HONG KONG — An English-dubbed version of the Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha II,” the world’s highest-grossing animated film ever, has been released in the United States, with a voice cast that includes Michelle Yeoh.
The film, inspired by Chinese mythology, opened in more than 2,500 American theaters on Friday. It is the latest in a wave of successful animations featuring Asian culture, such as Netflix’s recent hit “KPop Demon Hunters.”
The sequel to a hit movie released in 2019, “Ne Zha II” tells the story of a child demigod named Ne Zha who rebels against his innate devilry and chooses to use his magical powers and martial arts skills to defend humanity from dragons and other foes.
Yeoh, a Malaysian actor and fluent Mandarin speaker, said she found it hard to follow the English subtitles during some of its more spectacular scenes when she first watched the movie in Hong Kong. She left the theater thinking it needed to be dubbed in English.
She later received a call asking if she wanted to voice Lady Yin, Ne Zha’s mother, for an English-dubbed version being distributed by A24. The New York-based independent film company is known for productions including “Moonlight” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” the 2022 film that made Yeoh the first Asian to win the Academy Award for best actress.
“Hell yes,” Yeoh said in response, calling the movie “a beautiful way” to cross the cultural bridge between East and West.
“It’s a universal language of family, of love, of the underdog, of someone who’s ostracized, misunderstood just because you’re born different,” she told The Associated Press.
Since its release in mainland China in January, “Ne Zha II” has become the world’s fifth-highest-grossing movie of all time, just behind James Cameron’s “Titanic.” In February, it surpassed Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” as the world’s highest-grossing animated film.
It is also the first non-Hollywood film to exceed $2 billion in global earnings, most of which came from the Chinese box office.
The movie — which is directed by Sichuan-born Yang Yu, also known as Jiaozi — has stoked national pride in China, with the state-run newspaper People’s Daily praising its commercial success as the “fruits of a confident nation.”
Many schools, state-owned companies and government entities across China have actively organized group viewings of “Ne Zha II” in celebration of what they see as a milestone in Chinese animation.
The success of “Ne Zha II” is driven by both the maturation of China’s animation industry and authorities’ “full support” for strengthening the country’s soft power and cultural exports, said Zeng Hong, assistant professor at Hong Kong Baptist University’s Academy of Film.
Although the English-dubbed version may do better in the U.S. than the earlier Chinese-only release with English subtitles, which earned about $20 million, Zeng said that if “Ne Zha II” succeeds with international viewers it is likely to stem more from its domestic acclaim and novelty than from genuine interest in Chinese mythology.
Zeng said while she expects some reviews in the U.S. will criticize the film as Chinese propaganda, other viewers may just watch it out of curiosity.
Kevin Ma, a veteran observer of the film industry who is based in Hong Kong, said another challenge “Ne Zha II” faces in its latest release is the tight theatrical window in today’s streaming-dominated market.
New films may capture public attention for only one or two months before moving to streaming platforms, said Ma, who is also a film festival consultant.
Even though “Ne Zha II” came out only at the beginning of this year, it almost seems “like a distant memory now” because of consumers’ “shorter attention span” in the streaming age, he said.
The Associated Press contributed.