"Ne Zha," a new Chinese animated film, topped the Chinese mainland box office on Friday, China Movie Data Information Network reported Saturday.

据中国电影数据信息网周六报道，国产动画新片《哪吒》周五登上中国内地票房榜首。

The film raked in about 136.62 million yuan (19.86 million U.S. dollars) on its opening day, accounting for nearly 63 percent of the daily total.

该片上映首日，票房约1.3662亿元（1986.00万美元），占当日总票房的近63%。

20万豆瓣网友评打出8.8的高分，创国产动画电影豆瓣评分的新纪录。

Monkey King, move over: Nezha, teen hero of Chinese mythology, gets a Gen Z spin in return to the big screen

Tale of a legendary anti-authority figure officially opens in cinemas across China on Friday, and his fight now is against prejudice and social exclusion

The first Chinese 3D animated film in the IMAX format, it took three years and 20 special effects studios to complete

legendary anti-authority figure 传说中的反权威人物

social exclusion 社会排斥

prejudice 偏见

special effects 特效

Chinese animators have been drawing inspiration from Chinese mythology ever since the country’s first animated film, Princess Iron Fan in 1941, and in recent years its animated-film industry has released several hit films based on classic Chinese tales, such as Monkey King: Hero is Back in 2015, Big Fish & Begonia in 2016, and White Snake in 2019.

animated film 动画片

Princess Iron Fan 铁扇公主

Monkey King 孙悟空

mythology 神话； 神话学； 神话集

Nezha, a legendary anti-authority figure as well-known in China as the Monkey King, is the subject of the latest feature, which officially opens in cinemas in China on Friday.

Nezha has earned rave reviews and is rated higher than Monkey King: Hero is Back. It is also China’s first 3D animated feature film released in IMAX format.

rave reviews 热情洋溢的评论； 好评

Since July 13, previews of the film have taken more than 140 million yuan (US$20 million) at the box office and the film has a score of 8.8 points (out of 10) on China’s largest filming rating site, Douban.

It took Jokalate Yang Yu, the film’s director and screenwriter, two years to refine the script of Nezha, and the film was in production for three years. It is the most complex animated production ever made in China.

screenwriter 编剧家； 电影剧本作家

script 剧本

refine 改进； 完善

Nezha has more than 1,300 special effects shots, and it took over 20 Chinese special-effects studios, employing more than 1,600 people, to realise the film’s fairy tale setting, the mysterious Dragon King’s palace, and a stunning fight between fire and water. One spectacular scene alone took two months to complete.

spectacular scene 精彩场面

The film is loosely based on the Chinese novel The Investiture of the Gods. In the novel Nezha is born during the Shang dynasty ( circa 1600BC to 1050BC) and is famous for fighting against the Dragon King. The third son of garrison commander General Li Jing, he can never please his father and eventually commits suicide.

The Investiture of th e Gods 封神榜

circa （尤用于年份前）大约

garrison 卫戍部队，守备部队

Yang made up his mind to produce an animated film on the theme of breaking stereotypes and reversing fate. Yang chose as his vehicle Nezha, the epitome of the rebellious but righteous youth.

vehicle （为某个表演者或艺术家）特意制作的电影（或演出节目、展览等）

the epitome of sth.....  典型； 典范

the righteous 正义的人，正直的人

rebellious 桀骜不驯的； 难以控制的； 常使用武力）反叛的，造反的

This not the first film to make Nezha its protagonist. This year is the 40th anniversary of the release of China’s first widescreen colour animation, Prince Nezha’s Triumph Against Dragon King in 1979. One of the best films produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio, it was the first Chinese animated film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

protagonist （故事或戏剧中的）主要人物，主角

Cannes Film Festival 戛纳电影节

In 2003, Chinese Central Television broadcast an animated series, The Legend of Nezha, and the lively, cheerful and righteous teen hero character of Nezha resonates strongly with China’s Generation Z.

However, compared with the original novel and past animated versions, the relationships between the characters are given modern meaning.

modern meaning 现代意义

In the past, Nezha was known for his fight against patriarchy and autocracy. In Yang’s film he is fighting prejudice: Nezha is hated, feared and shunned as the reincarnation of a devil. But Nezha believes his fate is not