Ancient Chinese mythology and cutting edge technology collide in the impressive animated adventure Ne Zha II. The action-packed lark returns to theatres after becoming a mammoth worldwide hit. With a gross of over $2.2 billion and an English-dubbed release with Michelle Yeoh giving the film a second wind as it brings summer movie season to a thrilling close, Ne Zha II surely ranks atop the list of 2025’s bona fide blockbusters, already being the top grossing animated film and non-English language film. That’s all a Varietyse way of saying that this is one movie that crosses generations and cultures. It’s also a head above the junk that Hollywood pumps out these days.
The film is, of course, a sequel, as director Jiao Zi returns to follow his 2019 originator. Ne Zha II picks up as a continuation of its predecessor as it plops Ne Zha and his friend Ao Bing back home after what seems like some intense action. The boys have been struck by lightning with Ne Zha, representing fire, and Ao Bing, representing water, harnessing the powers of the elements for strength. While Master Taiyi Zhenren restores them, Ne Zha’s hometown of Chentang Pass experiences a violent attack as reprisal from Ao Bing’s father and the dragon lords that govern the seas. His attack ironically terminates his son’s restoration: it’s possible the young man’s soul will vanish and his body turn to ash.
However, it turns out that fire and water aren’t fully incompatible. The rambunctious and undisciplined Ne Zha controls his boisterous urges best he can and lets his body chill out for a moment so that his friend’s soul can share his it. The trained, composed, and Zen-like Ao Bing, a few years’ Zha’s senior, does the little warrior good. On the advice of Ne Zha’s parents, Lady Yin and Li Jing, a truce emerges to protect Chentang Pass. The deal tasks their young son to prove himself: Ne Zha must complete some exceptional challenges to graduate from demon god to immortal, which will let him replenish Ao Bing’s body.
Ne Zha II proves dizzyingly expository and complicated with its elaborate set-up, which moves at breakneck speed, but the madcap nature invites audiences to settle into video game mode as the unruly warrior embarks on a series of quests. The film essentially unfolds like levels of a video game. Ne Zha faces off against bosses and baddies to reap rewards. The friends trade control of Ne Zha’s body with the aid of sleeping pills and draw upon Ao Bing’s superior fighting skills to replenish Ne Zha’s strength. Each chapter inevitably exceeds upon the other in terms of scope and awe as the challenges become exceedingly more elaborate. The film’s grand canvas and rapid-fire action inspires consistent wonder, particularly as Ne Zha and Ao Bing trade their elemental fury with their foes in prime wuxia cinema combat.
Fire and water often prove the most challenging and impressive elements in animation, particularly as they offer veils of transparent layers atop characters in motion. Jiao Zi and his team of animators—reportedly 4,000 pairs of hands across 138 Chinese animation companies—conjure a breathtaking spectacle. Particularly in sequences featuring the Dragon Kings and Queens of the Seas, the film roars with the very best computer animation you’ll see this year. These animators aren’t afraid to flex their muscles, either, and as Ne Zha finds himself faced with increasingly difficult tasks, the animation shows its might in scope, detail, and ambition.
Even when the action leads to an overlong finale that recalls the Best Buy parking lot brawls with which Marvel movies often end, it remains an awesome sight. The detail in the elaborate set-pieces truly delivers entertainment worthy of the gods. It’s maximalist entertainment that gives popcorn movie season a grand finale.
Ne Zha II opens in theatres August 22.
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