Ne Zha

Synopsis

In the celestial realm, the Chaos Pearl splits into the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Orb. The Lord of Heaven sends the Spirit Pearl to Earth to be reborn as Ne Zha, the third son of Li Jing, while intending to destroy the Demon Orb with lightning. However, the Dragon King's deceit results in Ne Zha being born with the Demon Orb instead. Unable to purge the Demon Orb's malevolent influence, Ne Zha believes he is destined to become the great demon hunter originally intended for the Spirit Pearl. Battling his own chaotic nature, Ne Zha must decide whether to accept his cursed fate or resist it, striving to fulfill the promising future his parents envisioned for him.

Background

The film tells the mythological origins of Nezha, who is a protection deity in Chinese folk religion, and its story is loosely based on the literary version of the myth that forms two chapters of Investiture of the Gods, a Ming-dynasty shenmo novel, traditionally attributed to Xu Zhonglin, which incorporates various existing myths into a wider narrative. The story has been adapted for the screen many times before, at least as early as 1927 or 1928, whether on its own (as in the 1979 traditionally-animated film Nezha Conquers the Dragon King) or as part of adaptations of the whole of Investiture of the Gods (such as the 2016 live-action film League of Gods).