There have been over 10 years since I go to the theater watching the Chinese garbage movies. This one really really changed my mind. I see a glimpse of light of the Chinese animation movies, and a fire for the whole Chinese movie industry.

The animation and action styles take some getting used to, as does the entire mythological aesthetic. That's not a complaint that more background should have been given for a non-Chinese audience. A quick search of wikipedia shows that this story is based on a Ming-dynasty novel with Taoist themes, and has multiple retellings/versions, including an animated 1979 version, Nezha Conquers the Dragon King. The current version was from an unknown studio, but was massively popular in China, where it has clearly tapped into the cultural Zeitgeist. For myself and my children, what impressed was the stylized but sharp animation, the epic scale, and the manic action scenes. The most distinctive part was the untraditional anti-hero, essentially a young bratty way who simultaneously fights against his own brattiness and others' dislike of him, as well as his fate to die in 3 years; ultimately, he and his frenemy/twin Ao Bing reconcile to overcome this fate, at least partially. The plot reminded me a bit of a Jungian transcendence of opposites in the personality - after all, both Ne Zha and Ao Bing come from the same chaos pearl!

Sebastian: 10 Stars Sienna: 8 Stars Paul: 8 Stars

Sienna's Favorite Character: Drunken Master!

Sebastian's Favorite Character: The Dragon.

Tianzun sends his disciples chubby Taoist Taiyi Zhenren, and Shen Gongbao to corral the Chaos Pearl. Tianzun splits the Chaos Pearl in two; the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Orb. The Demon Orb is birthed to be the demonic boy Ne Zha destine to be destroyed in three years. Meanwhile, Shen Gonbao steals the Spirit Pearl to the Dragon King who births his son Ao Bing to eventually release the dragons.

This is Chinese animation getting better and better. It looks good and it looks fun. The story starts with an epic exposition dump. It's too complicated. It needs some simplification. It really only needs to get to Hellboy and Iceman. The characters are the more important aspect. The most compelling part is the demonic nature of Ne Zha and the fear that he instills upon the villagers. It's a personal interior battle that plays out to the end with him and Ao Bing. The movie needs to streamline the story as much as possible to that aspect. The more complicated it gets, the more de-emphasized is that personal struggle.