Care to guess which is the highest-grossing movie of the year so far? No, it’s not Lilo & Stitch or A Minecraft Movie, although those would be astute guesses. Rather, it’s Ne Zha II, the sequel to the 2019 Chinese animated blockbuster that’s already become the fifth highest-grossing film of all time and most successful animated film ever, to the tune of some $2 billion.

Don’t feel bad if you’re not familiar with it, since it received only a limited U.S. release earlier this year. But the enterprising folks at A24 are giving you another chance, reopening the film in an English-language dubbed version in plenty of IMAX, 3D and other premium screens so you can fully appreciate its dazzling visuals.

Ne Zha II

The Bottom Line

Stunning but chaotic.

Release date: Friday, August 22
Cast: Crystal Lee, Griffin Puatu, Aleks Le, Vincent Rodriguez III, Michelle Yeoh, Rick Zieff, Daniel Riordan, William Utay, Christophe Swindle, Karl Wahlgren, Fred Tatasciore, Michael Yurchak, Damian Hass
Director-screenwriter: Jiaozi
2 hours 24 minutes

Whether or not you can also appreciate the byzantine storyline, endless action sequences that make most video games look like Eric Rohmer films, and childish vulgarity is another thing. The sequel is certainly a stupendous achievement in terms of its animation, and clearly has great cultural resonance in its native country. But those looking for coherent storytelling or emotional depth will have to wait for the next Pixar offering (not that the company has been distinguishing itself lately).

If you haven’t seen the first Ne Zha, not to worry. This sequel includes a generous recap of the previous film’s story, based on ancient Chinese mythological characters and the 16th-century epic novel Investiture of the Gods. Not that the catch-up will necessarily do the trick; after the press screening was over, a fellow critic plaintively asked if I could explain the plot to him. Can’t say that I was of much help.

But if you must know something going in, the story, which takes place just after the events of the first film, largely revolves around the tumultuous relationship between the demon boy Ne Zha (Griffin Puatu) and his warrior prince friend Ao Bing (Aleks Le). The two share a bond because they were born from two halves of a supernatural entity, the Chaos Pearl. But their friendship becomes rather complicated when they’re both struck by lightning and Ao Bing is forced to inhabit Ne Zha’s body. The pair quickly begin having the sort of identity crises experienced by Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin in All of Me.    

In order to make Ao Bing whole again, they’re forced to undergo a series of trials, with Ne Zha frequently drugging himself to sleep so his more experienced partner can fully take over his body and handle the warrior duties. It all leads to a frenetic series of battles between sects involving gods, dragons, demons and animal warriors including rodents and sea creatures.

Director-screenwriter Yu Yang, a.k.a. Jiaozi, repeats his duties from the first film, and seems intent on upping the ante in terms of length (the sequel runs more than a half hour longer), number of characters and especially the repetitive battle scenes, which come so fast and furious it’s almost impossible to keep track of the stakes. He also indulges in much puerile slapstick humor, with so many gags revolving around flatulence, vomit, poop and urine that … well, let’s just say that kids will love it, especially since many of them will relate to the rebellious, spunky Ne Zha.  

Adults, at least those not addicted to this sort of mythological fantasy, will have a harder time. Nonetheless, there’s plenty to appreciate, especially the massively scaled, spectacular visuals that demand to be seen on the largest screen possible. It’s also refreshing that, with the exception of Michelle Yeoh as Ne Zha’s mother Lady Yin, the English-language cast is largely unknown, with nary a Jack Black nor Chris Pratt to be heard.   Â