard.) Now imagine your newborn is the reincarnation of something called “The Demon Orb,” a being that is wholly made up of ancient elemental forces that make up heaven and earth. (Cue the parents joking, “So, a newborn then.”) That’s essentially what happens in Ne Zha, the 2019 Chinese animated film written and directed by Jiaozi that follows the youthful adventures of its titular character and his enemy-turned-pal Ao Bing, a dragon prince. Ne Zha was both a financial and critical hit, one that became its country’s most successful animated film of all time not long after its release six years ago. Until, of course, its baby brother came along to ruin everything.

That’s how these things tend to go, both in life and at the movies: The firstborn lays the groundwork, and he who follows takes all the credit. Oftentimes, the sequel – okay, we’re strictly talking about movies now, as it feels wrong to call a sibling “the sequel” – lacks the charm, substance, and originality that the original possessed, yet profits on its popularity. Inflation has something (read: almost everything) to do with it, but think about recent examples like Inside Out 2 toppling Inside Out’s box office returns when the former released last year, nine years after the first film came out, or The Incredibles 2 practically doubling the earnings of its predecessor. The same can be said for pretty much every Fast & Furious movie ever made, and save for Fast Five, those movies tend to be dogs. This is precisely what makes it’s such a delight to report that Ne Zha II, now the biggest animated movie in history, grossing roughly $2.2 billion globally since its initial January release date, is no such slouch: It’s a massive, glorious, transcendent epic that hits hardest on a massive screen, and doesn’t falter in the footsteps of the film that came before it. Instead, it expands the world that the original project created, reaching thrilling new heights on a visual and intellectual level.

It’s even more of a pleasure to report such news given that while the second film is significantly more complicated than the first, it rewards patience and attention tenfold as it unspools a narrative dating back not only to 2019, but to the 16th Century. Loosely adapted from tales within the Ming dynasty novelist Xu Zhonglin’s book “Investiture of the Gods,” Ne Zha II – which, to much discussion and some dismay, is receiving an English-dubbed release from A24 – begins with its titular character and his aforementioned buddy having to share one form after a resurrection spell gone wrong. (Both characters died at the end of Ne Zha, but were granted the ability to live on as spirits; that’s where II starts off.) 

Now stuck inside Ne Zha’s body, the duo must succeed in completing three tasks in order to then retrieve a magic potion that will then allow Ao Bing to be resurrected as his own entity. Already representing a yin and yang of sorts, as they were born as demons from a mysterious entity known as “the Chaos Pearl,” this complicated quest forces the two to work in tandem, and to avoid becoming caught in a web of, well, chaos that threatens to upend the fabric of all ancestral planes as they know it. If they succeed, they’ll be freed from one soul and retake their own, separately but equally living as immortals. If not, wickedness will reign supreme, threatening the lives of everyone they love.

Ne Zha II is a film for children, after all, so these references to “demons,” “wickedness,” and “ancestral planes” have all been somewhat simplified for the sake of younger audiences in search of a Pixar-esque thrill ride that will merely entertain and awe. But viewers of any age are sure to be treated with respect, and to be met with a similar awe, should they give this film a chance, especially if they do so on the largest possible screen. (A24 is releasing the film in both IMAX and 3D formats, and tickets are sure to fly off the proverbial shelves.) The images that Jiaozi and co. have created for this installment in the extended tale of a magical toddler are to be seen to be believed, with colors that are sure to be overwhelming on any scale. Yet the appeal of Ne Zha II transcends that of a mere visual marvel, with its thrilling action sequences being as relentless as its reliance on potty humor. (Again, this is a movie made for kids… You’re free to take or leave the fart jokes at will.) 

The same can probably be said for the film’s commitment to Chinese mythology, a quality that will undoubtedly test American audiences if not baffle them outright. Furthermore, its runtime of two-and-a-half hours could make or break the curiosities of those uninitiated with its specifications, let alone those who have heard about the film in the news but never seen the original. It should go without saying that a cursory watch of Ne Zha is a must before delving deep into the world that II expands to its limits. But those who are itching to experience something bold and refreshing in an animated landscape that has recently been diluted to that of Pixar and/or Spider-Verse-adjacent illustration will find that their time spent is worth the investment. Watching both Ne Zha (streaming on Netflix and Tubi right now, in fact) and Ne Zha II is akin to having your own soul stirred to life. It may not grant its audience with immortality, but the experience feels as close to that sensation as any Earth-dweller could ever come. 

Ne Zha 2 is currently playing in theaters courtesy of A24.