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Movie-goers wait to watch Ne Zha 2in a theater in Shanghai on January 29, 2025. Photo: VCG

As China's animated epic Ne Zha 2continues to dominate the domestic box office, it is about to test the film market abroad on Thursday and Friday in Australia, New Zealand and North America. In addition, its companion documentary Bupobuli, which means "Breakthrough," has emerged as a cultural phenomenon in its own right. The recently released 45-minute documentary peels back the curtain on the five-year odyssey behind what is now the highest-grossing non-Hollywood animated film in history, with over 9 billion yuan ($1.23 billion) in domestic earnings and counting. 

According to the latest prediction by Chinese ticketing platform Maoyan, the animated sequel is expected to earn 16 billion yuan, potentially entering the all-time worldwide top five - a first for any Chinese production.  

In response to a question regarding the significance of the Chinese film Ne Zha 2starting its North American screening this week, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press conference on Wednesday, "Multiple Chinese films are shown at home and abroad simultaneously. Some of them even topped the local non-English film box office chart. Those Chinese big hits are becoming new bridges for cultural exchanges between China and the world and a new window on China for the world. The fundamental reason behind this is that there is a strong desire among the people of China and other countries for economic, trade and cultural exchange and sharing of opinions. It also shows that in the process of globalization, all countries can realize development in an open and win-win environment."

Media reported that ahead of the screenings abroad, early North American previews saw 90 percent occupancy, with fans lining up at Hollywood's TCL Chinese Theatre. 

Critics like documentary analyst Xiao Fuqiu caution tempered expectations. 

"Unlike Hollywood's global distribution machine, China's overseas infrastructure remains nascent. The real victory isn't really the box office, but it's proving our stories can resonate across cultural lines," Xiao noted.  

Yet as crowds flock to theaters, millions more are binge-watching the documentary that was released on Monday, which racked up millions of daily views post-launch on some video-­sharing platforms. 

The documentary reveals the jaw-dropping technical gambles that redefined China's animation capabilities.

For instance, a pivotal scene showing the heavenly cauldron parting a 5-kilometer ocean required frame-by-frame simulations of real-wave dynamics. Each frame took over 200 hours to render, with hidden details like shape-shifting sea spirits visible only upon freeze-frame.  

Director Yang Yu, better known as "Jiaozi," revealed that the character of Shen Gongbao was initially not planned to be a central figure in Ne Zha 2. It was only after receiving audience feedback from the 2019 Ne Zhathat the team decided to explore Shen Gongbao's family story, introducing his father and younger brother.

The documentary also highlights the challenges faced by the team. For instance, the one-minute battle scene in Chentang Pass took six months to conceptualize artistically. 

Xie Xiaobin, the storyboard designer, described the process as "exhausting," especially when trying to depict a character wielding six swords losing to someone with just one sword.

Jiaozi's dedication to realism is evident throughout the documentary. He insisted on showing exactly why a character was more powerful than another, sometimes even explaining it from a physics perspective. This scientific approach, combined with his background in science, reflects his commitment to authenticity.

This can be seen in a sequence in which the protagonist is shredded into 600 animated fragments took 18 months to perfect, blending gruesome realism with symbolic "molten steel" textures.  

Beyond technical wizardry, the film's triumph lies in its innovative Eastern aesthetics. 

For instance, creature designers mined the ancient text Classic of Mountains and Seas for inspiration, crafting sea demons with teeth modeled after ancient Chinese woodcuts and armor corrosion patterns suggesting millennia of underwater imprisonment.

Elements like Dong ethnic group songs, pipa(Chinese lute), xiao(Chinese flute), and Mongolian throat singing are woven throughout the soundtrack, with each character, including each of the four dragon kings, receiving distinct musical motifs.

The documentary also shows more details about the daily lives of the Chinese animators, who came from different animated companies across the whole country and spared no effort to overcome numerous difficulties to achieve a perfect Chinese animated work.

"It feels like joining an Olympics… this has become a national project," technical director Huang Gong told the Global Times, noting how veterans from rival studios converged in Chengdu, capital city of Southwest China's Sichuan Province, where Ne Zha 2was produced. "Former CEOs became front-line animators - we all felt responsible for pushing Chinese animation forward."  

Many viewers expressed their admiration for the production team's hard work and dedication. They praised the documentary for shedding light on the technical and creative breakthroughs behind Ne Zha 2. 

Some viewers appreciated Jiaozi's philosophy of "serving the audience," which they say is a key factor in the film's success. Others expressed their hope that Jiaozi will continue to push boundaries in future works, bringing more outstanding animated films to Chinese audiences.

Xiao told the Global Times that just as the core theme of the Ne Zha series is to break down prejudices in people's minds, the entire production team, from logistics to storyboarding, visual effects, character design and action direction, united with full force to shatter various "barriers" and "ceilings" in the production of Chinese animated films. 

"Just as Ao Bing's armor in the film is forged from 10,000 dragon scales, Ne Zha 2was built by the collective efforts of China's entire animation ecosystem," Xiao concluded.