Movie Thoughts: Ne Zha (2019)

• Released: 26 July 2019
• Directed by: Yu Yang
• Running time: 1 h 50 min
• Rating 4/5

Synopsis

A chaos-incarnate troublemaker of a boy destined to die at age three tries to become a demon hunter while also avoiding fate. 

My Thoughts

I first came across this movie through a gifset on Tumblr a few years ago. Yeah, one thing that sucks about living in the Netherlands is that often times we just don't get releases of foreign (usually non-USA) movies like this and we're completely left in the dark, not even knowing of its existence unless we go seeking it out. I've come across quite a few movies in unique ways like this, and Ne Zha is no exception.

This was one movie I was expecting to like, but actually ended up really liking. Okay, so it definitely has its flaws. There is an unfortunate abundance of gross-out humor and not all of the character designs work as well as others. The lip sync of the English dub also isn't perfect.

However, that's where my criticisms of this movie really do end. The visuals outside of some character designs are absolutely outstanding. The animation is great, I do love a great deal of the character designs, the environments are amazing, and the effects are breathtaking. 

Ne Zha is also a very great protagonist. He's bit of a chaotic little shit, but that honestly just makes him all the more enjoyable. All he just wants is to fit in and have friends, but he hides this all behind a really wild and destructive façade. And when he finally does make a friend, it turns out to be the one who might just become his arch enemy. You just want to cut the kid some slack. 

I also found myself really enjoying the characters of his parents, Taiyi and Ao Bing. They were just  neat and I liked them a lot. 

I also really liked the ending. The climax is long, but not overly so, and it's quite the spectacle, amazing fight scenes, effects and a dragon. In the end, Ne Zha ends up defying his fate and becoming a hero unlike what everyone expected, however he and Ao Bing do lose their physical bodies and now are spirits. A sad conclusion, but Ne Zha did get what he wanted in the end: everyone respects him and he defined his own destiny. 

So, yeah, a really strong movie I definitely recommend. I obviously can't say how accurate to Chinese mythology it is (I'm white af) but I very much enjoyed the execution of this film.