‘Ne Zha 2’ Review: Chinese Blockbuster Is Visually Engaging, But Its Elaborate Plot Is A Challenge

Chinese box office phenom Ne Zha 2 begins with a helpful recap for new viewers, and those already familiar with the franchise, to keep track of the elaborate tale. The animated sequel, which has been on a record-breaking spree since releasing in China during the Lunar New Year holiday and reaches North America today, expands on the characters and mythology of the 2019 hit film.

Demon Orb Ne Zha (voiced by Joseph) and Spirit Orb Aobing (Mo Han) died at the end of the previous Ne Zha, or at least their physical bodies did. As the sequel begins, Master Immortal Taiyi (Jiaming Zhang) constructs new bodies for them out of the Sacred Lotus. Unfortunately, Aobing’s perishes before his soul can settle in, but Taiyi has an idea: Both Ne Zha and Aobing can share Ne Zha’s body for seven days. If they can complete Master Wuliang’s (Deshun Wang) ascension trials, they’ll win a magic potion that can restore the Sacred Lotus and make a new form for Aobing.

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The shared corpus leads to some sequences reminiscent of Steve Martin in All of Me as Ne Zha and Aobing struggle to work out control at first. They learn to switch, and when Aobing takes over, Ne Zha’s form changes. As Ne Zha, his wide eyes often bulge in different directions. As Aobing, Ne Zha’s body softens and exhibits firm posture and more controlled movements. It’s a shame this doesn’t occur more often in the movie since it’s among the film’s most captivating instances of magic.

Because Ne Zha is on a quest, he leaves his parents behind. They were such significant characters in the first film, it’s too bad they don’t have more to do here.

The animation, which involves human, animal and dragon forms, does not quite achieve Pixar-level elegance, but it more than holds its own. The rendering of martial arts battles is as graceful as DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda series.

The myriad creatures should appeal to international fans of fantasy epics like Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings. The sea dragons return from Ne Zha 1, long and flowing creatures like the kinds referenced in traditional Chinese dragon dances as opposed to the winged monsters of American fantasy. Creatures participate in battle scenes, such as an octopus man whose tentacles regenerate when cut off. Ne Zha’s third trial introduces the memorable creature Lady Shi Ji, a cross between Snow White’s wicked queen asking a mirror who is the fairest, and Medusa as she becomes a stone monster Ne Zha fights.

The film gets a little too busy with all of the additional plotting outside of Ne Zha’s quest and trials. To the movie’s credit, writer-director Jiaozi names all of the characters on screen and identifies locations and significant objects to help viewers follow along in any language.

But, Ne Zha’s hometown of Chentangguan still battles dragons, as four of their kings work with Aobing’s father, and celestial Gods get involved, too. The sequel does not deal with time passing at different rates between the physical and heavenly realm as the 2019 movie did, and there is exponentially more mythology added to Ne Zha’s story here.

Once Ne Zha’s trials are completed, there are still more battles and complications to restoring his and Aobing’s souls to separate bodies, let alone the states of Chentangguan, the sea dragons’ nefarious plot, and further conspiracies introduced late in the film. Though always visually engaging, resolving all of this plot takes more than two hours and can feel exhausting.

There are mid-credits scenes setting up further adventures of Ne Zha. In the first film, he learned the truth about his origin and in Ne Zha 2 he truly grows up. With the success of the sequel in China, a third film seems inevitable, with the potential to expand further.

Title: Ne Zha 2
Distributor: CMC Pictures (U.S.)
Release date: Friday, February 14, 2025 (U.S.)
Director-screenwriter: Jiaozi 
Cast: Joseph, Mo Han, Jiaming Zhang, Deshun Wang
Running time: 2 hr 23 mins

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