RIOTUS

DrewNotes… a sequel to NE ZHA, this movie finds two mismatched brothers facing new challenges, as a war between wizards, monsters and demons begins to heat up.

In NE ZHA 2, the story begins where the previous movie left off: with both of our heroes, the titular Ne Zha (Crystal Lee) and his sort-of brother Ao Bing (Aleks Le)… well, dead. The two of them—each one half of a divine “chaos pearl,” such that Ne Zha has demonic energy, a bad temper, and fire powers, while Ao Bing has dragon energy and water powers—are heroes of a great battle, but died in the final clash. Their spirits are not gone, however, and the magical Taiyi Zhenren (Rick Zieff) uses a magical lotus to create new bodies for them.

Unfortunately, Ao Bing’s dragon-king father, Ao Guang (Christopher Swindle), believes his son is dead. He sends the terrible Shen Gongbao (Daniel Riordan) with an army of demons and oceans of lava to attack the fortress city of Chentang Pass, where this tragedy occurred. In fending off the attack, Ao Bing’s fragile new body is destroyed. Worse, the magical lotus is spent; it cannot be restored without a magical potion held by the divine immortals. The only way to get that potion is to pass three tests in order to become an immortal oneself.

Seeing no other way forward, Ne Zha allows Ao Bing to share his body. Shen will grant them seven days to complete their quest, then Chentang Pass will be destroyed. Ne Zha and Ao Bing struggle to coexist in one body, while making their way to meet the challenges offered by Immortal Wuliang (William Utay), a babylike old man who floats on a cloud and leads an army of semi-divine demon hunters.

When a tragic misunderstanding occurs, however, the fragile truce is broken and Ne Zha soon learns that Chentang Pass was obliterated. In a rage and forsaking Ao Bing’s help, he passes the third trial on his own, obtains the potion, and enables Taiyi to regenerate Ao Bing’s body. Ne Zha then helps Wuliang trap the rebellious demons in a giant cauldron, though three treacherous dragons manage to escape. Just as Ne Zha believes justice has been done, his missing parents Li Jing (Vincent Rodriguez III) and Lady Yin (Michelle Yeoh) arrive to explain what really happened—setting up an improbable battle where alliances switch at a moment’s notice and only the power of love and friendship will see the heroes to victory.

Based on “Investiture of the Gods,” an epic tale from Chinese mythology, NE ZHA II is a rousing adventure story full of heart and thrills alike. The characters, especially Shen, prove to be complex, defying easy depiction as “villain” or “hero,” and what appears starkly black and white is many shades of gray. The storytelling is sharp and clever, with the plucky young heroes at odds as often as they are aligned (much like real brothers). The voice acting—especially from Lee, Le and Riordan—is fantastic, while the animation is truly spectacular. Writer-director Yu Yang has done an incredible job with this movie, start to finish.

My daughter loved the relationship between the two young heroes, as well as the tragic event that spurs Ne Zha to revenge against Shen’s father, the powerful Shen Zhengdao. “It’s a classic bromance,” she said after we left the theater. “And a good one too.” And it’s funny! That said, there are scenes that may be too strong for little ones, so we agreed that parents limit this to older children (PG-13 seems like a good rating here).

Hopefully audiences will discover this movie as it comes to American theaters. It’s truly one of the best animated films to come along in a long time, and it’s a pleasure to hear that work is underway on the third movie, because (sorry to say) this one does somewhat end on a cliffhanger. (Oh, as a side note: NE ZHA II has already earned more than $2.2 billion dollars worldwide.)

Stay through the credits for a final scene.

We’re giving this movie a rare ten out of ten magic lotuses!