RIYADH, June 28, (Xinhua): A soft ripple of guzheng music floated through the foyer of Reel Cinema in northern Riyadh on Wednesday night as dozens of movie-goers posed beneath a towering poster of Ne Zha 2, the first time the Chinese animation blockbuster has reached Saudi screens in Arabic. Among the early arrivals was Bushra al-Dawood, a journalist for the Saudi outlet Gorgeous. To celebrate the premiere, she paired a black abaya embroidered with red crimson blossoms and matching red shoes.

“A nod to the fiery spirit of Chinese culture and Ne Zha,” she smiled. “The film’s landscapes are so vivid that I can’t wait to travel there and see those mountains and rivers for myself.” Inside the 200-seat auditorium, laughter, gasps and spontaneous applause punctuated the two-hour screening of the Arabic-dubbed edition, which blends standard Arabic with Saudi, Egyptian and other dialects. When the lights came up, clusters of children rushed back to the poster for selfies, while adults lingered in animated debate about the plot’s twists and mythical creatures. “The movie is visually stunning, the story is beautiful, and I had no trouble following it thanks to the Arabic dub,” said Shahad, a fourth-year Chinese-language major at King Saud University. “I saw posters of Ne Zha 2 all over China during a summer camp but never caught a screening there. The moment I heard it would open in Riyadh, I signed up right away. I’ll be back with my family.”

The film’s Saudi distributor, CineWaves Films, believes the combination of state-of-the-art animation and localised dialogue will broaden its appeal. “’Ne Zha 2’ is a high-quality, truly original work that speaks to audiences everywhere,” said Faisal Baltyuor, CineWaves chairman. “By dubbing it into Saudi dialect, we remove the language barrier and make the story even more inviting for local viewers.” Directed by Chinese filmmaker Jiaozi, Ne Zha 2 continues the coming-of-age saga of the rebellious boy-god first introduced in 2019’s record-breaking Ne Zha. This time the stakes are higher, the universe larger and the visuals more ambitious, with richly textured dragons, fiery battles and sweeping panoramas rendered in full 3-D. Saudi animation veteran Malik Nejer, who supervised the Arabic version, said selecting different dialects for rival clans helped newcomers navigate a world rooted in Chinese folklore. “Many Arab viewers don’t know Chinese mythology,” Nejer explained. “So we matched each on-screen tribe with a distinct Arabic dialect. It guides the audience through the plot and mirrors the linguistic diversity of our own region.” He also mentioned when concepts had no exact equivalent, the team searched for cultural parallels, “letting viewers feel an instant connection.” Backed by CineWaves and Dubai-based PBA Entertainment, Ne Zha 2 opens nationwide in Saudi Arabia on Thursday and will roll out to the UAE, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Qatar in early July.