Rebel teenager Ne Zha in a box office comeback
Print Edition
Hundreds of years after his creation, the most rebellious teenager in Chinese mythology finally reconciled with his family, winning applause and tears from modern Chinese moviegoers.
Ne Zha, a mythical Chinese figure known for his rebellious spirit, is experiencing a huge boost of popularity following the runaway success of an animated movie featuring him as the main character.
Home-grown animation 鈥淣e Zha鈥 last Tuesday emerged as the highest-grossing domestically made animated film on the Chinese mainland.
As the first Chinese IMAX animated film, 鈥淣e Zha鈥 ranked in more than 1 billion yuan (US$145 million) in its first five days, according to the China Movie Data Information Network.
It beat the 鈥淢onkey King: Hero is Back鈥 with about 956 million yuan and is on course to beat out the animated Disney film 鈥淶ootopia,鈥 the top-grossing animation in the mainland market with 1.53 billion yuan.
The film tells a story of Ne Zha, who was a devil born into a loving family and eventually emerged as a hero. The mythical figure riding on his 鈥渨ind fire wheels鈥 appears in some of the country鈥檚 best-known works of classic literature, such as 鈥淛ourney to the West.鈥
Maoyan, a film database and ticketing platform, forecast the film鈥檚 total box office in the Chinese mainland will pass 3 billion yuan.
It has also become one of the highest-rated animated Chinese films in recent decades, scoring 8.7 out of 10 on China鈥檚 leading film rating platform Douban, and 9.7 out of 10 on Maoyan.
鈥溾楴e Zha鈥 is one of the best home-grown Chinese animations in recent years, thanks to its mature screenwriting, amazing visual effects, as well as a unique style of entertainment,鈥 said movie critic Zhang Shufan.
Its resounding success was a stark contrast to the cold shoulder it received after the release of its first two trailers, which raised questions and mockery for its presentation of 鈥渢he ugliest version of Ne Zha.鈥
鈥淭he audience may think he is ugly at first but after watching the movie, they will love him because of his soul and spirit,鈥 said the film鈥檚 director Yang Yu, explaining that they deliberately picked an ugly version.
Yang, who also goes by the name Jiaozi, said the film is about fighting social stereotypes and so-called destiny. The film鈥檚 protagonist, while aspiring to become a hero, has to fight the widespread belief that he, as a demon reincarnated, is destined to wreak havoc.
鈥淚n reality, many young people are breaking down outside limits and prejudices,鈥 he said, adding that the movie鈥檚 themes appear to be clicking with young Chinese.
This is not the first movie to have Ne Zha as the protagonist. In 1979, a milestone animation 鈥淧rince Ne Zha鈥檚 Triumph Against Dragon King鈥 was produced, becoming a childhood memory of many.
鈥淎lthough Ne Zha is a mythical figure, he should carry different spiritual cores in different ages,鈥 Jiaozi said. 鈥淗umans are complex.鈥
Many viewers are also surprised by Ne Zha鈥檚 intimacy with his parents in this film, a clear deviation from some previous versions in which he had tense relations with his father, and his suicide is interpreted as a revolt against ancient China鈥檚 feudal system.
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