Geeky Nerd

In this post I would like to tell you about a 2019 Chinese animated film “Ne Zha” whose sequel has recently earned the title of the most sold animated film in history. Since it was a world-wide success, I decided to start with the basics and watch the first film before diving into the hyped one. The 2019 animated film is a rather loose interpretation of a folk myth, so the plot was intriguing for me at least from a cultural stand point.

You see, I have to be honest with you, I don’t know much about Chinese legends or mythology. I know the general premise of the “Journey to the West” and I’ve played “Legend of Phoenix” a Chinese dress up game which is based on ancient China. This game has introduced me to Chinese traditional dresses and significance of such elements as jade, cranes, dragons, hares, tea, and calligraphy among many other. And I’m happy to tell you that even though knowing some of that helps you understand the elements of the film better, if you don’t know a single thing about China, it will not be a problem for you to understand this film. Moreover, it can introduce some concepts that will inspire your interest to learn more.

So, what’s the plot about?

There existed a Chaos pearl which was divided into a Spirit pearl and a Demon pearl. The King of Heaven decided to destroy the Demon pearl with the lightning strike in three years but his plans get foiled and due to an unfortunate turn of events and a lot of human manipulation, the Demon pearl ends up in a human child named Ne Zha.

Although his parent love him dearly, everyone in the village is terrified of Ne Zha and think of him as a demon child. Faced with so much rejection from the outside world, Ne Zha grows in his home bitter and rejected by everyone but his parents. This starts the main conflict of the film but during the course of it, Ne Zha realizes that he doesn’t want to let his parents love go to waste and he tries to prove himself to be more that just a demon child everyone takes him for.

So, what’s the point?

The main topic is very simple and is actually very popular for Eastern media – fighting destiny and writing your own. Now that I’m whiting this, I can think of so many times the desire to fight destiny has been incorporated into recent Eastern games: Final Fantasy VII Remake, Reverse: 1999, Genshin Impact just to name a few that pop up immediately.

And I have to say that this is a deeply motivational topic for me. A believe that you can forge your own path and no one tells you who you must be but you is an inspiring message. This tale as it’s told in the film also shows that regardless of how the world treats you, you should stay true to yourself and don’t fall into hatred and bitterness. This message is rarely shown in Western cartoons and most likely would have been a simple backstory of a villain. Instead here, it’s a story about becoming a hero even though everyone believes that you are a villain.

Another way to look at it is taking responsibility of your actions and make sure to do your best and walk the road that will lead you to where you want to be. After all, if you go down, you cannot reach the mountain’s peak.

Is this film suitable for all ages?

No, some people may think that since it’s based on folklore, it’s akin to a European fairy tale. Well, more so to its original telling rather than the watered down story that’s popularized. It has some depiction of violence that can scare younger audience and Ne Zha’s demon form is well… scary. Nevertheless, for children from 10-12 or higher it can be an interesting story since it also tacles the topic of child’s disobedience and the consequences that can come with it.

Final Thoughts

It was definitely an intriguing experience for me. Now I wish to see the next film as well. I could see how it tried to almost mimic Western cartoons in some of its scenes and humor but it was still distinct from them. And when it was distinct, it showed and it was for better, not worse. I found myself always looking at the screen with excitement or simply eyeing some interesting details in a scene. All in all, I recommend this film to those who is bored with Western animation and wants something new and to those who are fascinated by Chinese culture and want to learn a little bit more about it.