Calling for a Hero: The Displacement of the Nezha Archetypal Image from Chinese Animated Film Nezha Naohai (1979) to New Gods: Nezha Reborn (2021)

Abstract

From the classical Chinese literary masterpiece Investiture of the Gods to contemporary film animation, Nezha’s image is profound. Examining the portrayals of Nezha, namely in those most celebrated animated films, we argue that his role as the epitome of a ‘god like figure’ is in constant displacement and return. Using the framework of archetype and displacement as advanced by Northrop Frye, with a more pluralistic myth analysis extension found in the myth critique of Gilbert Durand, this article examines the multi-layered mythical mini structures within Nezha’s displacement and return in Chinese animation, to explore the themes, images, and archetype represented by the character from the perspective of Chinese history and culture. We argue that Nezha’s displacement and return in Chinese animation expresses the need and call for a traditional heroic image in a particular era. As such, Nezha’s intertextuality exposes the profound inner patterns that form and refashion the Chinese collective unconscious, performing as a recurring mirror that symbolically inform and transform human experiences in China.

The Research on the Transformations in "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" and Attitudes Towards the Animation Industry in China

“…Meanwhile, there are also some obvious changes of China's animation industry like New God: Nezha Reborn, a new animation movie published in 2021. Its special images and new topics about hero have motivated a lot of discussion about the changes of Chinese animation industry [4]. There are also another animation IP made a huge success, which is called Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf.…”