Ne Zha (Chinese: 哪吒之魔童降世, Pinyin: Nézhā zhī Mótóng Jiàngshì^note means "Ne Zha: The Demon Child Comes Into the World" in English) is a 2019 Chinese feature-length animated fantasy film. Featuring the popular Chinese mythological character Nezha, the plot is loosely based on the classic novel Investiture of the Gods, attributed to Xu Zhonglin. It is the third ever animated work to star Nezha, following the 1979 film Nezha Conquers the Dragon King and the 2003 TV series The Legend of Nezha.

When a powerful creature of chaos was split into two parts, the Spirit Pearl and the Demon Pill, the Spirit Pearl was set to be merged with the third son of the hero Li Jing, while the Demon Pill was set to be destroyed by a massive lightning bolt in three years time.

Machinations by the dragons resulted in the Demon Pill being placed in the belly of Li Jing's wife, resulting in the birth of Nezha, a boy with great power and violent personality. Meanwhile, the dragons merged the Spirit Pearl with one of their eggs, resulting in the birth of Ao Bing.

Compare and contrast Na Cha, a duology from Shaw Brothers, and Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, earlier adaptations made in the 70s.

The film was released in China exclusively in IMAX and China Film Giant Screen theatres on 13 July 2019, followed by other theatres on 26 July, distributed by Beijing Enlight Pictures. The first Chinese-produced animated feature released in IMAX format, it began a North American release on 29 August 2019 in select IMAX 3D theatres, before a nationwide rollout on 6 September. An English dub was released on 31 January 2020.

A spinoff, Jiang Ziya (also known as Legend of Deification), was released on 1 October 2020. A direct sequel, Ne Zha 2, was released on 29 January 2025 (that year's Chinese New Year).

This animated film provides examples of:

• Adaptational Heroism:
  • Unlike the version of him from the original myth, where they became bitter enemies, Li Jing remains a loving father to Nezha throughout.
  • Unlike the original myth, where they were purely foes and he was slain by Nezha, Ao Bing is also given a more heroic role; he befriends Nezha and helps save his life at the end of the movie.
  • Played with for the Dragon King. In Investiture of the Gods, he is an antagonist who puts revenge for his son over the greater need of people and the Will of Heaven. In this movie, he and the other dragons are part of a scheme against Nezha and his family, but only in an attempt to free themselves from unjust eternal imprisonment. When he hears of Ao Bing's death in The Stinger, he swears revenge.
• Adaptation Origin Connection: In this story, Nezha and Ao Bing were technically Split at Birth, as they both have their powers originating from splitting the Chaos Pearl. In the original myth, they had no particular connection.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the original myth, Nezha and Ao Bing were foes that fought one another without remorse. In this adaptation, they're each other's only friend, only becoming enemies due to the machinations of Shen Gongbao and the dragons. They become friends again after Nezha convinces Ao Bing that he can defy his fate and the expectations placed upon him since birth.
• Bittersweet Ending: Nezha defies his predestined death with him and Ao Bing saving Chentang Pass and being held as heroes, but their Heroic Sacrifice reduce them to spirits. What's more, unaware of his son's survival, Ao Guan is grief-stricken enough that he accepts the help of his imprisoned siblings to enact revenge on Chentang Pass.

• Brick Joke: During the birthday party and the ensuing battle, the heavenly guardians and their Yaksha are shown twice to be waiting in a hidden chamber, waiting for Li Jing's signal to come out. In a post-credit scene, they're still waiting in the half-collapsed chamber and realizing that they don't know what the signal actually is.
• Celestial Bureaucracy: The film's backdrop is Yuanshi Tianzun — one of the three supreme deities of Taoism — going about the process of establishing the Celestial Bureaucracy of Chinese mythology by choosing twelve Immortals to become gods, and compiling a document called the Investiture of the Gods. Taiyi Zhenren is given a shot to prove himself worthy of apotheosis, but Shen Gongbao desires it for himself and sabotages Taiyi.
• Character Tic:
  • Nezha stuffing his hands into his pockets is a fairly clear indication that he's nervous in spite of what he might want others to think.
  • Shen Gongbao has a rather bad stutter.
• Dragons Are Demonic: Played with. Originally, the dragons were servants of Heaven and battled and imprisoned monsters on its account. Now, while they're still technically considered to hold a Heaven-granted position, they're glorified jailors and effectively prisoners who have come to be considered to be just as bad as demons by humanity.
• Eldritch Ocean Abyss: The Dragon Palace is a volcanic crater where the dragons have sealed away all sorts of Eldritch Abominations and primordial monsters on behalf of the gods... but are themselves prisoners, since if they leave the monsters will escape. Similarly, almost all demons seen in the movie — in fact, all demons seen outside of simulations — are sea monsters.
• Elemental Personalities: Nezha, whose magic mostly manifests in the form of fire and flames, is aggressive, short-tempered, and impulsive. Ao Bing, who instead creates and manipulates ice, is focused, deliberate, and restrained in his actions.
• Empathic Weapon: Taiyi's flying pig mount is actually an amorphous vehicle that changes forms depending on who's using it.
• Engineered Heroics: The dragon's plan consists on this so they may be allowed to leave their imprisonment. Shen Gaobao knowingly unleash Ne Zha's destructive powers and then having Ao Bing intervene when he's about to be struck down by lightning. When their scheme is discovered, Shen convinces Ao Bing that everyone in Chentang Pass must die to not leave witnesses and endanger the latter's family.
• Fire/Ice Duo: The aggressive and impulsive Nezha's magic mostly manifests in the form of fire and flames, while the focused and deliberate Ao Bing's focuses on creating and manipulating ice.
• Gilded Cage:
  • Nezha is raised in the well-appointed home of a high-ranking army commander, wanting for nothing except for the ability to leave freely. Later, the pocket dimension held within the scroll becomes a much more elaborate version of this — it's a beautiful place when he can train as a powerful warrior, but he cannot leave of his own volition. Nezha even describes the pocket world as a prison, while his mother tries to convince him that a beautiful paradise couldn't be called a prison.
  • The dragons are officially considered to be servants of Heaven in good standing, and were awarded lofty titles and the important task of watching over the imprisoned Abyss Demons on the sea floor. But they cannot leave without releasing their prisoners, making them prisoners of their own task.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: Nezha defeats the Sea Yaksha by beating him up with the (mostly) petrified Ao Bing.
• Let Them Die Happy: Discussed. Nezha, as the Demon Pill, is destined to be struck down by a divine curse. His parents struggle to determine whether it is better to be honest with him or to fabricate well-meaning lies to make his short existence a happy one.
• Lonely Rich Kid:
  • Nezha is born to loving, high-ranking parents but spends most of his time cooped up in the family estate (and eventually, Taiyi's painting), as his father has promised the townspeople not to let him out. During the first year of his life, his father is away trying to find a way to break his curse, while his mother has little time to play with him as she has to carry out both their duties alone.
  • Ao Bing is a prince of the Dragon Clan, but this comes with immense expectations to be the saviour of his people. He's allowed to travel the world, but only in service of training his powers, and he's forbidden from interacting with other people lest his dragon identity be discovered.
• Mystical Lotus:
  • The Spirit Pearl and Demon Pill are initially kept within a magical container shaped like a lotus made out of pearl.
  • The world inside the painting mainly consists of large chunks of landscape held aloft on giant lotus leaves.
  • Towards the end, Nezha destroys the mass of ice threatening to crush the town by enveloping it in a giant, lotus-shaped fireball.
• Only Friend: Nezha and Ao Bing both grew up isolated from any peers, and become friends shortly after meeting for the first time. When Nezha invites Ao Bing to his birthday party, they acknowledge each other as their one and only friend.
  Nezha: I don't care if nobody else comes, but you have to come!
  Ao Bing: Why?
  Nezha: Because you're my only friend.
  Ao Bing: You're also my only friend.
• Our Dragons Are Different: They're classical Chinese dragons, with serpentine bodies, thick manes, catfish-like whiskers and short antlers engraved with complex patterns. They once battled and imprisoned the Abyss demons in the service of Heaven, but have since become trapped in their domain as eternal jailers of their charges and have come to be seen as monsters themselves, something they're profoundly bitter about.
• Protagonist Title: The film is named after its protagonist, Nezha.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Nezha is the hotheaded and impulsive red while Ao Bing is the calmer and thoughtful blue.
• Screw Destiny: Zigzagged with Nezha's ultimate fate. After Li Jing learned that Nezha's curse was indeed unbreakable, he decided to circumvent it with a fate-swapping talisman so his son could live on. Nezha, after learning both his real identity and of his father's sacrifice, opts to accept his own death until Ao Bing joins him to reunite the Chaos Orb's powers and absorb the force of the lightning that would have killed the both of them...only losing their physical forms.
  Nezha: If fate comes at you swinging, then you hit back!
• Sea Monster: The majority of the demons seen in the movie are marine terrors of various stripes, including colossal krakens and leviathans seen in the underwater prison and a variety of monstrous Fish People.
• Shout-Out:
  • To Terminator 2: Judgment Day, when the musicians of Chentang Pass, having just witnessed the Demon Orb incarnate into the body of Li Jing's and Lady Jin's child, begin playing something remarkably similar to the musical theme to that movie. (A glare from Taiyi and Li Jing makes them cut it short.) There's even a small burned-out crater beneath Nezha like the one that forms when a Terminator-franchise time traveler arrives. Nezha also fights the Yaskha, who can liquidify his body.
  • The use of three stingers in the film credits follow the similar practices by the Marvel Cinematic Universe of eluding to sequels and spin-offs.
• The Stinger: Three of them. One involves a brick joke relating to the heavenly guardians, the second shows a grieving Ao Guan swearing revenge on Chentang Pass when his siblings offer their services, and the third introduces Jiang Ziya, the protagonist of the upcoming spin-off.
• The Stoic: Li Jing acts as a strict and stoic father towards Nezha, though the knowledge of his son's impending death weighs heavily on his soul. He breaks character when Nezha tears up the secret fate-swapping talisman that would have caused the curse to hit him instead.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Both Nezha and Ao Bing genuinely want to be heroes and help people, but the fear, scorn and hatred they receive from humanity drives them both into resentment and anger and eventually into destructively lashing out against it. Downplayed, as both ultimately choose to rise above those expectations and act heroically.
• Vocal Dissonance: There's a Running Gag of a burly male villager with a ridiculously high-pitched voice.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: Nezha and Ao Bing can temporarily replicate the Chaos Orb's powers if they work together.
• Younger Than They Look:
  • Nezha, due to being the reincarnation of the Demon Pill, spends much of the film moving, speaking and thinking at a much higher level than the average one-to-three year old, and looks around the age of an elementary schooler. Without the Qiankun Hoop sealing his powers, he looks like a teenager, much like his counterpart Ao Bing.
  • Ao Bing, the Spirit Pearl, is slightly younger than Nezha (possibly by a day or less), and looks and acts like a teenager.