Ne Zha 2’s shockwaves: What China and Africa can gain from their traditional cultures
Recently, China has made waves globally. After DeepSeek making strides in artificial intelligence, the movie Ne Zha 2 has marked a significant cultural milestone.
In 2019, the animated film Ne Zha became a global cultural phenomenon. Four years later, its sequel, Ne Zha 2, has once again shattered records, becoming the highest-grossing film ever in a single market.
It has claimed the title of the highest-grossing animated film globally and ranks among the top 8 highest-grossing films of all time as of February 24, with its box office numbers continuing climbing.
Inspired by a 16th-century Chinese mythological novel, Ne Zha 2 reimagines its protagonist as a rebellious boy-god blending contemporary themes of identity, resilience and social justice.
So what does the success of Ne Zha 2 reflect about China’s growing cultural confidence and its ability to tell its own stories?
And as Africa also boasts rich and diverse cultures, what can be done to transform local African stories into successful productions with universal appeal?
Teng Jimeng, senior research fellow with the Center for China and Globalization and Rodrigue Taling, a Cameroonian director for African Films and TV at Zhenjiang Normal University unravel the questions with China Africa Talk.
China Africa Talk: Could you provide a more detailed overview of this movie? What do you think is the secret behind its success?
Teng Jimeng：Ne Zha 2, also known as Ne Zha: Demon Child Conquers the Sea, is the sequel to the 2019 blockbuster Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child, and has indeed been making waves both in China and internationally. Ne Zha 2 continues the story of Ne Zha, a mischievous and powerful character inspired by the Chinese mythology. In the first film, Ne Zha: Birth of the Demon Child, he was portrayed as a misunderstood anti-hero, fighting against fate and destiny. The sequel builds on this deeply into Ne Zha’s struggle with his identity and the pressure of being a demon child. As the film progresses, Ne Zha’s journey becomes a mix of actions, self-discovery, and a fight against the external forces that seeks to control him. The film’s animation continues to be a kind of a visually stunning and high acting style, as we see in the first movie. And so in this sense, it is lots of technologies, the cutting edge CGIs (Computer-generated imagery), 3D technologies, and it looks great as a dynamic visual experience.
China Africa Talk: Nezha 2 has been released in markets such as North America, Australia and New Zealand. Many African audiences will also have the chance to see the film, as it is set to be released in countries like Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. What have your known about this film so far? Are you interested in purchasing a ticket to watch it?
Rodrigue Taling: The film Ne Zha 2 gave us the opportunity to better understand Chinese mythology in comparison of the African ones. Personally, I’ve watched the movie twice. Actually I watched the movie in Chinese language to make sure I have really understood the basic concept of the movie because translation cannot really translate the authentic meaning of a culture. I still have to watch a third time to better get deep down to the whole story and the mythology that needs to be absorbed. Let’s talk about the African perspective. I’ve seen a lot of similarities with African mythology. Basically, the dragon or the snake in the African culture, it’s something different from the West. For example, when you look at the Bible, the dragon will be picture as a very bad, something as a demon creature. But actually, when you get back thousands of years, the ancient Egyptian mythology, you will see that the snake was something very positive. That’s why the black pharaohs were always having the snakes as they are totemic animal and even today the pharmaceutical symbol of the World Health Organization is a little snake. A snake is a symbol of a renaissance, a kind of rebirth, the basic similarity that we can see from that movie. I think we still have a lot of things to learn from that movie and also try to picture our own stories as Africans on the global market.
China Africa Talk: In recent years, we’ve seen many other Chinese films that offer new interpretations of traditional culture and have been quite successful. Examples include Chang An and Creation of The Gods Ⅰ:Kingdom of Storms. Can you provide a broader picture: what is the Chinese film industry drawing from traditional Chinese culture? How is the industry reshaping expressions of traditional cultures?
Teng Jimeng: I think filmmakers are drawing from Chinese mythology and history because they are the rich sources for material or storytelling. Films like the Creation of the Gods and Ne Zha are actually rooted in ancient myths and legends that have been passed down through generations. So these myths often involving gods, immortals, and heroes, and provide compelling narrative foundation. And so this is something they try to draw upon. Secondly, I think is the philosophy and the literary foundation. For example, Ne Zha is actually based on this variation of mythology, but it also blends Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, all these great philosophies. That’s basically what they draw. And in terms of reshaping, I think technology plays a key role in reshaping the theory, landscape and cultural expression. I think 3D technologies are worth noting, the 3D animation and motion capture and model making techniques. And this actually helped to create these very futuristic stories.
China Africa Talk: Africa also boasts rich and diverse culture. Many Hollywood blockbusters are inspired by African culture, such as Black Panther, the Lion King, and Hotel Rwanda. Those are western productions. But Africa has rich oral traditions and tribal mythologies such as the Yoruba and the epic of Sundiata. Based on Ne Zha’s experience, what can be done to transform local African stories into successful productions with universal appeal?
Rodrigue Taling: I think transforming Africa’s rich oral tradition and mythology into successful productions with universal appeal is similar to the Ne Zha story. It requires a balanced and authentic cultural representation, creative storytelling and strategy global integration, as well as a broader Chinese experience in filmmaking. Here is what African movie industry can learn and apply practically. Firstly, it’s important to reshape and highlight the African identity in storytelling. Let’s remember that the success of Ne Zha 2 lies in its ability to modernize Chinese mythology while retaining its cultural heart. African productions should similarly re-imagine traditional stories in ways that it resonates with contemporary audiences. For example, in Nigeria, they have the pantheon god of Ogun. In Mali, they have Sundjata Keita and Mansa Musa. In South Africa, they have Shaka Zulu. In Cameroon, we have King Njoya and Douala Manga Bell. These stories already address universal themes like terrorism, identity, justice, morality, or even, let’s say, rebellion against predetermined fate, like in Ne Zha 2, making them relatable across cultural boundaries while probably displaying the African roots.
Secondly, a most important factor is investing in cutting edge technology. The Chinese animated films, including Ne Zha 2 have benefited from extraordinary advancement in animation and visual effects. African studios need similar investment in high quality animation tools, training programs for animators and advanced production infrastructures. And therefore, governments, private sectors, investors, and international partners should support African studios to develop state of arts animation capabilities.
Thirdly, I’ll mention the strong government support, as well as the private sector support in that movie. We should understand that Ne Zha 2 was heavily backed by the Chinese film studios and government support. African production needs substantial funding to reach global standards. Finally is the important factor of leveraging local and international collaboration and expanding global marketing strategies. China has demonstrated the value of collaborating strategies with global and entertainment platforms.
China Africa Talk: Have you noticed a strengthening of cultural confidence among the Chinese people? What factors do you think have contributed to this shift?
Teng Jimeng: I think there has been quite a notable strengthening of cultural confidence among the Chinese people in recent years. This resurgence is evident in various facets of society, from the booming popularity of traditional arts and crafts to the remarkable successes of domestically produced films. I think there are several factors that contribute to this very resurgence. Firstly, I think the government initiative and policies are very important. The Chinese government has actively promoted cultural confidence as a cornerstone of national rejuvenation, a great concept that has been raised and elaborated on by the current administration. President Xi has talked a lot about the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, including the Chinese culture and Chinese tradition. And so there’s a lot of emphasis on the importance of building cultural confidence and urging the nation to secure new successes in developing the socialist culture. Secondly, I think it is the revival of traditional culture, which has actually been seized upon by the general public, which has been increasingly interested in Chinese style clothing, traditional crafts, and historical narratives. And thirdly, I think it also has to do with the Chinese film industry, which has been making remarkable achievements with productions like Ne Zha 2, which actually reflects a growing preference for domestically produced content that celebrates Chinese stories and values, fostering the sense of national pride and cultural confidence. Lastly, I’d say that the integration of traditional values and modern development. China’s rapid economic growth has been paralleled by efforts to integrate traditional cultural values into our modern societal development. China has never forgotten that it has a 5,000 year history that we can always rely on for inspiration, and also the kind of admiration and self-respect. And so this has reinforced this very unique cultural identity that harmonized historical heritage with contemporary progress.
China Africa Talk: Have you noticed an increase in the popularity of Chinese culture in Africa?
Rodrigue Taling: During a couple of decades, we have seen a growing popularity of Chinese culture in Africa. I’d like to mention the driving forces behind this fact. First, there’s an economic engagement of China, a huge investment of China in Africa’s infrastructures, trade, partnership, and development aid. We also have the media entertainment. The Chinese film and TV dramas are getting viewers in Africa, often dubbed in local languages. This exposure introduces African audiences to Chinese storytelling traditions, we have an important fact that is language learning led through the Confucius institutes. One of the first on the African continent was made by my university in my country. I belong to some of the first who are benefited from that exposure to the Chinese language to learn about the Chinese culture. And then I got to china in 2011. We have the tourism as well that is driving the people of Africa to have a understanding of the Chinese culture. We have got a lot of delegations here, visiting scholars from Africa to China. These are some of the main driving forces behind the popularity of the Chinese culture in Africa.
China Africa Talk is a weekly podcast produced by CGTN Radio.
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