"Nezha" has returned, and the box office and word of mouth have been soaring.

According to Maoyan Professional Edition, as of 13:20 on February 6, the cumulative box office of the movie "Nezha: The Devil Boy Conquers the Dragon King" exceeded 5.776 billion, surpassing the box office performance of "The Battle at Lake Changjin" and topping the Chinese film history box office chart in just 8 days and 5 hours. It should be noted that the latter took nearly two months to achieve this record.

Data source: Maoyan Professional Edition

@电影Nezha: The Devil Boy Conquers the Dragon King released a box office top poster: "Always in awe, only grateful. The mountain is high and the road is long, let's climb together!"

@电影长津湖 posted a message of congratulations: "With faith and determination, we can change the world. Congratulations to @电影Nezha: The Devil Boy Conquers the Dragon King for topping the Chinese box office! Let's cheer for the Chinese films that are committed to their long-term goals!"

"Changjin Lake" greeting card

From "Ne Zha" to "Ne Zha", director Jiaozi and his team worked hard for five years. During these five years, unlike the five years of hard work from 0 to 1 in the previous film, the technology, environment and audience of the Chinese film and animation industry have undergone many changes in the second five years.

At that time, the team was determined to break the audience's prejudice that animation was limited to "childishness". After five years, the "rise of Chinese animation" has reached a new height. The successful rise of "Nezha" is not only a victory for an animation work, but also a powerful testimony to the vigorous development of China's animation film industry.

The Multiverse of Traditional Mythology

From the Easter eggs in "Nezha: The Devil Boy Conquers the Dragon King", many viewers are already looking forward to the third part of the "Fengshen Universe" that belongs to this world. In the past five years of animated films, audiences have seen the layout of multiple animated series in terms of traditional Chinese mythology IP.

Five years ago, the success of "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes into the World" made Color Sky, a subsidiary of Enlight Media, see the huge potential of Chinese mythology in the field of animated films.

In 2020, Jiang Ziya was released. As the second work in the "Chinese Mythology Series" of Caitiaowu, it reinterpreted the image of Jiang Ziya in the Fengshen story from a unique perspective. It not only continued the high standard of Nezha: The Devil Child Comes into the World in terms of picture production, but also built a grand and fantastic Fengshen world. The film's in-depth discussion of themes such as human nature and destiny also triggered extensive thinking among the audience. During the National Day holiday in 2020, the box office revenue exceeded 1.6 billion yuan, which once again confirmed the audience's attention and enthusiasm for the adaptation of mythological stories.

Poster of Jiang Ziya

At almost the same time, Light Chaser Animation also focused on the construction of the mythological universe and launched the New Gods series. The 2021 release of New Gods: Nezha Reborn places the story of the Conferred Gods in a modern urban setting and creates a new image of the passionate young Nezha.

The film combines cyberpunk and oriental mythology elements, and has a unique visual style. The motorcycles speeding through the ancient mythology scenes bring a strong visual impact. The design of the fighting scenes is also very imaginative, showing the new fighting methods of traditional mythological characters under the blessing of modern technology, allowing the audience to see a different interpretation of the mythological story.

Poster of "New Gods: Nezha Reborn"

Also from the series is "New Gods: Yang Jian" in 2022. The film takes Erlang Shen Yang Jian as the protagonist and revolves around his adventurous journey in pursuit of the truth.

In terms of picture production, the film shows the deep exploration of the aesthetics of traditional Chinese mythology by Light Chaser Animation. Whether it is the ink-and-wash style opening or the depiction of various strange sights and beasts in the world of Fengshen, they are all beautiful and full of oriental charm. The new interpretation of the story of "splitting the mountain to save the mother" in the film and the delicate depiction of the characters' emotions also add new connotations to the traditional mythology.

Poster of New Gods: Yang Jian

In addition, Light Chaser Animation's "White Snake" series also made unique contributions to the expansion of the mythological universe.

From "White Snake: Origin" in 2019, "White Snake 2: Rise of the Green Snake" in 2021, to the finale "White Snake: Floating Life" in 2024, based on the Legend of the White Snake, the story of the White Snake and Xu Xian's past and present lives has been adapted in different directions and dimensions. From classical legends to cyber future, from fantasy to reality, the series' exploration integrates multiple elements, further expanding the boundaries of mythological adaptation films.

Poster of White Snake: Floating Life

Series IP, make it bigger and stronger

The “Nezha” series took five years to produce, while some series, such as “Boonie Bears,” have been able to maintain a stable output of one film per year.

Since the release of the first "Boonie Bears: Rescue Bears" in 2014, the "Boonie Bears" series of animated films has been released to audiences every year. It has been released for more than 10 consecutive years, fully demonstrating its strong vitality and brand influence.

If we say that this series once had a bit of a "copycat" style, now, the stable production has made this IP the most reassuring presence in the "blind box" of the Spring Festival every year. Its light-hearted and humorous plot, imaginative world view expansion, and profound environmental protection theme are all deeply loved by children and parents.

Poster of Boonie Bears: Restart the Future

Especially in the past five years, the Boonie Bears series has continuously innovated and made breakthroughs, striving for excellence in production technology, and significantly improving picture quality and visual effects. Boonie Bears: Wild Continent, released in 2021, has reached a new height in 3D production technology, and the adventure stories in the following three years are all full of science fiction. Big Bear, Little Bear, and Bald Qiang keep up with the hot topics of the times, go to space, travel through time, and even cover the hottest topic of artificial intelligence.

The children who grew up with bears did not forget them as they grew up. The producer of "Boonie Bears" Huaqiang Fangte once revealed that a considerable proportion of the film's audience group are young people over 20 years old.

At present, the total box office of the series has exceeded 8 billion. It can be said that the "Boonie Bears" series has not only accompanied the growth of a generation of children, but has also become a very successful business case in China's animation film industry, providing valuable experience for the development of other series of IP.

Innovation in subject matter: the fusion of tradition and reality

In the past five years, in addition to bringing myths and legends that are most suitable for the animation form to life, the animation industry's innovations in subject matter have also brought many surprises to the audience.

In addition to mythological stories, traditional cultural elements such as history, poetry, and folk tales have also been brought to the big screen, bringing a rich and colorful cultural feast to the audience.

Poster of "30,000 Miles in Chang'an"

The 2023 film "30,000 Miles of Chang'an" is set against the background of Tang Dynasty history and poetry culture. From the perspective of the poet Gao Shi, it shows the historical changes of the Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline, as well as the legendary lives of poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu. Through exquisite pictures and vivid narratives, the film brings the audience back to that era full of poetry and passion, allowing the audience to feel the profoundness of Chinese poetry culture while enjoying the movie. The film set a box office of over 1.8 billion yuan in the summer of that year. Countless parents brought their children to the cinema for entertainment and education, and local cultural tourism also set off a boom through the film.

The success of "30,000 Miles from Chang'an" lies not only in its excellent box office performance, but also in the fact that it provides an excellent example for how Chinese animated films can inherit and promote traditional culture. It shows us that traditional culture is not only an inexhaustible source of creation for Chinese animated films, but also an important support for us to establish cultural confidence on the international animation stage.

Poster of "The Lion Boy"

It is also in the past five years that Chinese animated films have begun to boldly try to create realistic themes. The 2021 film "The Lion Boys" features three teenagers living in rural Guangdong as the protagonists, telling the story of how they gradually regain their confidence and strength through learning lion dance in difficult situations. The film combines lion dance, a traditional folk custom with strong Lingnan cultural characteristics, with the growth story of teenagers in real life, showing the indomitable spirit and persistent pursuit of dreams of ordinary people in the face of life's difficulties.

This unique "realistic" animation vividly depicts the rural scenery and urban life of Lingnan. The second part last year continued the boy's growth line into modern urban life. The emergence of "Young Lion" allows us to see the rich creative materials and moving stories contained in real life, providing new ideas for the expansion of the subject matter of Chinese animated films, and also allowing the expression of animation to move towards a broader dimension of social reality.

Deep Sea poster

The 2023 film "Deep Sea" is also an original animation with a gorgeous fantasy coat but a realistic core. Hidden behind the colorful "particle ink", the display of depression is intoxicating and distressing. As an animated film that has reached new heights in both technology and art, the pictures in the film are like a flowing ink painting, colorful and profound, bringing the audience a magnificent visual feast while also bringing the level of Chinese animation film production to a new height.

Tian Xiaopeng, the director of Deep Sea, is the director of The Monkey King: Hero is Back, which heralded the rise of Chinese animation. The birth of the Monkey King in 2015 inspired countless animators, including Jiaozi, the director of the Nezha series.

"Deep Sea Stranger" Tian Xiaopeng recommended "Nezha 2" on Weibo, and director Jiaozi thanked Director Tian for his support and encouragement.

More than 1,600 people participated in the production of "Nezha: The Devil Child Comes into the World". Five years later, this number exceeded 4,000. A large number of animation companies undertook the production of different aspects of the film, and many animation workers stayed in Chengdu for several years. This "little brat" never fought alone. A production staff member who had participated in the film said that what "Nezha" wore was the "ten thousand scales armor" of Chinese animation.

"The rise of Chinese animation" has never been a slogan, but a series of carefully crafted works, the perseverance and dedication of countless animators day and night, and a vivid portrayal of the entire industry pursuing dreams and moving forward.