China’s most successful animation film on the demon child Ne Zha is now enthralling US audiences
Chinese animation movie Ne Zha is based on a mythological character from the Ming dynasty novel “Fengshen Yanyi” or “The Investiture of the Gods”.
Initially critics were scratching their heads to explain its success but less than two months later, the animated-fantasy film, Ne Zha, is rewriting box office records in China and abroad with a whopping $691 million raked in by the first week of September, according to Forbes.
After making the cash register ring in China, Ne Zha, the mischievous demon child -- possibly the most well know mythological figure here after the Monkey King -- is now working his magic in the US and other foreign markets.
In its trail, lay a bunch of records; the second biggest commercial success in China, the biggest box office success for an animated movie here and the biggest grossing non-US-made animated movie worldwide.
The film is loosely based on the tale of Nezha, a mythological figure from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) novel “Fengshen Yanyi” or “The Investiture of the Gods”.
It 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 the wind fire wheels, often appears in some of the country’s best-known works of classic literature, such as Journey to the West,” the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
Film expert Tan Zheng credited the film’s excellent production and Chinese-style animation along with its theme of patriotism for striking a chord with the viewers.
“Its story is a fairy tale familiar to Chinese audiences and had been adapted many times. Ne Zha’s character has a rebellious mentality but he finally sacrifices himself to protect his homeland and returns to traditional kindness,” Tan said.
Released in Mandarin with English and Chinese subtitles in select 3D IMAX theaters across the US and Canada on August 29, Ne Zha’s themes were ringing a bell in the US too with a collection of 1.486 million dollars so far, as per a Xinhua report.
