Published : 2025-02-18
The Chinese animated film Ne Zha 2 (《哪吒2》) has surpassed RMB 10 billion at the box office, claiming the top spot in China's film history.
As of February 18, it has surged to second place in the global animation film rankings, and its box office performance is now second only to Inside Out 2.
Behind its success, the creative journey of its director Jiaozi (real name Yang Yu) was far from smooth. Having relied on his parents' financial support during years of obscurity, he now boldly declares, "Chinese animation cannot depend on outsourcing!"
Ne Zha 2 focuses on family bonds
Returning bones to his father and flesh to his mother—Ne Zha’s story is well known, but the animated film Ne Zha 2 boldly reimagines this classic narrative.
In the Chinese myth, Ne Zha’s father, Li Jing (李靖), harshly punishes him after he causes trouble. However, in the movie, Ne Zha’s parents show him understanding and acceptance.
"Every work reflects the creator’s life experiences," says the director Jiaozi (餃子). One of the reasons for this reinterpretation of Ne Zha 2 is the boundless support Jiaozi has received from his own parents during his challenging creative journey.
From a young age, Jiaozi dreamed of becoming a comic artist. Though he chose to study medicine in college due to practical considerations, after graduation, he worked at an advertising company while learning animation and creating animated works in his spare time.
However, part-time creation wasn’t enough for him. With his parents’ support, he quit his job and devoted himself entirely to making animations at home.
Not long after he started, his father passed away. The only income in the family came from his mother’s monthly retirement pension of just over RMB 1,000. For three years, Jiaozi lived off his mother while focusing wholeheartedly on his craft.
Hard work pays off. In 2009, he created the animated short See Through (《打，打個大西瓜》), which garnered over 10 million views online and won numerous awards. This short film eventually led to his selection as the director of the Ne Zha series by an animation company.
"I owe my career to my parents’ support and understanding, so I wanted to integrate my genuine feelings and reflections into my work," says Jiaozi. Ne Zha 2 conveys the profound importance of family bonds.
Speaking of the success of the "Ne Zha" series, the first is the breakthrough from the traditional image of Ne Zha.
In the past, the portrayal of such heroes was typically styled as either cute or cool. However, Jiaozi believes "we have become numb to the cool and cute images that we have done so many times," thus he adopted the current version: downward eyebrows, sharp teeth, and a wicked smile...
This ambivalent image breaks the stereotype and aligns more with Jiaozi's imagination of Ne Zha.
The second success is the stunning animation effect. The production team of Ne Zha 2 has more than 4,000 people, all of whom are professionals in the animation industry, but amateurs in performing.
To let the artists present the characters more accurately, Jiaozi always acts out his thoughts first, then the artists can follow to draw. These characters have accompanied him for 10 years, each image engraved in his mind, and he personally demonstrated 70% of the content in the film.
The team has been striving to reach the pinnacle of animated films. The iron chain scene, a highlight of the movie, is the perfect example.
In this scene, thousands of demons were trapped underwater, each tied with a chain. During the battle, the chains swing along, not only in chaos but also with a swaying beauty.
None of the special effects personnel had similar experience, so they had to go through a long period of exploration and adjustment. In the end, they came together to solve problems of texture, quantity, and flaws. This element of chains alone took a year from start to final approval.
Read more: Global Monkey King Fever: Revisiting Hong Kong's "Journey to the West" Films and TV Shows
Ne Zha 2 reaches the industry summit
During the creation of Ne Zha 2, the team had hoped to find some international teams to help complete the key shots, but the results were not that good. Cultural differences between China and other countries increased the difficulty of foreign teams participating in Chinese animation.
For example, "if the Golden Cudgel appears in the shot, the Chinese team knows what it is; but if it's a foreign team, you have to explain it from scratch and talk about 'Journey to the West' and Sun Wukong," the staff of Ne Zha 2 explained.
In the end, it was the relentless efforts of the Chinese team that achieved the desired effect.
"We realised that those mountains we once looked up to were also conquered by 'obstinate' efforts, step by step. All difficult tasks are done by people, and we also have the potential to 'obsessively' work on it gradually. During this process, we learned about advanced industrial processes and technologies from abroad, and the gap is narrowing," Jiaozi said.
In Jiaozi's view, the main factor of Chinese culture going global is the work itself, including script, story, and characters, which "cannot be outsourced."
Read more: Why are "Ne Zha 2" merchandise so popular?
