Hong Kong, an English version of the Chinese box office “Ne Zha II”, the most rewarded animated film in the world, has been released in the United States, with a voice cast that includes Michelle Yeoh.
The film, inspired by Chinese mythology, opened more than 2,500 US theaters on Friday. It is the last of a wave of successful animations with Asian culture, as the recent success of Netflix “Kpop Demon Hunters”.
The sequel to a successful film released in 2019, “Ne Zha II” tells the story of a half -called Semi -called Ne Zha, who rebels against his Innate Devilry and chooses to use his magical powers and martial arts skills to defend the humanity of dragons and other enemies.
Yeoh, an actor from Malaysia and Mandarin speaker fluently, said it was difficult for him to follow the English subtitles during some of his most spectacular scenes when he first saw the movie in Hong Kong. She left the theater thinking that she needed to be folded in English.
He later received a call asking if he wanted to express to Lady Yin, the mother of Ne Zha, so that A24 distributes an English hem version. The Independent Film Company based in New York is known for productions, including “Moonlight” and “Eventhing Everywhere Awhere at the same time”, the 2022 film that made Yeoh in the first Asian to win the academy award for the best actress.
“Demons, yes,” said Yeoh in response, calling the movie “A beautiful way” to cross the cultural bridge between the East and West.
“It is a universal language of the family, of love, of the helpless, of someone who is ostracted, misunderstood just because you are born different,” he told The Associated Press.
Since its launch in Continental China in January, “Ne Zha II” has become the fifth most rewarding film in all time, just behind “Titanic” by James Cameron. In February, he surpassed “Inside Out 2” by Pixar as the world’s highest animated film.
It is also the first film that is not Hollywood that exceeds $ 2 billion in world profits, most of which come from the Chinese box office.
The film, directed by Yang Yu, born in Sichuan, also known as Jiaozi, has fueled national pride in China, with the state newspaper Daily by praising its commercial success as the “fruits of a safe nation.”
Many schools, state companies and government entities in China have actively organized the group visualizations of “NE ZHA II” to celebrate what they see as a milestone in Chinese animation.
The success of “NE ZHA II” is driven by the maturation of China’s animation industry and the “total support” of the authorities to strengthen the soft power and cultural exports of the country, said Zeng Hong, assistant professor at the Film Academy at the Baptist University of Hong Kong.
Although the English hem version can do better in the US. UU. That the previous version only China with English subtitles, which won around $ 20 million, Zeng said that if “Ne Zha II” succeeds with international spectators, it is likely that it is more due to their national acclamation and novelty than of the genuine interest in Chinese mythology.
Zeng said that although he expects some criticisms in the United States to criticize the film as Chinese propaganda, other spectators can see it out of curiosity.
Kevin Ma, a veteran film industry observer based in Hong Kong, said that another challenge that faces “Ne Zha II” in his last launch is the low theatrical window in the market dominated by the current transmission.
The new films can capture public attention for only one or two months before moving to the transmission platforms, said Ma, who is also a film festival consultant.
Although “Ne Zha II” came out only earlier this year, it almost seems “as a distant memory now” due to the “shortest attention capacity” of consumers in the transmission era, he said.
The Association press contributed.
