THE DEVIL YOU KNOW惡童日記
亞洲焦點Action-filled animation Ne Zha blurs the line between good and evil. By AMANDA SHEPPARD 動作動畫奇幻片《哪吒之魔童降世》帶觀眾遊走於正邪之間。 撰文： Amanda Sheppard
If there’s one thing to learn from animation’s greatest heroes and nastiest villains, it’s that size isn’t everything – the little ones can pack some serious punch. The titular character from Chinese animation Ne Zha proves no exception.
A spell gone awry sees the spirit Ne Zha (voiced by Lü Yanting and teen actor Joseph) incarnated from the evil Demon Pill in the body of a baby. Unbeknown to the child, his fate is sealed, with a lightning bolt destined to strike him on his third birthday. His parents Lord Li (Chen Hao) and Lady Yin (Lü Qi) do everything in their power to counter the prophecy and protect him from himself and others.
Compelled to live in a perpetual state of the terrible twos, coupled with the unfortunate addition of superhuman strength – a mere game of jianzi shuttlecock leaves the palace walls in ruins – Ne Zha is a social pariah, feared and shunned by the entire village. Events reach a tipping point as Ne Zha’s third birthday approaches and he meets his ostensibly good counterpart Ao Bing (Han Mo), birthed from the Demon Pill’s other half, the Spirit Pearl.
China’s first animated IMAX feature and its highest-grossing animation of all time, Ne Zha carries an obvious widespread appeal. It seamlessly blends Chinese mythology and folklore with universal notions of right and wrong. And that’s not to mention the appeal of its language-transcending action sequences, which pick up the pace of the film between sentimental scenes. The graphics are works of art in themselves, proof positive that skilled animation isn’t solely the preserve of Pixar and Dreamworks.
Nor is an effective story. In Ne Zha, the battle between good and evil is anything but clear cut. The film shows us that if a leopard – or a demon – can change its spots, then so can we.
一直以來，動畫世界的英雄和奸角都實實在在地顯示，「誰大誰惡誰正確」絕非金科玉律，個子小也可以表現本色，華語動畫電影《哪吒之魔童降世》的同名主人翁亦不例外。
一次陰差陽錯令邪惡的「魔丸」轉世為哪吒（由呂豔婷及少年演員囧森瑟夫配音）。天真無邪的小哪吒，渾然不知道自己注定在三歲生辰當天將被天雷轟頂。他的父母李靖（陳浩配音）和殷夫人（綠綺配音）竭盡所能對抗惡運，只求愛兒和其他人不受「魔丸」降世所傷害。
哪吒的生命注定永遠停留在反叛的兩歲，加上不幸地擁有超乎常人的力量，連簡單的踢毽遊戲也能摧毀王宮城牆，令村民對哪吒心生恐懼，人人避之則吉。哪吒的三歲生辰始終要來，人間注定多事。就在此時，哪吒遇上了敖丙（瀚墨配音），彼此以為終於找到了好友，殊不知敖丙竟是「魔丸」的另一半──「靈珠」的托世，二人的命運自此糾纏不清。
《哪吒之魔童降世》是中國第一部 IMAX 動畫，刷新了動畫電影在國內的票房紀錄。電影完美地糅合中國神話、民間傳說和善惡的普世價值，連串動作場面更打破語言界限，巧妙地穿插於感人情節之間，令節奏鋪排得更緊湊。電影畫功精緻，好比藝術作品，證明優秀的動畫不是彼思和夢工場獨有。
電影在說故事方面亦媲美荷李活動畫，生動地呈現出正邪難辨的張力。電影寄語觀眾，無論多邪惡的人物也能夠改變本性和宿命，反觀現實，我們好應該共勉之。