What Ne Zha 2 Taught Me About Identity, Family, and Growth

I’ve been thinking about Ne Zha 2 as a case study, not a movie review.

It’s a Chinese animated sequel built on a myth everyone in its home culture already knew. Instead of trying to make it palatable for everyone everywhere, it doubled down on what its audience already cared about. Fate. Rebellion. Family. Identity. No sanding down the edges.

It crossed $1B faster than any movie this year and is now over $2B worldwide. Most of that came from China. It didn’t need U.S. theaters or global approval. It worked because it knew exactly who it was for and didn’t apologize for it.

That’s the lesson I’m taking.

I’m not trying to appeal to everybody. I’m trying to connect with people like me. People with a spouse, kids, maybe triplets who channel Pinky and the Brain. People married to a curvy Mexican mama. People with loud houses, real responsibilities, and a lot on their plate. People trying to build something meaningful without burning down their family or their soul.

Ne Zha 2 didn’t win by being everything to everyone. It won by being something very specific to the right people.Turns out that’s not limiting. It’s actually how you grow.