China’s animated hit ‘Ne Zha II’ gets a second U.S. release, this time with Michelle Yeoh

Hong Kong – An English version of the Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha II”, the most profitable animated film in the world, was published in the United States, with a vocal distribution which includes Michelle Yeoh.

The film, inspired by Chinese mythology, opened its doors in more than 2,500 American theaters on Friday. This is the last of a wave of successful animations featuring Asian culture, like the recent Hit of Netflix “Kpop Demon Hunters”.

The continuation of a successful film published in 2019, “Ne Zha II” tells the story of a half-child child named Ne Zha who rebels against his diabolical innate and chooses to use his magical powers and his skills in martial arts to defend humanity against dragons and other enemies.

Yeoh, a Malaysian actor and speaker from Mandarin, said that he had trouble following the English subtitles during some of his most spectacular scenes when she watched the film in Hong Kong for the first time. She left the theater thinking that he had to be doubled in English.

Later, she received a call asking her if she wanted to express Lady Yin, Ne Zha’s mother, for an English version broadcast by A24. The New York -based independent film company is known for its productions, notably “Moonlight” and “Everything Every At OfDing”, the film 2022 which made Yeoh the first Asia to win the Academy for best actress.

“Hell yes,” said Yeoh in response, calling the film “A beautiful way” to cross the cultural bridge between East and West.

“It is a universal language of the family, love, oppressed, someone who is ostracized, ill-understood simply because you were born different,” she told the Associated Press.

Since its release in continental China in January, “Ne Zha II” has become the fifth highest film in the world of all time, just behind “Titanic” by James Cameron. In February, he exceeded Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” as the most profitable animated film in the world.

It is also the first non-Hollywood film to exceed $ 2 billion in world income, most of which came from the Chinese box office.

The film – which is directed by Yang Yu born in Sichuan, also known as Jiaozi – attracted national pride in China, with the daily newspaper managed by the State praising its commercial success as “fruits of a confident nation”.

Many schools, public enterprises and government entities across China have actively organized visits to “NE ZHA II” groups to celebrate what they consider an important step in Chinese animation.

The success of “Ne Zha II” is motivated both by the maturation of the Chinese animation industry and the “full support” of the authorities to strengthen the soft power and cultural exports of the country, said Zeng Hong, assistant professor at the Academy of Cinema of the Baptiste University of Hong Kong.

Although the English version can do better in the United States than the Chinese previous version with English subtitles, which has won about $ 20 million, Zeng said that if “Ne Zha II” succeeds with international viewers, it is likely to come from its national acclamation and newness than real interest in Chinese mythology.

Zeng said that even if she expects some criticism in the United States to criticize the film as Chinese propaganda, other viewers can simply watch it out of curiosity.

Kevin MA, a veteran observer of the film industry which is based in Hong Kong, said that another challenge “Ne Zha II” in front of its latest version is the tight theatrical window of the predominance of today’s streaming.

New films can draw public attention for only one or two months before moving on to streaming platforms, said MA, who is also a film festival consultant.

Even if “Ne Zha II” was only released at the beginning of this year, it seems almost “as a distant memory now” due to the “shorter duration of attention” of consumers at the age of streaming, he said.