Nezha nao hai

The 25th Anniversary DVD of "Nezha Nao Hai" (Nezha Conquers the Dragon King) is REALLY a well-remastered DVD with (Chinese &) English subtitles! It totally wipes the floor with Disney's Mulan (just my personal fanatical opinion) in terms of Chinese fantasy art and, of course, kung-fu, animation.

In my opinion, this is REAL Peak Achievement of traditional Chinese animation because Shanghai Animation Film Studio built on the achievements of Uproar in Heaven (Da Hao Tian Gong, 1965) and threw in every visual and musical trick available to the studio in 1979.

And the English subtitles are quite well done, except in places where the translation is a bit too literal (i.e. doesn't flow in modern English). Of course, the English subs simplify the story in the sense that some nuances of the Chinese dialogue doesn't come through-- e.g when the red, black and white Dragon King greets the blue/green Dragon King as "Sire", the point that the blue/green Dragon King is the eldest brother is lost in translation.

But then the story is already simplified from the book (and Nezha's mother & 2 elder brothers never appear), so the film is only around 1 hour and is easy enough to follow without subs. But be warned! Unlike Uproar in Heaven which a happy ending to fit a film format (the Monkey King's adventures actually goes on for another 90 chapters or so), all the cruel elements of Nezha's story has been retained....