Ne Zha 2

Hey everyone, and welcome. Today, we will be talking about the film Ne Zha 2. Spoilers if you haven't seen this movie. Fun Fact: Ne Zha 2 is the highest-grossing film in a single box office territory, the highest-grossing animated film, the highest-grossing non-English film, the highest-grossing film of 2025, and the first non-Hollywood film to surpass 1 & 2 billion dollars. This film came out in 2025 and stars Crystal Lee, Aleks Le, and Michelle Yeoh in the American version and Lu Yanting, Han Mo, and Lu Qi in the Mandarin version and was directed by Jiaozi. So without further ado, let's get right into it.

Ne Zha 2 Picks up where the last film ended, with Ne Zha and Ao Bing's bodies destroyed, saving Chentang Pass. They are trying to restore their bodies with the Seven-Colored Sacred Lotus, but Chentang Pass is attacked again, and Ao Bing’s body is destroyed when he exerts too much energy trying to stop it, so Ne Zha puts his soul with his so they can share a body in the meantime. They go to complete trials to become an immortal and win a potion to restore the lotus. They soon learn there is some devious stuff going on and must fight to save the world.

Ne Zha 2 is an animated action-comedy film. It has similar vibes to Mulan, Blood of Zeus, or Jian Ziya.

I randomly came across Ne Zha on Netflix and loved it, and then found out about Jiang Ziya and enjoyed that as well, so I was so excited to watch this. It was released in Mandarin with subtitles for a very short run in the US at the beginning of the year, and I missed it, so I was happy they decided to re-release it, and this time they had it with the voiceover as well. The characters come from Chinese mythology as well as the 16th-century novel Investiture of the Gods. The film picks up where the last movie left off and throws the viewer right into the action. I was so interested to see more of Ne Zha's journey and what lessons he would learn by the end of the movie.

Ne Zha is a boy infused with the demon orb, which is one part of the chaos pearl, while Ao Bing is the spirit pearl, which is the other half. The demon orb is considered evil, while the spirit pearl is not, a thought that was debunked in the first film. In Ne Zha, they work together to stop the holy lightning, which destroys their bodies, and this film sees them trying to get new bodies and stop corrupt forces. The journey leads them to uncover secrets that have led to the misinterpretation of groups and the destruction of many who were promised a better life. The movie did a good job of giving time to other characters while also ensuring that Ne Zha's story was still the focus.

Ne Zha has anger issues, and he can be rash, but that ultimately doesn't make him evil. Ne Zha is not your typical hero because he doesn't fit the mold, but he is trying his best.  I think he holds back a lot and sometimes just blows up, but because of his family, he fights for what is right. Even with everything happening to him, he tries to prove them wrong, but the best way for him to do that is to just be himself. He is strong and uses his necklace or bracelet to dampen his powers a bit, and I love how that's still a concern of his, even when he is mad. He knows that without the accessories, something bad could happen, and he could hurt innocent people, and even when he is mad, he still doesn't take them off and just targets his anger at one or a group of people. I think he sees how much his parents are loved and wants that, but by the end of the movie, he realizes he can't keep chasing this dream of being loved when it is forcing him to change himself to appeal to other people.

Ne Zha’s mom dying was not something I expected, and it was really sad to see. Out of all the people in his life, she was the one he was closest to, considering his dad was gone for so long when he was young, so she raised him and played with him when no one else did. I love how they showed her as a mom and a fierce warrior, and showed that she can do it all. She was already dying, and instead of trying to shield herself, she used her last moments to tell Ne Zha how much she loves him before she eventually becomes an immortal elixir. She never judged him, and it was sad to see her go out that way after all she's done for Ne Zha and to help protect the world.

Ao Bing is the spirit pearl who is the son of the Dragon King and he has been raised by the dragons who have been shunned. His demeanor is much quieter; he flies under the radar and tries to be as peaceful as possible to stop conflict. He doesn't want a war and will do everything he can to stop it, especially if it's started on lies, as seen with the dragons attacking at the beginning, which leads to him sacrificing his body to stop it. He and Ne Zha are yin and yang, so while Ne Zha is rash and angry, Ao Bing is calculating and calm, but don't take that for weakness because he's excellent in hand-to-hand combat. His father is Ao Guang, and while he might seem like the villain, all he cares about is his son's safety. I love that Ao doesn't see Ne Zha as a threat and knows he is the only one who understands what he is going through and treats him with respect. I love that he completes his goal in the end, which was freeing his dad and showing that the dragons weren't the problem, and how even though his dad doesn't want to get involved with any more battles, Ao Bing stays back to help Ne Zha because he truly cares for him.

Throughout Ne Zha 2, we see so much beautiful animation that takes us to new places, but also the battle scenes were top-tier. There are so many vibrant colors, and the animation style worked so well to match the tone of the film, whether that be serious or comedic. I think animating action scenes can be hard because they move fast, but not too fast, because you want people to take in what they are seeing, and the film did a great job animating that to make it look and feel as cool as possible. The animation also helps with the comedic element of this film since it partly relies on characters having funny reactions that can’t be replicated in live-action films. The designs of the characters were so unique, and I loved to see them, whether they were humans, dragons, immortals, or demons. It was cool that the dragons got two designs, one as a dragon and one as a human, and in the human form, there were some attributes that they added that stood out when they were a dragon, like size or claws, or strong scales.

Taiyi Zhenren is Ne Zha’s master, who is the comedic relief, but also made me question what he can do because he isn't that helpful with fighting. Upon reflection, I realized he's very knowledgeable and does offer good ideas, or at the very least knows how to execute them. He performs the sacred lotus spell, figures out the best way to fix the lotus, knows how to trick the immortals, and knows how to complete this journey. I just love that through all the mental and physical pain Ne Zha has caused him, he never turns his back on him.

One of the biggest plot twists was that Wuliang was the villain, not Shen Gongbao. When we learn about what happened to Chentang Pass, we learn that Shen was framed and saved Ne Zha's parents with the help of the water demon. We also get to see the dragons who decided to help Wuliang, which shouldn't be that shocking because some of the dragons were sketchy and definitely were plotting a way to escape without the dragon king, but I just hadn't figured out how yet, until we see who would help them. Thankfully in the end we see that Shen Gongbao is still alive with his dad, even though he’s a prisoner,  but it was so sad to see Wuiliang not only being such an evil person and killing all those people but how he is the one person who knew Shen Gongbaos background and made sure that the trails were set to take place where his dad was so that he could cause further pain. I loved seeing more of Shen's family and was sad that his family got caught in the crossfire. I do hope that he gets his revenge on Wuilang for targeting his family for his own personal gain.

There was a part where Ne Zha comes back to Chengtang Pass, and the place is charred. I was like Wow, that's so sad and I kind of hoped everyone somehow survived, and when I saw his parents, I assumed they did. It was so sad to see what happened when we learned how his parents survived, and then we saw the little baby he saved in the first film, who is the brother of his old bully, running away from the fire with their mom, and they don't make it. Earlier in the film, when Ne Zha was looking at the damage, we see the remains of people holding onto each other, and that scene later lets us know whose charred bodies we saw. It's sad because a town full of innocents died because Wuiliang wanted to encourage people to hate the dragons more, so he could complete his plan to get rid of them.

The film imparts some useful messages, as did its predecessor. Ne Zha has consistently proved in these films that he is not destined to become evil as predicted, and tries to change himself, and finally realizes that he doesn't need to change himself, but he needs to change the world and make them understand that he is not bad just because someone says so. The same could be said about the dragons, too, because while some are bad, they aren't all bad, and they end up being an ally to Ne Zha, so he can save the world with Ao Bing. Wuliang is an immortal who has been promising to help demons in need, but instead has been turning them into immortal elixirs, which is not good, and aims to do the same with the dragons and the demons down where they are. I believed he was good the entire movie and was shocked that he was bad and that he caused the destruction of Chentang Pass. He was the perfect example of how people in power will try and tell you who is good or bad but just because they say that doesnt mean thats true and its such a simple message but one that so many people need to hear because good vs bad is all about perspective and the ore information you have, the more informed you will be on how to know if someone is good or bad but people like Wuliang will hide the information that will not prove his point so you must make sure to not let people like him dictate because they have no interest in the truth but controlling people instead.

My favorite part of the film is when Ne Zha is inflicted with the heart-piercing curse and stuck in the cauldron, and then his mom dies. In this moment, he doesn't become rash and try and just go after the people that hurt him and leave everyone else, but he does realize he needs to try something or else they will all end up immortal elixirs. He destroys his body while escaping the curse, but since the demon orb needs fire to solidify his body, he is able to come back together due to the cauldron having samadhi fire, which doesn't affect him, and he can use to his advantage. He is reborn in his form that he usually hides from people, and basically says, Don't change for the world, change the world for you and helps everyone escape. The scene was just amazing, from the dramatic nature of him doing this right after his mom died to him saying, I'm not hiding who I am anymore, I'm going to show you the real me, and you will just have to deal with it. It was such a great scene that had me on the edge of my seat and ready to see how much damage he would cause. Even after struggling to get out, everyone in the culdron immediately goes to war after.I love how, in the end, he stays in this form instead of hiding it to appeal to other people.

Ne Zha 2 is a fantastic follow-up to the first film. The action will have you on the edge of your seat, and the story will have you wanting to know what's next and how they'll come back from what just happened. I am sure there will be a third one with the success of this film, and I'll be looking forward to it.