Nezha Conquers the Dragon King

{{Infobox film

| name = Nezha Conquers the Dragon King

| image = File:Nezha_Conquers_the_Dragon_King,_Prince_Nezha's_Triumph_Against_Dragon_King_1979_Movie_Poster.jpg

| caption =

| native_name = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes|order=st

| t = 哪吒鬧海

| s = 哪吒闹海

| p = Nézhā nào hǎi

| j = {{tone superscript|Naa4zaa1 naau6 hoi2}}

| poj =

| l = Nezha churns the sea

}}

| director = {{plainlist|

Wang Shuchen
Yan Dingxian
Xu Jingda

}}

| producer = Liu Guimei

| screenplay = Wang Wang

| based_on = {{Based on|Investiture of the Gods}}

| starring =

| narrator =

| music = Jin Fuzai{{cite web |title=嫦娥奔月 – 步行街主干道 – 虎扑社区 |url=https://bbs.hupu.com/28823869.html |access-date=10 June 2020 |language=zh}}

| cinematography = Duan Xiaoxuan

| editing = Li Kaiji

| studio = Shanghai Animation Film Studio

| distributor =

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1979|5|19|ref1=}}

| runtime = 65 minutes

| country = China

| language = Chinese{{cite web |title=哪吒闹海的全部演职员 |url=https://movie.douban.com/subject/1307315/celebrities |publisher=Douban |access-date=10 June 2020 |language=zh}}

}}

Nezha Conquers the Dragon King ({{zh|t=哪吒鬧海|s=哪吒闹海|p=Nézhā nào hǎi |l=Nezha churns the sea}}) is a 1979 Chinese animated fantasy film produced by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. It was screened out of competition at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival,{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1795/year/1980.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Prince Nezha's Triumph Against Dragon King |access-date=30 May 2009 |publisher=Cannes Film Festival}} listed under the English title Prince Nezha's Triumph Against Dragon King, and it was released dubbed into English in the United Kingdom as Little Nezha Fights Great Dragon Kings.

Plot

The film is an adaptation of a story in Chinese mythology (in particular, the epic fantasy novel Investiture of the Gods) about the warrior deity Nezha. After a gestation period of three and a half years, Lady Yin, the wife of General Li Jing, gives birth to a flesh ball, which becomes a lotus flower, from which Nezha is born. Nezha is born able to walk and talk, and is taken on as a student of the immortal Taiyi Zhenren.

The Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, tired of being peaceful, have become cruel and destructive, plaguing China with destructive storms and a drought. The people beg for rain, but the East Sea Dragon King Ao Guang ignores them, telling the yaksha Ye Sha to go and find children for him to eat. Ye Sha captures one of Nezha's friends as he is bathing by the ocean, and Nezha confronts him, injuring him badly. Ao Guang sends his third son, Ao Bing, next. Ao Bing is killed by Nezha, infuriating Ao Guang.

A variety of confrontations ensue between Nezha and Ao Guang. Ao Guang and the other Dragon Kings wreak havoc on the people, causing storms, floods and all manners of natural disasters. Seeing this, Nezha takes his father's sword, tells his parents that he is returning their flesh and bones to them, and calls out for his master before killing himself by slitting his throat.

He is reborn with the help of his master, again from a lotus blossom, and is given new weapons and abilities. After breaking into Ao Guang's underwater palace, he confronts Ao Guang and the other Dragon Kings again, and is finally triumphant.

Release

In the United Kingdom, the film was broadcast on BBC Two in England in the early evening on 23 December 1984, in an English-language version, directed by Louis Elman and produced for the BBC by Leah International, which retitled the film Little Nezha Fights Great Dragon Kings (rendered in the Radio Times listing as Little Nezha Fights Great Dragon King, in the singular).{{cite web |title=Little Nezha Fights Great Dragon King – BBC Two England – 23 December 1984 – BBC Genome |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/4865a067dc8d455085a3e1ee742516c2 |publisher=BBC |access-date=10 June 2020}} The voice of Nezha was provided by actress and voice artist Rosemary Miller.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}} As well as replacing the dialogue, it also replaced Jin Fuzai's score performed by the Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra with one by Ivor Slaney. This version was released on video by BBC Enterprises in 1986{{cite web |title=Little Nezha Fights Great Dragon Kings |url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/little-nezha-fights-great-dragon-kings-1970 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181031090449/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/little-nezha-fights-great-dragon-kings-1970 |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 October 2018 |publisher=British Board of Film Classification |access-date=10 June 2020}} and rebroadcast earlier in the day for a few times during 1988.{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/bed6511847f94cd98bdf31f468fb9a8c|title=Little Nezha Fights Great Dragon Kings - BBC Two England - 3 April 1988 - BBC Genome|date=3 April 1988|website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/1f08b3f64ee84a9a934b246090568bee|title=Augusta|date=25 June 1988|issue=3369|pages=20|via=BBC Genome}}{{Cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/a59404e4858b44569769f9c973ddc1f2|title=Little Nezha Fights Great Dragon Kings|date=31 December 1988|issue=3395|pages=23|via=BBC Genome}}

The film was released on DVD with the original Chinese audio English subtitles in 2005, with Nezha Conquers the Dragon King as its English title.{{cite web |title=Nezha Conquers the Dragon King (1979) |url=http://www.dragnix.net/Digital_and_Analog_Dragons/Nezha_Conquers_the_Dragon_King/ |publisher=Dragnix |access-date=10 June 2020}}

The original-language version of the film was premiered in the UK and Ireland in its 2K digital restoration{{cite web |title=Nezha Conquers the Dragon King |url=https://www.chinesefilm.uk/film/nezha-conquers-the-dragon-king-na-zha-nao-hai/ |publisher=Chinese Cinema Season |access-date=11 May 2021 |date=February 2021 |quote=UK Premiere / 2K Remastered}} in an online Chinese Cinema Season which ran from 12 February to 12 May 2021.{{cite web |title=UK–China Film Collab Present 10 Chinese Animation Classics for Chinese Cinema Season |url=https://www.skwigly.co.uk/uk-china-film-collab-present-10-chinese-animation-classics-for-chinese-cinema-season/ |website=Skwigly |access-date=11 May 2021 |date=15 February 2021}}

Awards

1980 Film Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Art Film{{Cite web |title=第三届《大众电影》百花奖获奖名单（1980）|trans-title=The Third Hundred Flowers Awards Winners List (1980) |url=http://www.cfa1949.com/pjbj/bhj/bhljhjmd/201310/t20131024_227765.htm}}

Ministry of Culture 1979 Outstanding Fine Arts Film{{Cite web |title=1979年中国文化部优秀影片奖 |trans-title=1979 Outstanding Film Award of the Ministry of Culture of China |url=https://yule.sohu.com/88/85/article212608588.shtml}}

Special Award, Metro Manila Film Festival, Philippines,1983{{Cite web |title=严定宪 |trans-title=yan dingxian|url=https://www.asifa.cn/ch/detail.php?id=14&infoid=124&en=c |website=ASIFA-CHINA}}

Impact

On 30 May 2014, the first Google Doodle (Google Doodle listing) featuring Nezha was displayed on Google's Hong Kong and Taiwan homepages: the 35th anniversary of the release of Nezha Conquers the Dragon King, with the word "Google" wrapped around Nezha's silk and an animated image of Nezha wielding a fire-tipped gun on the sea.{{Cite web |title=《Google 首頁三太子顯靈？！原是紀念動畫35週年》 |trans-title=Google Home - The Prince of Three Appearances? It's the 35th anniversary of animation |url=http://www.ettoday.net/news/20140530/362808.htm}}

In August 2021, "Animation -Nezha Conquers the Dragon King" special stamps were issued in a set of 6 stamps with a face value of RMB 6.40, and 6.9 million sets are planned to be issued.{{Cite web |title=重拾童年记忆！《哪吒闹海》特种邮票28日发行 |trans-title=Recapture childhood memories! ‘Nezha Conquers the Dragon King 'Special Stamp Issue on 28th |url=http://www.cnr.cn/erwen/20210828/t20210828_525582514.shtml |website=央广网}}

Japanese version cast

Banjō Ginga as Li Gen
Daisuke Gōri as Li Jing – Nezha's father
Junko Hori as Little boy 1
Ichirō Nagai as Master Taiyi / Li Jing's chancellor
Masako Nozawa as Nezha
Nachi Nozawa as Ao Guang's chancellor
Mari Okamoto as Little girl
Chikao Ōtsuka as Dragon King
Tomiko Suzuki as Little boy 2
Norio Wakamoto as Ao Bing

Other appearances

File:Nezha_Conquers_the_Dragon_King_Google_Doodle.jpg

On 30 May 2014, Nezha Conquers the Dragon King was featured on Google Search's homepage as an animated doodle.{{cite web|title=35th Anniversary of Nezha Conquers the Dragon King|url=https://doodles.google/doodle/35th-anniversary-of-nezha-conquers-the-dragon-king/|work=Google Doodle Archive|access-date=30 May 2014}}{{cite web|last=Ferreira|first=Gerald|title=Nezha Conquers the Dragon King|url=http://3d-car-shows.com/nezha-conquers-the-dragon-king/|work=3D Car Shows|access-date=30 May 2014}}