Like I said (again), animation is an art form, and I saw that in a few countries in the world, there is some excellent animation. After watching online the 2004 Chinese animated film The Butterfly Lovers, though it was originally made in Taiwan on December 31, 2003, I had gotten curious about Chinese animation. So on YouTube and on another video site, I watched the dubbed version and the original version of the film Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, and I loved both versions. And like I said, the world has lots of wonderful stories to love and to share with other people, and the character of Nezha has frequently appeared in Chinese mythology and ancient Chinese literature, and this animated film tells the story of one of these Chinese legends.
The story begins with Li Jing, a military leader of the Chentangguan Pass, who is informed that after a three and a half-year pregnancy, his wife has given birth to something that looks like a cross between an egg and a lotus flower. Before Li could strike the egg or flower with his sword (as he considered it to be something unnatural), the bud opened and revealed a small boy. Not long after, a sage named Taiyi Zhenren comes to express his congratulations. He names the boy "Nezha," gives him the Firmament Ring and the Armillary Damask Silk, and accepts Nezha as his disciple.
When Nezha is seven years old, the Chentangguan Pass is afflicted with a severe drought, and Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the Eastern Sea, turns a blind eye to the offerings he receives from the people that are suffering from the drought. And worse, he orders Li Gen, his Yaksha guard (an evil ogre-like spirit in Buddhist religion), to hunt and kidnap the town's children so he can eat them. Li Gen managed to kidnap one of the children, who were Nezha's two friends, who were riding Nezha's deer friend along the beach. Of course, Nezha defeats the Yaksha, and in a rage over Nezha's defiance to his authority, the Dragon King sends his third (and probably favorite) son, Prince Ao Bing, to capture and kill Nezha. I won't give you any more details; you'll have to see the film for yourself.
So overall, this is one of the best animated movies ever made. With plenty of fantasy, adventure, humor, shocking surprises, and beautiful animation, I loved it!
