Domestic 3D animators contribute to success of 'Ne Zha 2'

Photo shows a poster of Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2." (Photo courtesy of Enlight Media)

On Feb. 13, 2025, the box office revenue, including presales, of the Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" surpassed 10 billion yuan (about $1.4 billion), making it the first domestic film in China to achieve this milestone.

Su Bin, a 3D animator, contributed to the creation of "Ne Zha 2" by working on a 10-minute scene with his team.

As head of an animation technology company in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, the 32-year-old has 15 years of experience in 3D animation design. In 2022, Su's company formed a partnership with the company producing "Ne Zha 2," Chengdu Coco Cartoon Co., Ltd.

In February 2023, Su's team signed an agreement with the company and joined the team of over 4,000 technical professionals working on "Ne Zha 2."

"This is the first animated film project that we've been involved in," Su said proudly. When they received the invitation, he and his team were thrilled. However, the success of "Ne Zha" and the exceptional technical skills of other teams involved in the project added pressure. "We were afraid we might not meet the director's expectations," Su admitted.

Su mentioned that he and the entire team dedicated all their energy to the project. Within half a month, they created a three-minute animated preview clip, which immediately earned the approval and trust of the director Yang Yu, known as Jiaozi. This significantly boosted Su's confidence.

Su Bin shows the process of creating a 3D animated display of Ne Zha. (People's Daily/Wu Jun)

Throughout the production process, Su faced several challenges. The most difficult part was a scene where Ne Zha, Ao Bing, and three dragon kings engaged in an aerial battle.

"We were given the movie storyboard script, and our task was to bring these abstract words and drawings on paper to life," Su explained. However, there were no existing action sequences or real-life performances to reference for the aerial combat. Their initial attempts did not meet the director's standards.

To alleviate the pressure, Su took the team out for a break to relax. They then resumed their work, watching various thrilling fight scenes from movies for inspiration. The movie's action director understood their challenges and provided production solutions. After six months of revisions and refinements, the team finally completed the one-minute fight sequence.

Su takes pride in the scene from the movie where Ne Zha battles the groundhog. Initially outsourced to a top foreign visual effects team, the director was dissatisfied with the initial result. Chengdu Coco Cartoon Co., Ltd. decided to hand the task to a domestic team for production. They invited Su and his team to revise many details, resulting in a final presentation that better suits the Chinese style.

Starting in the industry at 18 with just a high school diploma, Su's passion for anime and games led his father to enroll him in animation production training. Chinese animated films were then learning production techniques from abroad.

According to Su, during that time, Chinese animated films were primarily for young children, with little focus on style, language, and details. Today, Chinese animation teams are more mature, with a better understanding of Chinese culture, leading to improved storytelling of Chinese tales.

Since founding his company in 2019, Su and his team have worked on "Ne Zha 2" and other animated film action projects. The team has grown from six to 20 members, with the youngest being 22 years old.

"Now, people have more confidence in the capabilities of domestic animated films. I believe there will be more and more talented young professionals in this field. While one person's strength is limited, a group of people can definitely go further," Su said.