Ne Zha (2019)

 

Ne Zha (2019)

6/10

Starring the voices of

Jordan Cole

Griffin Puatu

Aleks Le

Vincent Rodriguez III

Jaden Waldman

 

Directed by Jiaozi (Yang Yu)

 

I have to say, the animation design is good, and the plot story is very fun indeed. The movie also has an amazing start, which really sets the flow of the movie. This Chinese produced animation is actually fantastic, and it is amazing that it is produced to such class with less than $25 million, if this was Hollywood, this kind of animation would be around $100 million.

The animation tells the mythological origins of Ne Zha. Now, Ne Zha is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion. I believe the story in this animation is inspired by the Ming-dynasty novel Investiture of the Gods.

The movie does feel a bit long, with some pacing issues before it finally gets to the main battle. You might get angry at how long it takes Ne Zha to start thinking about others other than himself, but you have to remember, he is a caged three-year-old. That aside, I really enjoyed the movie, and it made me crave seeing the second part, that was released earlier this year.

It starts with what led to the birth of Ne Zha. In this world-building, we have a Chaos Pearl, which was born from primordial essences (I do not fully grasp that), but the pearl is seen greedily draining energy from the Sun and the Moon. So, to stop it, Yuanshi Tianzun (the lord of Heaven) sends his disciples Taiyi Zhenren and Shen Gongbao (both are also immortals, kind of like demi-gods) to subdue the Chaos Pearl.

They couldn't gain the upper hand because the pearl was just feeding off their energy when they fought it. For this reason, Tianzun had to intervene, capturing the pearl and splitting it into two parts: the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Orb. He then curses the Demon Orb, which is nearly indestructible. To eventually destroy it, it is marked, and in three years, a powerful lightning strike will destroy it. Tianzun then orders Taiyi to take the Spirit Pearl and reincarnate it as Ne Zha. This is where the story goes off for me—why not just give him the Spirit Pearl alone? Instead, he is given both together. So, he is to reincarnate it in the third son of Li Jing.

After this nice introduction, which was effectively done to keep you engrossed and invested, the plot kicks off when Shen steals the Spirit Pearl, causing the Demon Orb to be the one reincarnated into the child of Li Jing. So, Ne Zha is born with demonic traits.

Taiyi then warns Li Jing of the fate of his son, that in three years he will die. Li Jing believes he can change this fate. Meanwhile, Shen gives the Spirit Pearl to the Dragon King, who then uses it to create a son, Ao Bing, hoping to raise a dragon worthy of Heaven. Shen takes Ao Bing under his wing.

To comfort Ne Zha and quell his demonic nature, his parents lie to him. They tell him that he was born from the Spirit Pearl and is destined to be a demon hunter. So, Ne Zha is trained under the guidance of Taiyi. As Ne Zha grows, he becomes skilled, but also impatient with the restraints on his life, so he escapes to hunt demons.

My issue with the movie is that Shen's motives are kept hidden for way too long, which can get pretty annoying as the animation progresses. Also, you can easily spot Shen's evil nature early on because of the animation's visual cues. You see, a lot of animated films make this too obvious, and even Disney has found ways to stop this. What these animated productions do is use obvious color cues—like bright, warm colors for the good guys and dark, gloomy colors for the bad guys, along with facial expressions that scream "villain." This takes away the suspense of not knowing who’s really on which side.

The plot feels pretty predictable from the start, which isn't ideal. The movie’s voice casting, though, is actually a bright spot. I watched the English dub, and I have to say, the cast did a great job. Their performances really help bring the characters to life and made it easier for me to enjoy the film. I can’t speak to the Chinese voice acting, so this review only covers the English cast.

I recommend seeing this movie, it is worth the time invested.