A new version of “Ne Zha 2” has landed in North American theaters, after the Chinese animated sensation racked up a whopping $2 billion worldwide.
Released by A24, the English-dubbed version of the record-breaking film arrives with a voice cast led by Michelle Yeoh.
The film follows a rebellious young boy, Ne Zha, who “is feared by the gods and born to mortal parents with wild, uncontrolled powers,” according to the film’s synopsis. “Now faced with an ancient force intent on destroying humanity, he must grow up to become the hero the world needs.”
Yeoh plays Ne Zha’s mother, Lady Yin. The actress had seen the first film upon its release and was blown away by the visuals of the sequel — so much so that she had hoped the filmmakers would release an English voice dub. Yeoh says, ”I know this character really well. I grew up with this mythology and these characters. I have such vivid imagery of this kid, Ne Zha, with the fire wheels and his spear. He’s spunky and feisty.” Yeoh continues, “I have never seen animation done so well. They pushed the boundaries.”
When Yeoh was asked to dub the English-speaking voice of Ne Zha’s mother, she immediately said yes. No stranger to playing the mother character ( “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and “Crazy Rich Asians”), Yeoh revealed it’s a role she’s fond of playing. And she likes switching things up a little.
“I always try to find a different kind of mother to play,” she says. “Lady Yin is a warrior. She defends the city together with her husband. It’s so obvious they’re such a loving couple, and they are strong. So when this child was born to them, she would protect her baby, no matter what.”
Yeoh sat down to talk with Variety about why she wanted to play the role of Lady Yin, playing on-screen mothers, and her thoughts on the popularity of Asian animation.
What was your history with this story?
I know this character really well. I grew up with all this mythology, and these characters, like the Monkey King and Ne Zha. I was filming in China at that time, and people would say,”‘Ne Zha 2’ is out,” because the first film came out almost 10 years ago. I had seen that one, but it was a long time ago.
This story has been around forever, but the slapstick humor is what all the kids love. It’s what they love, and the filmmakers brought a contemporary edge of storytelling to make it so relatable to today. They built a generational bridge with this.
What did you want to bring to Lady Yin and this character?
It’s all there. Mother, woman, wife, warrior, it’s the whole package of what it takes to be the perfect person. The baby was rejected by the whole village because they understood that he wasn’t a normal child. But she wasn’t going to give him up. Unfortunately, sometimes mothers have to deal with the reality that their child is going to have problems. The child is not perfect. Would you choose? Can you choose? This woman chose. She said, “This is my child. I will protect him, and I will do whatever I can to change his fate, or at least help him to change his fate.” I think all mothers do that, but it was very important that the child sees and feels that. So when we have young audiences watching the film, I would love for them to see how parents protect them. What touched me the most was that she was not willing to let go. She was not willing to let anybody hurt her child and or let him hurt himself. So that really resonated with me. And I think it resonates with all mothers.
With this English voice dub, the film brings Chinese mythology to Western audiences at a time when there is a huge surge of interest in Asian animation. What does that mean to you to see that?
The great thing about this generation is that their exposure to the world at large is much greater than when we were kids. What I love and what I’m seeing is, in general, they embrace each other until someone tells them they’re different. Kids are singing Korean, Japanese and Chinese songs. It transcends melody, music and emotions, and they learn it. I was at the KCON L.A., and dancing in the crowd were not just Korean girls. They were all different, beautiful colors. Having movies like this that talk about different cultures and mythology is so great. This is what we grew up with, and it’s nice for you to have a peek at it.
There are a few beautiful moments with Lady Yin and her son. In one scene, she tells him ‘You must be brave and walk your path.” In another, there’s the final hug interaction. What was it like delivering those moments?
Oh, I was sobbing like a kid. When you’re dubbing a voice, the emotions have to be real. It was so easy to fall into it because from the beginning, when she saw this child, and how he is adorable in his weird, wacky way, it relates to kids today. Sometimes you say, “Come on, give me a hug before you go,” and they don’t want to. That’s what they do. So that connection between a mother and child was sad, when you know that that’s the last time you’re ever going to hug him.
“Crazy Rich Asians” has become a go-to movie for people to watch on the plane. What is that like to hear that it still attracts viewers?
I’m very blessed. Sometimes, at certain times in your life, certain things will come. That’s because you keep trying, and you keep the door open. I was very lucky. When Jon M. Chu sent me the script, I said, “This is not… mothers don’t do that.” In my eyes, Eleanor Young would do anything for her son. Her son has a lot of responsibilities because. He’s the only son, so he feels that he needs to find the right partner who will help him get to where he needs to go. So, being a mother, you have fresh eyes. They believe they have fresh eyes. You can see through all those horrible people that come your way and being protective and being honest about it. And that was the most important thing about that story. We worked on that with Jon because it was like, if your son doesn’t feel the love you have for him, why would he come home?
What films do you typically watch on the plane?
Not my own movies. I try to watch all the latest films that I haven’t been able to see from China, Korea and Japan. Living in Europe is not easy to get a direct link to those films. And because I want to keep up, I want to understand what all the things that are happening in my part of the world, so generally I’ll watch the latest films.
This interview has been edited and condensed.