Movie Thoughts: Ne Zha 2 (2025)

• Released: January 29, 2025
• Directed by: Yu Yang
• Running time: 2h 23min
• Rating 5/5

Synopsis

Ne Zha's body is restored, and he and Ao Bing must fight to keep Ne Zha's home safe.

My Thoughts

Does this movie live up to the hype? I mean, look at my rating. Hell yes, it does! While I already liked the first Ne Zha movie, this one just took things to a whole new level.

The first thirty-forty-five minutes or so of this movie are already solid, on-par with the first movie. The only things here I didn't really vibe with was some gross-out humor.

But then after we reach the "level 2" scene, like, holy shit, this movie just ascends or something. Not only is the animation amazing (those fight scenes are SO good) but the characters, the emotions, the stakes, everything just gets raised. And then the final forty-five minutes or so are just crazy fight scene after crazy fight scene, in the best way possible. This movie just feels grand and epic. I've never seen an animated movie with such a scale before. I really do wonder how many computers had to crash just to render these final scenes.

The characters are also just so good in this. I already liked them from the first movie, but like with the other elements, the movie really improves on the first movie and I genuinely love these characters. I love Ne Zha, I love Ao Bing, I love Ne Zha's parents, I love Taiyi. Heck, even Shen Gongbao, who was pretty much just a cliché villain before, is legit a really well-rounded and well-written character in this. You totally understand where he's coming from, and even if he was manipulated, he's no fool and he does what is right in the end, saving Ne Zha's parents. Such good stuff.

There's also a twist villain, but I actually don't mind it here. Wuliang at first seems like kind of a goofy character, but then the movie builds up his actions really well. To the point even early on in the movie the watcher kind of starts to question "wait, is he really doing the right thing?". And then boom, turns out he destroyed Ne Zha's home to manipulate him. And then he's a legitimately threatening foe in the climax. Just a very well-executed villain.

I really don't know what else to say here. This is pretty much one of the best movies I've seen in recent years, animated or not. It's just so damn good. Please give this one a watch if you haven't already.