Ne Zha 2 came out this Lunar New Year and became the biggest animation film of all time for worldwide audiences. Now, it’s coming back to English language countries with an English dub, but the story is pretty much the same. It is about young demon-humans Ne Zha (Crystal Lee) and Ao Bing (Aleks Lee). They try to get bodies but unfortunately, only Ne Zha’s work. He learns of another way, for Master xian Wuliang (Robert Clotworthy) to grant him immortality, with the help of Wuliang’s protegee Deero (Demian Haas). He gets to meet his older brothers, but immortality means going on quests to fight some demons to ‘educate’ them. There’s something off about these quests as Ne Zha returns home to find his mother Lady Yin (Michelle Yeoh) dead.

Even if this movie exists for Chinese viewers, it has something for Westerners of all generations, but mostly children, obviously. I can imagine that younger demographic relating to Ne Zha’s emotional intensity, a unique being who wants to fit in. The visuals of Ne Zha 2 are trying to teach him a lesson that not everything is uniformly the same. Ne Zha, the reincarnation of a fiery demon orb, exists in a world where even fiery elements have different manifestations. He’s different from the lava coming out of heaven as Shen Gongbao (Jaden Waldman) splits the sky with dragon claws. Shen is there because Ao Bing’s father sends him in a scene that captures a rage that many people understand.

One of the things that critics say about Ne Zha 2 is that one needs to watch the first movie to keep track of things. To understand the plot, other Western critics also say that the movie is throwing too much plot at its viewers. I suppose that’s a fair criticism who one looks at its prologues and flashback scenes but they help. The movie going back and forth between Ne Zha’s quest and Lady Yin at home is also standard. When one pares the movie down, it’s a story about a young boy’s quest, a genre familiar to worldwide readers. It’s him navigating fantastical spaces with his master Tiayi Zhenren (Rick Zeiff) to become the man (Griffin Puatu) whom his father (Vincent Rodriguez III) needs, despite his awkward boyish character design.

Ne Zha 2‘s plot also comes from a 16th century Chinese novel but new eyes are seeing this old story. Fresh perspectives even of old tales and older conventions beget different interpretations so I’ll tell you what I really think. Without giving too much away – I can’t but I won’t – authorities are falsely imprisoning people, which is pretty subversive. Others are reading a lot into Ne Zha and Ao Bing’s friendship, but that’s par the course with world cinema. Another interpretation is that this movie depicts the establishment of a new world order, following guidelines of the PROC. I obviously like mine, but watch the movie so that you’ll have your own interpretation of what it’s trying to say.

Ne Zha 2 is available in select Canadian theatres and in English.