As "Ne Zha 2" hits theaters worldwide -- winning over audiences with strong reviews, high ratings, and sold-out screenings -- experts point to its technical achievements and production quality as key to its broad appeal, resonating with Western audiences.
The hit movie has now become the third-highest grossing animated film of all time and currently ranks as the 17th most lucrative movie ever made in terms of total global earnings.
According to Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the film debuted with a score of 8.1, which had risen to 8.3 as of Thursday, reflecting widespread audience approval.
Advance ticket sales in cities like New York and Los Angeles indicate overwhelming demand, with most seats already booked.
In a report from Monday, The New York Times highlighted the immense success of "Ne Zha 2", citing an independent Chinese film critic who described it as a rare movie that hits all the marks, targets all demographics, and has successfully won them over.
At the same time, the BBC reported that "Ne Zha 2" illustrates how Chinese-made films are becoming globally competitive, citing an IMDb review that praises the film for showcasing the strength of China's rising animation industry and demonstrating the endless possibilities of traditional Chinese mythology in modern settings.
"The technological advancement in Chinese animation is astonishing, especially in 3D animation. The level of detail has reached new heights, particularly in battle sequences, where the impact is significantly enhanced," said Gaku Kaneko, acting Director of the Planning Department at Japan's TEAM JOY CO., LTD.
Chris Berry, a professor of film studies at King's College London, stated that films like "Ne Zha 2" are more likely to break through in the film market, emphasizing its genre, animation, story pacing, and production standards as key factors that resonate with Western audiences.
"Chinese animation films like 'Ne Zha 2' and so on are very distinctive, but also familiar in the sense of the genre, the sort of fantasy animation, the pacing, the production standards and so on. In that sense, they're easily accessible to Western audiences, as well as Chinese audiences. The animation films, they don't depend upon having stars that you know. So maybe those films are the ones that might make the breakthrough," the professor said.
"Ne Zha 2" showcases China's animation breakthrough, global appeal: experts
