“My fate is determined by me, not by heaven!”

Ne Zha is a legendary character from the 16th century Chinese novel Fengshen Yanyi (The Investiture of the Gods), which combined history and mythology. Ne Zha, who was initially portrayed as a disobedient child born in an unusual situation, battles against the Dragon King and other oppressive powers. This project examines how the character has been reimagined for modern audiences by contrasting that traditional narrative with its contemporary reinterpretation in Ne Zha 2.

Intro to the Original Story

One of the best-known Chinese mythological characters is Nezha. He did not enter the world in the usual manner during the Shang dynasty. Instead, his mother gave birth to a large ball of flesh after more than three years’ gestation. When his father, General Li Jing, cut it open because he believed it was a monster, Nezha, already a walking, talking boy, jump out!

Nezha had a forceful personality and special abilities. He once unwittingly woke the Dragon King of the East Sea while cooling off in a river. This caused a battle in which Nezha killed Ao Bing, the son of the Dragon King. The Dragon Kings were so enraged that they threatened to flood Nezha’s hometown. Nezha killed himself and returned his body to his parents as a way of repentance in order to save his village and family. Then, Nezha asked his mother in a dream to build a temple for his ghost. The temple became highly popular after she secretly constructed it. However, his father, still angry at all the disasters Nezha had caused, destroyed the temple when he found out. Nezha later sought revenge for that.

Fortunately, the teacher of Nezha used lotus roots to build him a new body and brought him back to life. Nezha continued to battle his father when he gave him some awesome new weapons. Nezha eventually reconciled with his father who became the Pagoda-Wielding Heavenly King with the help of powerful gods. Nezha, in the face of injustice and self-denial for the benefit of the community, became the Chinese legendary hero in spite of his stormy life.

Global Retelling: Ne Zha 2.

How Ne Zha 2 Reinterprets the Myth

When Nezha 2 was released, it attracted a large number of audiences with its unique modification and innovation. It is no longer a simple copy of the original story with modern animation effects. This movie is trying express Nezha’s story from a more down-to-earth and relatable approach as the characters from the original story were too noble and unrealistically out of touch with reality.

In this movie, Nezha is no longer the little hero who was born with justice, but has become a little devil who is the reincarnation of a magic pill. His parents, Li Jing and Madam Yin, have been worried about him. They were afraid of that he cannot be accepted by the people. Nezha has been locked up in their house since he was a child and cannot go out, which makes his character rebellious and lonely. And Ao Bing is no longer the simple third prince of the East China Sea. He has become the reincarnation of a spirit bead and shoulders the responsibility of revitalizing the dragon clan.

Nezha and Ao Bing, who were pure enemies in the original story, have become both enemies and friends in the movie. The interaction and emotional entanglement between them have become a major twist of the movie. The plot of the movie is also very different from the original. The reason why Nezha caused trouble in the sea was no longer a simple conflict caused by him cooling off, but because his identity as a magic pill was misunderstood by everyone, and his inner loneliness and anger made him vent at the seaside, thus causing a conflict with the dragon clan.

Moreover, many new characters and plots were added to the movie, such as the villain Shen Gongbao, whose conspiracy and tricks promoted the development of the whole story. There was also the battle between Nezha and Ao Bing at the birthday banquet, which made the audience feel very satisfied about their fighting scene thanks to the modern animation technologies and 3D visual effects.

Critiques from the old audience

In the minds of old audiences, Nezha is the innocent and righteous little hero. Every action and expression of his is cute. But in Nezha 2, Nezha becomes a little devil with foul language and extremely weird behavior. Although this image has its unique charm, it is really hard to accept for the audience who grew up watching the old version of Nezha.

In the original novel, the plot of Nezha making trouble in the sea is simple and direct. It is because he disturbed the East China Sea by taking a bath, and he had a conflict with Ao Bing, and then killed Ao Bing. But in the new movie, too many complex backgrounds and character relationships are added. Old audiences feel that such an adaptation makes an originally simple and pure story too complicated. Moreover, the relationship between Nezha and Ao Bing in the movie has changed from hostility to both enemy and friend, which makes many old audiences difficult to understand. In their opinion, Nezha and Ao Bing are natural enemies, and this relationship cannot be easily changed, just like cats and mice. If you suddenly make them good friends, you always feel that something is wrong.

Some of Nezha’s lines in the movie are full of modern Internet slang. Although they sound funny, they always feel out of place with that mythological era.

Impact on young and global audiences

From the perspective of the film industry, adapting classic works is a common way of creation. It can give new vitality to old stories and attract more audiences of different ages and backgrounds. Nezha 2 is a good example. It successfully attracted a large number of young audiences to the cinema through a unique adaptation. These young audiences may not be familiar with the original story Fengsheng Yanyi, but through this movie, they have become interested in the story of Nezha, and thus have the possibility to read the original novel, which has a positive effect on spreading Chinese culture.

Moreover, adaptation also gives creators more room to play. They can innovate and adjust the story according to the preferences and market needs of the current audience. In Nezha 2, the creators added a lot of modern themes such as family affection, friendship, and self-identity to make this ancient myth closer to the lives of modern people. For example, the complex emotions between Nezha and his parents, he longed for his parents’ recognition, and his parents tried their best to protect him. This portrayal of family affection resonated with many audiences. There is also the friendship between Nezha and Ao Bing. When facing the challenges of fate, they understand and support each other, and this friendship is also touching.