Ne Zha 2 movie review & film summary (2025) – Roger Ebert

ReviewsIn 2019, the kid-friendly Chinese animated fantasy “Ne Zha,” about the enemies-to-friends relationship between a bratty pre-teen demon and a regal dragon prince, quickly established itself as the country’s most financially successful animated movie. Some imitators and a spinoff followed, none of which featured the same winning combination of juvenile humor, spectacular action, and character-driven drama.This year, “Ne Zha 2” dominated China’s typically competitive Lunar New Year weekend and is now the mainland’s highest grossing movie of all time. It’s playing a few dozen times per day here in New York City and my audience at yesterday afternoon’s Times Square matinee was very responsive. I can see why: this new sequel, about feuding dragons, gods, humans, and ocean-dwelling monsters, boasts much of the same qualities that made the first “Ne Zha” so charming, particularly its focus on protagonists’ motivating emotions. “Ne Zha 2” is a rare sequel that amplifies both its action and drama without sacrificing much of what already worked in the last movie. It’s also a rare blockbuster that offers something worthwhile for a wide-ranging audience.Focusing on and cultivating the human emotions at the heart of “Ne Zha 2” is no mean feat given its sprawling source material, the two-volume mythological adventure The Investiture of the Gods. As with the many “Journey to the West” adaptations that preceded it, this and a handful of other riffs on The Investiture of the Gods—including the recent “Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force”—feature dozens of main and supporting characters, most of whom are united by convoluted backstories and Byzantine social hierarchies. Thankfully, it’s not hard to follow or get drawn in by the exploits of the crass demon child Ne Zha (Yanting Lü) and his noble dragon prince buddy Ao Bing (Mo Han). It might, admittedly, still help to have seen “Ne Zha” before watching “Ne Zha 2,” though you can probably still get the gist of what’s happening even if you haven’t.Everybody’s recovering from “Ne Zha” at the start of “Ne Zha 2.” Deep breath in. A battle is waged between the brave human residents of Chentang Pass and the dragon rulers of the four seas, though it stops quickly enough. Ne Zha’s human parents, Lady Yin (Qi Lü) and Li Jing (Hao Chen), try to keep the peace while their boy flies off to Yu Xu Palace so that he can become an immortal, which will in turn give him access to a magical elixir that will restore Ao Bing to full health after the last movie’s events. Long breath out.Unfortunately, not much about Ne Zha has otherwise changed since “Ne Zha.” He’s still a lonely and wildly immature kid who doesn’t know his own strength and only wants to play shuttlecock with his parents. Ao Bing means the world to Ne Zha, partly because they’re two halves of the same supernatural entity (the Chaos Pearl), but mostly because they bonded during the last movie. Together, they uncover a conspiracy that pits the belligerent and inconstant dragon kings (and queen) against the benevolent-seeming Chan Sect immortals of Yu Xu Palace, mostly represented by baby-faced beardo god Wuliang (Deshun Wang).Writer/director Yu Yang, who returns after the first “Ne Zha,” keeps this sequel grounded by threading in little moments that credibly remind us how important family is for not just Ne Zha and Ao Bing, but also their voluminous rolodex of friends and foes. Even side characters like the surly demon Sheng Gongbao (Wei Yang) have a moment or two that reveals their defining need to either protect or please their loved ones. That means a lot in a mythological action-adventure that runs on giant-sized battle and action scenes as well as a number of pee, poop, and puke jokes, too. (Ne Zha’s still a growing boy, after all…)The potty humor is consistently outlandish, if not always laugh-aloud funny. And while some subplots aren’t as consistently well-developed as you might wish them to be, the action scenes remain a great showcase for both the animation team and Yu, too, since they’re focused on both moment-to-moment and character-revealing details. Even the goofiest-looking creatures—I’m fond of the beefy-looking, trident-wielding shark—move with a cartoon-physics grace and integrity that makes this big-budget cartoon look like it was designed by its animators instead of assembled by a creative committee.Everything may look bigger in “Ne Zha 2,” but it’s still a fleet, eager-to-please kid’s movie about a gap-toothed demon boy who wonders if immortals poop whenever he’s not tearing the heavens open with his bare hands. Another sequel will follow; hopefully it will also deliver more of the same.Now streaming on:Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Village Voice, and elsewhere.

Source: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/ne-zha-2-chinese-film-review-2025