Movie Review : Birth of The Demon Child

This movie’s title is ‘birth of the demon child’, Tian Zun instructs his disciple, Tai Yi Zhen Ren to take the spirit orb to reincarnate to the third son of Li Jing. Tian Zun cursed the demon orb to receive a lightning strike to be destroyed after three years. Shen Gong Bao exchanged these two orbs and Ne Zha was born as reincarnation of demon orb. Li Jing went to heaven to save Ne Zha's life but he had been told the curse was unremovable. Ao Bing who is son of Dragon King and disciple of Shen Gong Bao was reincarnate as spirit orb. Ne Zha and Ao Bing become friends. Shen Gong Bao told Ao Bing to bury the town and kill all the citizens, Ne Zha defeated him but spared his life because Ao Bing is Ne Zha’s only friend. When the lightning strike came to destroy Ne Zha, Ao Bing helped him to defend. At the end, their body was destroyed by the lightning strike but their souls were saved.

The meaning that this movie carries is about prejudice. As Ne Zha reincarnated from demon orb, he was discriminated against and ridiculed. When he was borned, he destroyed the houses with fire. The citizens of Chen Tang Guan are scared and want to kill him but Li Jing and Yin protected their son and promised that they will teach Ne Zha and not to let him become a bad person when he grows up. However, people’s prejudice has not been eliminated, everytime Ne Zha goes out, the people will be scared and close their windows and doors. He tried to make friends with other children but they treated him like a demon. The other children dislike him and throw him with vegetables and eggs. Ne Zha has a lonely childhood and has no friends, he does not understand why people dislike him.

A misunderstanding between Ne Zha and Ao Bing resulted in a fight and they become friends. They play shuttlecock on the beach and that was the first time Ne Zha experienced the happiness when playing with a friend. Ao Bing also had the same feeling with Ne Zha. Ne Zha is his first friend and he never made friends before because he practices everyday when he stays at Dragon Palace. Both of them had a lonely childhood and only they can understand the feeling of each other.

This movie is not about justice defeating evil. Even though Shen Gong Bao and Dragon King are the bad guys but they have their difficulties. Shen Gong Bao is hardworking but his master doesn't like him because he is a spirit of leopard. Dragon King is loyal to heaven, he prisoned the beast in the sea to maintain the safety of heaven but he also lost his freedom. Ao Bing is the reincarnation of spirit orb but he still wants to kill all the citizens of Chen Tang Guan due to instillation of distorted values. On the other side, Ne Zha is known as the birth of demon. However, he has an ambition which is to become a hero that could save people because his parents teach him with love and caring. Obviously, this movie didn’t analyze the difference between right and wrong very well. We can’t tell that Ao Bing and Ne Zha are kind or evil from their reincarnation, they choose themselves whether they want to be a hero or demon.