If I heard news about a Chinese-animated film in 2025 that made more money than Disney and Dreamworks combined, you know I have to see what the big deal is. In a world where even the most quality body of animated work only broke even box office-wise, or some even shunned due to their association with past sins (Transformers Yaoi One), a film like Ne Zha 2 is a possible anomaly.

Sure, it looks fantastic from the trailers, but does it have substance and a grounded storyline that doesn’t rely on cheap humour and tricks for the kids? Well…

Crown Prince

The plot of Ne Zha 2 is a direct continuation of the 2019 film Ne Zha: there’s this kid called Ne Zha who is born from a heavenly pearl from the fabled Lord of Heaven. He starts off as an outcast due to his powers and super strength, but ends up being one of the good guys alongside his rival-turned-friend Ao Bing.

Ne Zha 2 starts off with the rebirth of both Ne Zha and Ao Bing into new bodies since their old mortal ones were destroyed. They then get waylaid in their hometown of Chentang Pass by the Dragon King. And after a series of unfortunate coincidences and misunderstanding, Ao Bing’s new body is destroyed and his spirit needs to borrow Ne Zha’s new body temporarily. And to restore Ao Bing to his regular form, Ne Zha needs participate the xian ascension test which also bestows him the option to get a special potion from the special heavenly vault up on high to help Ao Bing.

It sounds like a lot to take in for a kid’s film, but it’s all laid out and paced just fine, with moments of levity placed in the right amounts and moments. Case in point: the first trial of the xian ascension test has Ne Zha dealing with demon groundhogs. Since Ne Zha cannot use his full powers lest he gets discovered as a demon (demons are forfeit from heavenly trials), he has to take sleeping pills to get Ao Bing to take over and kick ass. There are a lot of slapstick and visual gags, along with some gross-out humour, that showcase the production talents of Chengdu Coco Cartoon and the Beijing production houses associated with this blockbuster.

Fire Water Burn

Simply put, no expense was spared in making Ne Zha 2 a feast for the eyes. From the earlier fights at Chentang Pass involving the Dragon King, up until the finale where we get a good taste of what happens when China adapts some epic fight scenes from Asura’s Wrath, it’s all a visual splendour. It’s all not hollow and filler either: seeing the plight of Ne Zha trying to hide his identity among the heavenly peers he has to associate with is also entertaining and insightful. Ne Zha 2 knows how to balance comedy with drama well, walking that fine tightrope.

Unfortunately, most of its humour is not quite universal and its visual gags can get pretty juvenile. This IS still an all ages show meant for children, but compared to international fares like Flow and Wild Robot, Ne Zha 2 is still a step below in the charisma department, especially if you’re not familiar with this style of Chinese cinema meant for a lower age group. Most of the crowd with their children (for an 11:30pm showing FYI) were laughing out loud at parts that got a bit of a shrug for me, so perhaps your tolerance for low-hanging fruit jokes may vary. Still, some bits did land like Ne Zha’s face when Ao Bing is in control.

And while you also need some context from the first movie to figure out why certain character moments hit hard, the majority of Ne Zha 2 is just feel-good action and amazing 3D spectacle for all ages, with a few dick & fart jokes here and there for good or ill.

Final Score: 70/100

Ne Zha 2 is in theatres right now in Southeast Asia and Malaysia.