Success Of ‘Ne Zha 2’: Could This Finally Be China’s Soft Power Moment?

Last weekend I finally went to see Ne Zha 2 and began to understand why this Chinese animated film has grossed US$2bn. First the basics – it’s a visually jaw-dropping movie, truly epic in scale, but also contains humour (mostly toilet humour, but still amusing); pathos, with more than a few tearjerking moments, and something I wasn’t expecting – well-defined character arcs.

Forgetting it’s a family film, I was initially dismayed by the large number of kids in the screening I went to, expecting a noisy two and a half hours, but needn’t have worried as the rugrats were spellbound and apart from laughs and gasps, there was nary a peep out of them until the end of the film.

But it’s not just a kids movie – it has something for everyone: teenagers, gamers, the elusive millennial audience, young adults, older adults. It’s a true four-quadrant film that can be enjoyed by the whole family. It’s also so visually stunning that it merits repeat viewing, which also partly explains the huge box offi…