By Zuo Heng

Since hitting the big screen during the 2025 Spring Festival holiday on Jan. 29, Chinese animated blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” has shattered multiple box office records, becoming the first film to cross 1 billion dollars in a single market.As of Feb. 12, its earnings had exceeded 9.3 billion yuan ($1.27 billion).

This year marks the 120th anniversary of Chinese cinema and the 130th anniversary of world cinema. The robust performance of “Ne Zha 2” has boosted confidence within the global film industry, reaffirming the enduring vitality of film as an art form and providing valuable insights into Chinese filmmaking.

“Ne Zha 2” signals the arrival of a new chapter for the Chinese animation school.

In the past century, Chinese animation, represented by the iconic works of Shanghai Animation Film Studio, captivated Chinese audiences and gained international recognition. However, the creation and production models in that era failed to keep up with the development of modern cinema and struggled to fulfill audience expectations, leading to a period of stagnation after its golden age.

Today, with the deepening reforms in China’s film industry, coupled with economic and technological advancements, a thriving cultural market, and a growing pool of talent, the Chinese animation industry has gained fresh momentum. A new generation of passionate filmmakers and innovative studios has come to prominence, warmly welcomed by the massive community of Chinese animation audiences.

“Ne Zha 2” highlights the profound depth and richness of Chinese cultural heritage.

The film draws inspiration from China’s Bronze Age, taking viewers back to ancient Chinese history – such as a pair of mystical “boundaryguardian beasts”inspired by the golden masks excavated from the Sanxingdui Ruins, the magnificent Tianyuan Cauldronthat finds inspiration in the bronze cauldrons of the Shang and Zhou Dynasties (1600 B.C.-256 B.C.),and the intricate bronze mirror patterns found on the desk of Shiji Niangniang, or Lady Rocky.

The story’s core premise, where a Chaos Pearl birthed from primordial essences splits into two opposite components – the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Orb, echoes the Taoist allegory from the ancient Chinese classics Zhuangzi, in which the legendary faceless being Hundun perishes after being forcibly carved open. The climactic battle between the celestial realm and demon clans also continued the theme of self-discovery from “Nezha Conquers the Dragon King,” a classic Chinese animated fantasy film released in 1979.

The film’s intricate plotlines, fusion of beauty and grotesqueness in character design, and the balance between solemnity and humor all bear traces ofthe narrative styles ofzaju, a unique dramatic genre of China’s Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) and popular fictions in China’s Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911). It revitalizes China’s long-standing aesthetic traditions, blending innovation with cultural heritage to captivate modern audiences.

At the same time, “Ne Zha 2” also reflects subtle influences from Western animation and Japanese anime. Since modern times, Western cultural elements have found their way into China and have been adapted in ways that contribute to the development of contemporary Chinese culture. This process of integration is, in itself, a fascinating cultural story of Chinese modernization.