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This is going to be a split between a movie review for Ne Zha 2 and some of my thoughts on the state of culture from a China-born American. Unfortunately, you beat me to the punch while I was writing this, so I'll employ the angler fish method of reproduction and just attach my post to yours. If I need to move or remove it, just let me know.
NeZha 2 has been making the rounds as a cultural milestone in both China and abroad. Being the first (only) Chinese movie to have had a billion dollar gross before its foreign release, there has been some ink spilled on what this means for the movie industry as a whole. And I'm gonna spill a little more. First of all, is the movie good?
Short answer: Yes. Without a doubt an amazing kids movie by Chinese standards (not in terms of quality, but in terms of sensibility, I'll expand later).
Long answer: I'll break the movie down on different dimensions, and mark spoilers for the second movie only. I'd definitely recommend watching the movie first before reading any spoilers because the movie is truly worth a watch for everyone, not just kids.
1. Presentation
Extremely competent. Legitimately on par with some of the highest quality CG animation from the US and Japan. This shouldn't come as a surprise. Japan has increasingly been outsourcing its animation to China for cost reasons. Further, Tencent, being the multi-media colossus it is, is incredibly well versed in animation as the owner of League of Legends along with dozens of other IPs. Visually, the movie truly fantastic, with landscapes and backgrounds that come straight out of the Chinese paintings I'd seen as a kid. The action scenes are very well shot and animated. The action is fairly easy to follow and is on par with some of the best action from anime. I'll lump music in here as well because I'm not knowledgeable enough to speak at length. The music is a very interesting mix of Chinese and Western. The score is filled with traditional Chinese instruments and the sound is distinctly Chinese. Think Black Myth WuKong, if you want a comparable soundtrack. Based purely on the presentation, I'd say it's already one of the best animated movies of the year.
2. Story/Plot
The story starts directly after where the first movie ends. I won't give anything away here, but the plot centers around the physical resurrection of NeZha and his friend AoBing and the effects thereof. The story is quintessentially Chinese. Similar to the first movie, the story at its core is about family, specifically the relationship between a parent and child. This theme is covered extensively in Chinese works, and I'd say that a large amount of Chinese culture is centered on this theme. As a Chinese person myself, the story hit a particular emotional resonance. While Western, especially American audiences may not fully grasp the intended emotional effect, it should still hit home for almost all audiences. In the spoiler section, I'll talk about scenes of particular import. But as a wrap up, I'd say that while the story this movie tells is Chinese at its core, it will resonate with everyone,
3. Sensibilities
This is where it gets a little weird. If you asked me based purely on the above whether I'd recommend NeZha 2 as a family movie, I'd say absolutely 100% . However, there is a bit of culture shock when it comes to what a kids movie is in China and America. I'd say that while NeZha 2 is a PG movie, it's more akin to what PG used to be in the 80s and 90s than what it is now. On the humor side of things, the humor is much more crude than what you'd find in an American kids' movie. Toilet humor and slapstick are much more prevalent and acceptable in China than it is now in America. On the action side, it's also a lot more extreme than what you'd expect in a typical American Kid's movie. The movie does not shy away from some of the effects of the action that's shown. For example, a character is shown as being shot through with a mystical arrow, and the blood is clearly shown oozing out from the wound. In fact, afterwards, you can see a hole where the character was shot. Now we're not talking about Saving Private Ryan levels of blood and guts, but definitely more than what we would normally see in America. Death is also not shied away from. Outright death is not shown on screen, but there are definitely sanitized and implied scenes of death. The movie does get quite dark, especially toward the last third. I'll also discuss this as a spoiler as well. One good thing, however, is that some of the weirdness of the first movie has been toned down by a lot. If anyone's seen the first movie, there are just moments of strangeness that I can only chalk up to the movie being Chinese. Humor is cultural, and I can tell that certain jokes that should be funny to Chinese audiences would fall flat to American audiences. All in all, if you plan on watching this with children, do watch out for these items.
4. Spoilers
Here I'll talk about some memorable scenes with spoilers on. For anyone who hasn't seen the first or second movies, this section will probably not make any sense, as I will not be giving context or talking about everything in order. It should make sense if you've seen the movie.
5. Some Thoughts
As you can probably tell, I'm a pretty big fan of the movie, and the franchise as a whole (2 is definitely better than 1. If I had to rank them, 1 would be a 7, and 2 would be a 9.5). However, When I was watching NeZha 2, I kept thinking about how this movie could not be made by Hollywood. It's not just because of the different sensibilities between Chinese and American children's movies, but because of everything else. First of all, the action scenes in both movies are incredible. I can't remember the last time an American animated movie had action as good as this. This should come as no real surprise as the action comes in the tradition of Kung Fu movies, but the difference is really a little shocking. Second, is the theme. It might be because I haven't seen as many children's movies recently, but I honestly cannot remember the last time a kid's movie explored its theme with as much maturity and complexity as this movie. While it's a little heavy handed in certain parts, the emotional beats of the movie really resonated with me on a level that no movie has in a long time. To me, this movie serves as just another indication of the precipitous collapse of American soft power. The movie is undeniably and unapologetically Chinese. The story is based off of one of the stories from 封神演义, a sort of creation tale of many of the gods and saints in the Chinese folk pantheon. The music, while made with more Western sensibilities, utilizes Chinese instruments in a way that has a distinct Chinese sound. The theme of the story is familial in a way that can only really be appreciated with a Chinese upbringing. Yet, I think that these things resonate on a much deeper level than what's being pumped out by Hollywood these days. This movie, to me, represents China putting its best foot forward when it comes to its values. Its focus on family, parental love, and duty, in my opinion, would really resonate with a general audience, not just a Chinese one. This is coming at a time of historic drought for Hollywood. Disney, the former children's movie juggernaut has been sluggish, releasing remakes of their previous movies, many to little fanfare. It seems that China's (and East Asia's more generally) cultural ascent in recent years has come at the detriment of American soft power.
I really don't know if Ne Zha 2 is a flash in the pan or the beginning of the end. I think we'd have to see how things go in the next 5 years. Whereas America has enjoyed its place as the cultural Jupiter of the world for almost 50 years, it's now East Asia that has most of the spotlight culturally. Anime has been popular for decades, but with the recent rise of K-Pop, K-Dramas, and notable Chinese hits, it seems that America will soon run into the same soft power deficit that plagues China to this day. Supposedly Hollywood is starting to course correct, but I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we lived in a world 5 years from now where it's Chinese, Korean, or Japanese movies that are topping the charts.
This is such a thoughtful comment. Leaving a reminder to myself to come back and reply to it when I get the time. Thanks ! I should've waited for your top-post. So much more nuance.
At the highest level, your reaction to it reminds me of how I felt watching RRR. The cultural reaction is so visceral, that it can be hard to articulate. But, you know it when you see it.
You've convinced me to watch it, at the very least.
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I'd say it's a very American thing, and to a certain extent somewhat recent. While Disney has been known to sugar-coat and soft-pad stories for decades, even in the US more serious takes were not exactly out of question up to the edge of 00s probably. Which was accidentally (or not) about the time anime started taking off in the west.
Superb review by the way.
Don Bluth has entered the chat lol.
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Give puss in boots - last wish a chance.
The clueless people who made Last Wish really messed up. They were supposed to make a soulless by-the-numbers sequel to a forgettable spinoff of an overrated series. Instead they made one of the best animated films in years, better than anything Pixar's done since Coco. I sure hope somebody got fired for that.
Shrek 1 and 2 are classics for a reason. I almost cried during the first film Hallelujah and wanted to join the fight during the second's I need a hero.
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I stand corrected. Puss in boots - last wish really was that good. I'd say that my point still stands.
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