This story about “Ne Zha” first appeared in the International Film Issue of TheWrap’s Oscar magazine.

China often submits epic-scale films to the Oscar race; the surprise was that this year’s entry, “Ne Zha,” was an epic animated film based on a beloved Chinese legend.

Director Yu Yang sat down to discuss his film, a giant box office hit in his homeland. (The interview was conducted via email.)

What led you to make a movie from this story?

For a long time, the quality of most animation features produced in China hasn’t been very good. Chinese audiences have been very disappointed with domestic animation, and domestic animation has been often labeled as an inferior product. Being animators in China, we appreciate and admire many outstanding animation works from abroad. They’re the driving force and role model for us choosing to be involved in the animation industry.
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