The production team of "Nezha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea" or "Ne Zha 2", a Chinese animated fantasy and the current box-office revenue leader during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday, has gone above and beyond to deliver groundbreaking visual effects that captivate audiences.
The week-long Spring Festival holiday, running from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4 in 2025, is traditionally China's most lucrative moviegoing window. This year, a stellar lineup has been presented to audiences, including "Ne Zha 2", the detective thriller "Detective Chinatown 1900", and the fantasy film "Creation of the Gods II: Demon Force".
The animated feature "Ne Zha 2", the sequel to the 2019 animated blockbuster "Ne Zha", draws inspiration from the tale of a mythological figure of the same name from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) novel "Fengshen Yanyi", or "The Investiture of the Gods".
The first "Ne Zha" generated an impressive 5 billion yuan (about 695 million U.S. dollars) at the box office, while also winning numerous accolades.
This year, the second installment surpassed 3.3 billion yuan (about 458 million U.S. dollars) in just six days.
Continuing the story from the first film, "Ne Zha 2" delves into the reconstructing of the bodies of Ne Zha and Ao Bing, the son of the Dragon King.
The visual effects have been notably enhanced, offering an even more immersive experience than before.
"The total number of shots with special visual effects in Ne Zha 2 exceeds the entire shot count of the first movie. With a total of 34 major scenes, the movie delivers a small climax as early as the seventh scene," said Chen Changjiang, executive producer of Ne Zha 2.
This pivotal moment centers on the overwhelming presence of a massive horde of mythical sea creatures. The chains binding all these monsters play a crucial role in this scene. However, if the production team aims to create the effect of all the monsters being connected by chains, it would likely not only disrupt the composition of the shot, but also place enormous pressure on the special effects team, potentially causing production delays.
At one point, the production team and director found themselves at odds.
"Those chains were non-negotiable for me, as they were essential to the plot's core logic. Each monster in the vast army had to be bound by a chain. Our effects team had never faced such a task, so it required a lot of trial and error. It was a research and development process," said director Yang Yu, who goes by the nickname Jiaozi.
In response, the entire team worked tirelessly, refining their approach to meet the director's requirements.
"We invested a significant amount of time in developing these complex effects. Our goal was to create something that audiences had never seen before, something that would deliver a strong visual impact and offer a fresh artistic expression. This is the kind of work we believe is truly worth doing," Yang added.
"Ne Zha 2" sets box office ablaze with dazzling visual effects
