By Nick Nitkowski

Ever since “Ne-Zha 2” was released in theaters back in February of this year, I have been singing its praises. The movie pretty much had no marketing for it here in the United States. No trailers are shown in theaters before a movie and no posters in movie theater lobbies. But I kept my eyes open for it because I was such a fan of the first “Ne-Zha” movie. Since “Ne-Zha 2” initial release in its original Chinese spoken language, I have seen it seven times on the big screen and I also have been introducing it to friends of mine with some success as the ones that I managed to see the film all ended up loving it. Since it’s release, “Ne-Zha 2” has grossed over $2.2 Billion in the global box office making it the highest grossing animated film of all time and yet, most people in the United States still aren’t even aware of this movie’s existence. I know that most people in the US are not quick to watch a subtitled movie, but now thanks to A24, we now have an English Dubbed version of the movie in theaters this weekend with a brand-new title, “Ne-Zha II” instead of “Ne-Zha 2”, so now there is no reason not to check it out.

To say that this movie is incredible, amazing, mesmerizing, or beautiful is an understatement. There is a very good reason why I watched the movie so many times. The animation in this film is so incredible that it could rival that of Disney and PIXAR. The fight sequences, of which there are many, are so amazing that there is no chance that you will be bored watching the film. The visuals are so mesmerizing that you are entranced in the world of the movie. The story is so beautiful that you’ll want to revisit it over and over again. 

Upon doing some research, it appears that many of the English voice cast from the first movie did not return for the English dubbing of the sequel. Obviously, the most notable recast on the roster is Michaelle Yeoh as the voice of Lady Yin A.K.A. Nezha’s mother. Aside from the return of Aleks Le as the voice of Ao Bing and Griffin Puatu as the voice of Teenage Nezha, we now have a brand-new list of voice talents for this English dub. All of the previous voices were recast, but we also have brand new characters in need of voices. Another recognizable name on the new cast list is Eric Bauza, who you might recognize as the voices of a majority of modern Looney Tunes voices including both Daffy Duck and Porky Pig in “The Day the Earth Blew Up”, who voices various secondary characters in the movie.

One of my biggest concerns when it comes to English dubs, and one of the reasons why I prefer the original spoken language of any film, is that nine times out of ten, they don’t accurately convey the emotions of the characters that they’re playing as well as the original voice cast that the animation was modeled around. But I can say that this time around, the actors did a pretty decent job conveying those emotions, and this movie has plenty of emotional moments. I will say that on the flipside of that same coin, I feel that some of the humor was a bit lost with this English version. Don’t get me wrong, the visual humor is still very much intact, but sometimes the characters say certain things in a certain way that just makes it funnier than just the line alone and I feel that was partially lost in the English dub. But other than that, I’d say that everyone did well with their character roles.

In my original review, I gave “Ne Zha 2” a perfect score of 5 out of 5. Now that I’ve watched the movie for an eighth time, the first time I experienced the English dubbed version of “Ne Zha II”, I can say that my score remains the same. This is a perfect animated movie with a great story that is filled with great animation and great action sequences that are still very visually appealing. If you have not yet seen either one of the “Ne Zha” movies, I highly recommend doing so. Everyone I’ve recommended these movies to have all loved them and I think it will be the same for you. Not only do I believe that this movie is worth seeing on the biggest screen possible, I also believe that it is the most deserving of that Oscar win for Best Animated Feature Film. And with A24 backing this movie, I’d say that it has a pretty good chance at succeeding in that endeavor. This is by far my favorite movie of the year so far, and I hope that many people will check it out when the English re-release hits theaters this weekend.

5 stars