Anticipation builds as "Ne Zha 2" arrives in Singapore, earning acclaim from industry insiders

As the highly anticipated Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" prepares to arrive in Singapore, excitement among local audiences and industry insiders is palpable. The film's premiere event, held on Sunday, received widespread acclaim from Singaporean moviegoers, who view it as a triumph for Asian cinema in the global market.

On premiere day, a select group of fans and entertainment industry professionals attended an exclusive screening ahead of the official public release in Singapore, set for March 6.

Mark Lee, a Singaporean comedian and actor, said the film surpasses animated movies produced in other regions.

"I think it is the best animated film in recent years. I think it outdone others because the artwork is more detailed, and the voice acting is excellent," he said.

Ben Logan, co-founder and CEO of StarzStruck Entertainment Pte Ltd, echoed this sentiment.

"I think one thing is, it's a definite recognition of the improvement or the level-up of Chinese animation. But one thing is, it's very rare when there's such a big hype over a movie, and you come in not disappointed," Logan said.

Isaac Ong, founder of Colours Global Group, expressed his admiration for the film’s success and its impact on Asian animation, stating: "I'm very proud that an Asian animation film is completely owning the scene, and I think it deserves every bit of credit because the animation is 10 upon 10, the storyline is 10 upon 10. So, I'm really happy that they are showing our fight, our might, and our skill set in animation."

"Ne Zha 2" has already made history as the highest-grossing animated film of all time, placing it among global box office giants like "Titanic" and "Avatar."

Joyce Lee, director of Encore Films, which is responsible for the film's Southeast Asia release, shared her optimism about its performance, noting the unprecedented audience anticipation and social media buzz surrounding the movie.

"Frankly speaking, so far I'm getting more and more confident. Over the last 22 years of my career, I've never seen a response like that. I've never seen anticipation from the audience, all the news it has made on social media—I've not seen anything like that. Initially, I was thinking, probably, you know, I would be very happy if it could do 2 million dollars in Singapore, and that would have broken all records for Chinese films in Singapore. But then, after today, after everybody's response, I'm actually adjusting it. I'm being very optimistic here, so I think 5 million. I'm gunning for that," said Lee.

According to Adeleena Araib, the general manager of The Projector, this success is also great news for the independent cinema in Singapore that specializes in art-house films.

With the growing popularity of Chinese animated films, The Projector plans to introduce more Chinese content to local audiences.

"I think that Chinese animated films, also Chinese films in general, are getting a lot more traction for diverse audiences around the world who want something different other than the traditional western style of animation or even the storytelling," said Araib.

Anticipation builds as "Ne Zha 2" arrives in Singapore, earning acclaim from industry insiders

The death toll from a landfill collapse in the central Philippine city of Cebu has risen to eight by Monday morning as search and rescue operations continued for another 28 missing people.

The landfill collapse occurred on Thursday as dozens of sanitation workers were working at the site. The disaster has already caused injuries of 18 people.

Family members of the missing people said the rescue progress is slow, and the hope for the survival of their loved ones is fading.

"For me, maybe I’ve accepted the worst result already because the garbage is poisonous and yesterday, it was raining very hard the whole day. Maybe they’ve been poisoned. For us, alive or dead, I hope we can get their bodies out of the garbage rubble," said Maria Kareen Rubin, a family member of a victim.

Families have set up camps on high ground near the landfill, awaiting news of their relatives. Some people at the site said cries for help could still be heard hours after the landfill collapsed, but these voices gradually faded away.

Bienvenido Ranido, who lost his wife in the disaster, said he can't believe all that happened.

"After they gave my wife oxygen, my kids and I were expecting that she would be saved that night because she was still alive. But the night came and till the next morning, they didn't manage to save her," he said.

Death toll in central Philippine landfill collapse rises to eight