Ne Zha 2 Review

Ne Zha 2 is one of those movies where you’re constantly asking, “Wait, who is the again?,” “Why are these two fighting?,” and “What exactly is going on?” While seeing the original blockbuster helps, both films are extremely lore-oriented and plot-heavy. Yet, that’s not the appeal of either. Whether or not you followed the story, the first film was a spectacle. Ne Zha 2 doubles down on the spectacle, along with the action and comedy. It also more than doubled the first film’s box office, becoming the highest-grossing animated feature of all time.

Most of its income came from China, where Ne Zha 2 was produced. Ne Zha 2 was released in the U.S. earlier this year, although A24 has brought it back to theaters with an English dub. As far as dubs go, A24’s release of Ne Zha 2 is a vast improvement over the first film’s English version. The dialogue doesn’t always sync with the character’s lip movements, but when an Oscar winner like Michelle Yeoh is reciting these lines, it’s easy to overlook. While Yeoh is the cast’s biggest name, voice actress Crystal Lee carries the film as the titular Ne Zha, the pint-sized ass-kicker with a devilish grin. Between KPop Demon Hunters and this, it’s a good year for demonic representation in animation.

Ne Zha’s better half is Ao Bing (Aleks Le), whose calm demeanor balances the fire within our protagonist. Speaking of which, after their bodies were destroyed in the last movie, Ao Bing’s spirit winds up sharing Ne Zha’s newly formed vessel. To restore Ao Bing’s physical body, the two must perform three trials while also trying to prevent an impending war. The setup is both simple and convoluted, but the plot is essentially an excuse for action and comedy set pieces. While writer/director Jiaozi again delivers on the action front, the humor is hit and miss. Although the slapstick is sharply timed and the character animation overflows with personality, Ne Zha 2 has one too many fart and vomit gags. To its credit, the film does have a funny toilet scene, which is hard to pull off.

The fight choreography is where Ne Zha 2 excels, striking a balance between Dragon Ball and Kung Fu Panda. Some fights are played for laughs, like when Ne Zha and Ao Bing face off against a pack of marmot demons. Others are surprisingly intense, calling the Pompeii eruption or the bombings of Hiroshima to mind. There’s a surprisingly high body count that might catch families in the audience off guard. Yet, viewers young and old will be blown away by the sheer scale as Ne Zha takes on a living mountain. That’s not even the film’s grandest set piece. Just to give you an idea of how massive the film is, there’s a sequence where the sea parts and a whale collapses on a house. That whale is just a blip in a world of dragons and demons.

The film’s scale is reflected in its runtime, which clocks in at more than two hours. Like Avatar: The Way of Water, the third act of Ne Zha 2 is essentially one long action sequence. It’s excessive, although every time the audience starts to get restless, the film wallops us with another tidal wave of eye candy. The film can pack an emotional punch as well. Even if you struggle to keep track of who every character is, the performances from Yeoh and Lee, in particular, know how to turn on the waterworks. The Ne Zha movies might not rank among the all-time greats, but looking at almost any frame of animation, you can see why this is a billion-dollar franchise. Experience the phenomenon on the big screen for yourself.