I'm shocked how much I enjoyed Ne Zha 2, and I honestly think a lot of people here would feel the same about it
My partner and I have friends from China, and they pushed us to watch Ne Zha 2, the animated movie produced over there. It's pronounced "nuh zah" by the way. We had no idea what the fuss was about, and we were skeptical since it has literally no marketing in the US, and we hadn't seen the first movie either. All we heard is that it's insanely popular in China, and making records in the domestic box office there.
Now, I can say I was honestly blown away. It's like, ruined other animated movies for me, for a while. Again, I had no expectations going in, and the first ten minutes of the movie, I thought this was not the movie for me, it looked like a kids' movie, I was almost rolling my eyes in the beginning of the movie tbh.
We didn't look at any clips on the Internet beforehand, and I'm glad, because they would not do the movie justice!
What got me, I think it was the visuals, the nonstop action that looks like it was made with an insane budget, and animators working way beyond healthy hours to produce. Oh, and the sound production with the deep bass, so I could feel every impact, I have to thank the theater for that lol. I didn't even know it was an action movie, so it caught me off guard just how many scenes they crammed in there! Once it started, it really felt almost nonstop, no time to breathe like most movies would do
The story is actually good too, and there are definitely parts where people could cry
I'm also not used to seeing much of Chinese fantasy settings, so that part was entertaining for me. I don't know how much was out of the director's imagination, or coming from Chinese mythology, or Chinese video games, it all came together so well though
If you like action, and fantasy, and animation or video games, and are okay reading subtitles, please do yourself a favor, watch this one!
Disclaimer: I'm a US citizen, I'm not affiliated with Chinese media, I'm not a marketer, I really genuinely loved the movie
I saw that this movie was popping off. Did you feel like you were missing anything by not watching the first one? I would prefer to watch the story in chronological order, but it seems like there is limited release options for it for western audiences.
Whenever a character felt like a recurring one, I felt like I got the broad strokes of it, and it didn't detract from my experience, personally. Any characters with any bearing on the story got plenty of screen time. I looked it up, and the first one came out in 2019, so I think most people would have forgot the first story by now anyway
I don't think you want to know how much of my time is spent thinking about cartoons.
Lol well in that case, yeah, seeing the first one would give some insight into the protagonists' relationships, and I'd imagine it gives context as to why some of the villains and side characters are in the positions that they're in at the start of the second movie, and it could make someone more invested in the emotional moments in this new movie, maybe?
It worked really well already though, I don't think audiences are expected to have seen the first one, the film director did everything they needed to to get the messages across to a general audience
Personally I'm not feeling the urge to go back and see the first one just yet, I know I'll be somewhat disappointed after seeing this one, I hadn't heard too much about the first, and I'm assuming the production values were noticeably lower for that one
So I actually did go out and watch this movie today. I was already sorta interested in seeing it, and this post served as a reminder to see if it was playing at any local theaters, which it was. I agree with your assessment that the first film is not required viewing to get the appeal of this one, though I think it would probably help. Though knowing literally anything about Chinese folklore is probably better for dealing with any of the weirdness the story throws your way.
Overall I thought it was pretty good. It meets any expectations one could have about its visuals. By far the biggest flaw is that it doesn't give you an actual ending, and just kicks the problems down the line for the sequel. I think it pretty fair to get pissed at that, doubly so if the sequel is another six years away, like the gap between the first two is. I also think some of the pacing at the end is sorta scuffed. I found the humor in the movie to be pretty good, but there are parts in the final act where making cuts for jokes felt like it was just adding unnecessary bloat to an already long climax.
The humor was also a source some of the strongest cultural divisions when watching the movie. It's a children's movie for sure, but it would probably be considered "vulgar" by western standards. Almost every human bodily fluid got screen time, minus the one that dramatically changes ratings. I think western sensibilities are fine with referencing them, but actually showing them doesn't really happen all that much. Blood obviously will change a rating, but I have no clue if toilet humor will change a movie from the G/PG range into a PG13 one. To me it's all in good fun, but I could see it failing the vibe check with some people.
I ended up seeing it in 3D because that was the convenient time slot for me, and my stance is that it does not improve the move in any way. Wouldn't recommend that option to anyone curious. It did not change my opinion of the movie in any way, but I also had a shitty theater experience watching the film. There was a really high turn out for it, which surprised me, but there was like 8 separate people on their phones the entire time. It was way worse than any sort of blockbuster experience I've ever had. Midnight releases for comicbook movies were more behaved than this audience.
I'm basically just rambling at this point. Overall it's a good time. I think anyone in to either the art form of animation or is just a big shonen anime fan will probably enjoy this a lot.
Those are definitely fair criticisms, I'm glad you did enjoy the movie overall, and I'm realizing I probably over hyped it in my OP. We liked it coming in with zero expectations, so my gushing might have set the bar too high, in hindsight
I'm sorry about the audience, I think we've all been through bad theater experiences like that, sucks
No way you could over sell it more than its box office earnings. It's really deserving of most of your praise.
I was trying to think about why I feel so sure that seeing the first movie felt unimportant, I realized the fantasy mythology backdrop carries a lot there. So many of the characters are gods and dragons and other beings that have been around for thousands of years, and each movie is like a snapshot in time of their very long "lives" so it's like, I don't need to hear every detail, this movie is its own snapshot and tells a complete story as is.
That said, I have heard that the first story is based on a well known folk mythology and adds its own twists, so specifically the first movie is targeted at a Chinese audience that is familiar with that Ne Zha folk story, so it can undermine their expectations in an interesting way
So for anyone wanting to find the first movie, maybe go read the original folk story first?
I haven’t seen the sequel yet but the first one was fantastic. I was turned off at some of the fart jokes but other than that I found it to be a really well made film. Funny, great action, and even hit the emotional bits well.
China has been coming out with really great animation for the past decade or so. White Snake was another big 3D animated film that came out around the same time as Nezha. If you want to check out something short instead, check out Fantastic Beasts. It has what might be some of the most aesthetically pleasing animation I have ever seen.
Searching for "Fantastic Beasts Chinese film" yields nothing but results for the Harry Potter spin offs. How do I find this?
Just search Fantastic Beasts. It’s not a film, it’s a short animated series.
Edit: maybe append Bili Bili?
Are you planning on seeing the new one? I'd be curious to hear opinions from someone who's seen both. There is at least one fart joke, sorry spoilers
Well now that you’ve ruined the movie for me…. 😜
I would if I knew how. I didn’t know the sequel even came out (even though the ending of the movie said Nezha would be coming back, all those years ago). Is it showing in US theaters? Apple TV doesn’t seem to think it exists.
Yep we saw it in the theater, but like most foreign films the showtimes are limited
I heard a rumor the Captain America movie bought out all the IMAX contracts so other movies can't show on those big screens starting tomorrow, lol bummer