Ne Zha 2

Story

Based on a Chinese mythological character, Ne Zha (voice of Joseph) is a demon orb born of the fire element. His friend Ao Bing (Mo Han) is of the water element. Ne Zha and Ao Bing sacrifice themselves, and their bodies are destroyed but their spirits continue to live.

Taiyi Zhenren (Jiamin Zhang) plans to recreate their bodies using the power of the lotus flower. Ao Bing’s body fails, however, but his spirit enters Ne Zha’s body, where it lives with Ne Zha’s spirit. Ne Zha soon learns that by taking a sleeping pill, he can transform into Ao Bing, who has better fighting skills.

Wicked Master Shen (Wei Yang) plots to achieve dominance over all the factions, using his fierce dragons to achieve this. When Chentung Pass is destroyed and all its people are killed, Ne Zha believes his parents are among the dead. Enraged, he sets out to destroy all those who have wronged him and to revenge the death of his parents.

Themes

Chinese mythology; fantasy; monsters, demons and dragons; revenge; magic; betrayal

Violence

Ne Zha 2 has a lot of violence, including continual martial arts-style fighting, with kicking, punching and throwing. This fighting often involves weapons like swords, axes, bows and arrows. Other examples of violence in this movie include the following:

Shen breaks off a dragon’s claw and creates a sky-splitting ‘thunder whip’. He cracks the whip, which causes streams of fire to pour from the sky to the earth.
The abyss monsters fight each other. They use rocks to break each other’s limbs.
Ne Zha is set on fire and screams.
Ne Zha has a game of shuttlecock with his father and throws him into a wall during the game.
Shen freezes the water. He also freezes his own arm, which breaks off.
In the form of a large cat, Shen’s brother attacks Ao Bing, biting him on the arm.
A master is hit by a golden arrow, which causes him to cough up blood. He tries to run away but collapses, coughing up more blood, and he dies.

Sexual references

There are no sexual references in Ne Zha 2.

Alcohol, drugs and other substances

Ne Zha 2 shows some use of substances. For example:

Shen is offered alcohol at a meal. He refuses it at first, but then he drinks it all.
Pills are used to transform Ne Zha into Ao Bing.
Ne Zha is looking for an elixir, which he believes will mend his friend.

Nudity and sexual activity

Ne Zha 2 has some nudity and sexual activity. For example, Ne Zha drops his pants to urinate, and his bare buttocks are seen.

Product placement

There’s no product placement in Ne Zha 2.

Coarse language

Ne Zha 2 has some coarse language, including ‘bastards’, ‘damn’, ‘piss’, ‘screw you’, ‘What the hell?’, ‘You suck’ and ‘crap’. There’s also some name-calling, including ‘boneheads’, ‘arrogant spoilt brat’ and ‘idiot’.

Ideas to discuss with your children

Ne Zha 2 is an animated fantasy movie based on Chinese mythology. The animation is visually stunning, but the movie is intense and very violent. It’s also in Mandarin with English subtitles, so English-speaking viewers who are unfamiliar with the mythological origin story might find it difficult to understand fully.

Ne Zha 2 isn’t suitable for children under 12 years. It’s better suited to older children and teenagers.

The main messages from Ne Zha 2 are that you control your own fate and have the power to determine the person you want to be.

Values in Ne Zha 2that you could reinforce with your children include courage, determination, perseverance, self-discipline and control.

Ne Zha 2 could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life themes like the strength of familial bonds. For example, Ne Zha’s parents are fair, loving and forgiving of their highly strung child, showing that familial bonds are strong regardless of personality.