Seeing it for myself -- Ne Zha 2 on the big screen

As surely we've all heard by now, the new animated Chinese box office smash hit Ne Zha 2 has been rewriting the record books for viewership figures on the Asian continent and rocketed up worldwide lists, entering the top ten highest-grossing films in world history. After hearing all the hubbub about the film, I decided that I had to see it for myself. I couldn't wait any longer, and I wasn't about to rely on social media alone to shape my opinion. So to the theater, I went.

Personally, I'm not an animation buff. I've never been into comic books or superhero flicks, and I've never followed anime or anything similar, even as a kid. That's not to say I can't enjoy it, but real-life action dramas and scientific documentaries have always been more up my alley. I can, though, appreciate well-done animated and computer-generated graphics and well-developed and interesting story arcs.

But it's safe to say that I wasn't exactly the target audience for this film. Nonetheless, I knew I had to give it a watch with my own eyes, especially after the chatter about it began to escalate and the number of folks urging me to see it grew.

First things first; I did go see the movie at a theater in a shopping center near where I live in the city. It was in Chinese with Chinese subtitles, which... without patting myself on the back, I can manage. However, I made the mistake of not doing any preliminary research beforehand, thinking that I didn't want to spoil any of the film by coming across any information that would taint my perception.

I also will do my best not to do that here, for what it's worth.

But it would have behooved me to learn a bit about who Ne Zha is in the pantheon of Chinese mythological figures rather than go into it basically blind. I do recommend that anyone who goes to see the movie do a bit of research before you do -- perhaps seeing the first Ne Zha film (2019) or just scanning a bit of background information. Even just a little should be enough.

Also, unless you're a native-level Chinese speaker -- which I'm not -- the first fifteen minutes or so can be a little dense in terms of a more literary style of speech that isn't used in regular conversations, which can be a bit challenging. After the opening few scenes, though, it does move toward a more conversational tone that is much easier to follow. Make your own decision whether to seek out a version with English subtitles (I'd avoid the dubbing-over, though) or to take on the fully Chinese language experience.

On to the viewing experience. For an animation layman like me, I found the style to be quite unique. It was quite different from the "anime" style that many people are accustomed to from comic books and TV shows but also wasn't quite the same as a Pixar-style film. One element I found appealing was the portrayal of the dragon characters as long, snake-like Chinese-style dragons and not the winged, fire-breathing type from other films and shows.

The fighting scenes are frequent and action-packed but don't dominate the story in and of themselves. They also show an intensity of combat without becoming bloody or gory, which, as someone on the more squeamish side, I can appreciate. Though death and loss occur in the film, they aren't too on-the-nose, and with no swearing or in-your-face violence, I'd say I believe the movie to be appropriate for just about any audience. Bringing the kids along would be a fine choice, in my view.

Overall, it was a pleasurable viewing experience for me, despite lying outside of the categories of films I'd normally make a point to see in theaters. I look forward to seeing what the next full-length animated film made here in China looks like and if it can come close to matching the excitement generated by Ne Zha 2!