Have you heard of “Ne Zha 2”?

I first heard of it only a few weeks ago when looking at what movies were playing at the downtown cinema. Evidently, not only are the Chinese animated films “Ne Zha” and “Ne Zha 2” popular in China, the sequel is now the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide. It’s also the highest-grossing non-English language film, and it is about to break “Titanic’s” record as the fourth highest-grossing film of all time.

I’d say this is a pretty big deal.

While the original Chinese-language “Ne Zha 2” has been in theaters internationally since January, the English dubbed version just dropped in the United States recently, featuring the voice of Michelle Yeoh, as well as a top notch cast of acclimated voice actors.

“Ne Zha” is based on Chinese mythology following Ne Zha, a child demi-god originally chosen by the gods to be the reincarnation of something called the Spirit Pearl. In the first film, the orbs were switched and his parents received the Demon Orb, thus resulting in a chaotic demon child, a popular hero in mythology.

While I never saw the first film, I do think being familiar with the mythology or the plot of the first film will definitely help you understand where “Ne Zha 2” is starting from. I watched a five minute re-cap of “Ne Zha” on YouTube and read the plot on Wikipedia, and was as good to go as one could be without actually seeing it — and I’m sure glad I did.

As a movie fan, the visual animation style is definitely one of the top reasons to see this film alone. It feels slightly 3D, but with an incredible dichotomy of colors, with glowing reds and oranges representing the Demon Orb, directly contrasted with the electric blues of the Spirit Pearl, a dragon boy named Ao Bing, who becomes the best friend and kind of balanced second half of Ne Zha.

Because the plot of this film spoils the ending of the original — just in case you want to see it first — I won’t divulge exactly what happens. But basically, “Ne Zha 2” is a comedy based on the concept of this little demon child and the expectations that he is actually the perfect Spirit Pearl, leading to lots of mischief — while simultaneously taking on the larger concept of prejudice and exploring who inherently is good or evil.

Visually spectacular on jaw dropping levels, the majority of the film is action sequences of all sorts which move at breakneck speeds. Combined with the 3D-ness of the visual style and the vivid colors, it truly is a sight to witness

“Ne Zha 2” is ultimately a heartfelt and highly cheeky fantasy following Ne Zha’s journey to become a full immortal. I think it might have left local theaters already after a short run, but if you are at all interested in animation, Chinese culture or world cultures — or just something unlike anything you have seen before — I definitely recommend seeing “Ne Zha 2” when it hits streaming services.

Anderson Templeton is an original member of the Argus-Courier Screen Team. He is an actor, director and lifelong fan of film, storytelling and the cinematic experience.