Ne Zha, a famous baby warrior from Chinese myth, is frequently depicted as a rebel goddess who defies fate to determine his own destiny.
He struggles to find his own path and beat his destiny after being conceived as a demon, fearful of his mystical abilities, and just foreseeable in three years.
A fresh Chinese movie about the hero broke some box office records, including surpassing Pixar’s Inside Out 2 as the highest-grossing animated movie ever.
A Chinese active fantasy journey film called Ne Zha 2. It might seem odd that it is breaking so numerous files. It’s a movie to a movie that didn’t do as well, it’s not National and it’s not in English.
However, it seems to be continuing its record-breaking work without a halt. Its success led to its debut during the Chinese Lunar New Year, which was followed by its success internationally in countries like wider Asia, North America, and Australia.
For years, Hollywood has dominated China’s package offices, but the discharge of Ne Zha 2 marks a major breakthrough in China’s visual and social development. Its unheard box office performance seems to indicate a shifting pattern in the world film business.
It demonstrates China’s ambivalence and ability to create world-class information that rivals European animation studios like Disney and Pixar. Additionally, it assists in boosting social trust and the projection of soft power, which President Xi Jinping has consistently stressed for years.
Capturing a sensation
The history of Ne Zha, and its many adjustments, have much captivated Taiwanese people of all ages – including me. I fondly recall watching the 1979 type on a black-and-white Television with my family when I was small. The Ming dynasty’s Fengshen Yanyi ( Investiture of the Gods ) novel Fengshen Yanyi ( Investiture of the Gods ) is its source material, which has since been adapted into various literary and religious works.
Ne Zha’s rebellion against royal patriarchal authority is the central plot point. This conflict is centered on parental issues and even attempted patricide.
In contrast, the redefinition of the story portrays this mythologically unstable baby as a decent goddess who fights for his family’s interests by forging alliances, confronting foe factions, and challenging the existing purchase.
In a culture where the economic downturn and rising unemployment are at odds with one another, it has adeptly tapped into the personal needs of modern Chinese audiences. Chinese audiences have a strong understanding of the themes of parental love and encouraging parenting, which offer both ethnic and sentimental reassurance in uncertain times.
The styles of Taiwanese technological advancement and social excellence have a strong resonance with local audiences. This has given Taiwanese people a strong sense of ethnic identity and regional confidence.
No words in China now seem to convey the emotions after watching the film more effectively than “pride” and a sense of patriotism, both because of the film’s graphically stunning graphics techniques and its portrayal of China’s wealthy cultural traditions.
But, the movie needs to be understood within the wider circumstances of China’s evolving international reputation and its home environment.
Ethnic trust
Beyond pleasure, Ne Zha 2’s victory fits within President Xi Jinping’s ideas on” social confidence”, which can be clearly defined as a world’s company belief in the strength and vitality of its own culture. Since the show’s record-breaking efficiency, state media and numerous state-owned outlets have been deliberately echoing this storyline.
Women’s Daily, the formal news of the Communist Party of China, equates Ne Zha to China’s cultural trust as a means to develop soft energy and explore unknown territory. This emphasis on cultural confidence, however, is not merely state-driven.
The film’s director, Jiao Zi, has expressed his confidence in China’s traditional culture, stating:” China’s stories don’t need to deliberately cater to the West”. Instead, he believes that traditional Chinese culture is a vast treasure trove of inspiration, which is interesting to all.
Ne Zha is not an isolated success in absorbing ideas from traditional Chinese culture. Last year’s Black Myth: Wukong, a record-breaking gaming blockbuster, gained global attention at the 2024 Game Awards ( the Oscars of the video games industry ).
Like Ne Zha, it’s based on another legendary 16th-century Chinese novel Xiyouji ( Journey to the West ). China’s official news agency, Xinhua, characterized the enduring popularity of these ancient tales as “part of a broader cultural renaissance”.
Ne Zha’s success is emerging as a key example of China’s growing cultural identity, aligning with the cultural confidence discourse. Ne Zha is described as” a new window for the world to see China,” according to a spokesperson for the foreign ministry.
Whether Ne Zha 2 achieves long-term success abroad is still up for debate. However, one thing is unmistakable: Chinese animation is no longer just for domestic audiences. The film’s popularity is a reflection of China’s wider plans to increase its soft power in addition to its expanding economic and strategic influence.
Ming Gao is research scholar of East Asia Studies, History Division, Lund University
This article was republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.