Ne Zha (2019 film)

Ne Zha (Chinese: 哪吒之魔童降世; pinyin: Nézhā zhī Mótóng Jiàngshì), also spelled Nezha, is a 2019 Chinese animated fantasy adventure film directed and written by Jiaozi. Its animation production is done by the director's own Chengdu Coco Cartoon. Featuring the popular Chinese mythological character Nezha, the plot is loosely based on the 16th-century novel Investiture of the Gods by Xu Zhonglin. In the film, a young boy named Ne Zha, is the reincarnation of the demon orb, which is separated from the chaos pearl by the Primeval Lord of Heaven, Yuanshi Tianzun. Born with the destructive powers of a demon orb, he finds himself as an outcast who is hated and feared by the townsfolk in Chengtang Pass. Destined by prophecy to bring destruction to the world, the young lad must choose between good and evil in order to break the shackles of fate and become the hero.

Ne Zha was released in China exclusively in IMAX and China Film Giant Screen theatres on 13 July 2019, followed by other theatres on 26 July, distributed by Beijing Enlight Pictures. It is the first Chinese-produced animated feature released in IMAX format, and, despite being the debut feature of its director and animation studio and having no widely known actors in its voice cast, the film gained critical acclaim and has been one of the biggest commercial successes in Chinese cinema, setting numerous records for box office grosses, including becoming the highest-grossing animated film in China, the worldwide highest-grossing non-U.S. animated film, and the worldwide second-highest-grossing non-English-language film of all time at the time of its release. With a gross of over $742 million, it was that year's fourth-highest-grossing animated film and China's all time fifth-highest-grossing film.

It began a North American release on 29 August in select IMAX 3D theatres, before a nationwide rollout on 6 September. It was selected as the Chinese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, becoming the first animated film from China to ever do so, but it was ultimately not nominated.

A second film, also loosely based off Investiture of the Gods, titled Jiang Ziya, was released on 1 October 2020, which is National Day in China. A direct sequel, Ne Zha 2, was released on 29 January 2025, which broke multiple box-office records and stands as the highest-grossing animated film of all time.