Ne Zha (2019) [Blu Ray]

One of the big surprises of the last year in theaters was Ne Zha, China’s big blockbuster animated film, which came out to some serious money in theaters. Not only did it make a massive splash overseas, but it ended up garnering quite the theatrical run in the US too. The main reason for its success is how confident and well-executed it is as a film. Ne Zha is a wild, colorful, and full immersive animated experience, brimming with family-style humor and yet slathered in traditional Chinese fantasy and littered with incredibly well-executed action set pieces. If you want more, please feel free to read through my full review of the film from last here HERE.

The purpose of this update is not to necessarily rehash the quality of the film, but to let our readers know that it’s now available to own. Ne Zha is available on multiple formats via Well Go USA. Each of the releases is focused solely on the film itself and it features both dubbed and subbed versions of the film for those who want the choice (subbed is my preferred method, but people love them dubs). For those looking for a slew of special features, then this isn’t necessarily the release for that – but the film itself is easily worth the purchase. Considering the visual style of the film, the higher the resolution than the higher the recommendation. The visual and audio focused cinephile will not complain about the quality that is on display here. This is one that is getting the UHD 4K quality release too – which includes the superior artwork anyway in my opinion.

Although Ne Zha doesn’t feature a lot of extras, the quality of the releases are fantastic. The film is worth checking out just to see the beginning of an obvious new age of Chinese animation (and its own franchise) so it comes highly recommended.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Ne Zha (2019)

Director: Jiao Zi

Notable Cast: Lyu Yanting, Cao Yalong, Wang Zheng, Chen Hao, Zeng Hongru, Yang Wei, Zhang Jiaming

One of the more fascinating pieces about the rise of the Chinese film industry over the last five to ten years is how incredibly unpredictable the entire thing is as a whole. Films that would seem to check off all of the boxes to soar in the box office flounder and yet other films come out as massive surprises. Of the latter category, Ne Zha might be one of the most astounding. China has been slowly putting together an animation film plan over the last few years to build an audience there and recent foreign box office successes like Disney’s Coco and a re-release of Spirited Away have laid the groundwork for a domestic giant to arise. As it turns out, that film is Ne Zha. Ne Zha took China by storm, generating astronomical box office numbers and becoming something of a legend seemingly overnight, enough so that international distribution label Well Go USA took notice and quickly generated a theatrical release for the film in the US. A surprising move since, well, it’s a foreign language animated family film. Still, now that the film his been unleashed on the unsuspecting US market, it’s safe to say that, yes, Ne Zha is a blast. The animation is fun and tight, balancing traditional cartoon choices with lush CGI detailing, and the story and narrative find a strong balance between the family-friendly moments and key fantasy action set pieces. This landmark animated film takes the best of the blockbuster formulas that China has learned from Hollywood and given it a delightful and distinctly Chinese spin. The results are a rip-roaring ride of laughs, action, and bigger than life fantasy morals.