18日，《哪吒之魔童闹海》登顶全球动画电影票房榜第一名。
日日更新的铺天盖地的排山倒海般的票房喜讯，让人越看越欢喜。
让人越“挖”越喜欢的除了“吒儿”和他的家人小伙伴们，还有电影制作团队——一群以导演饺子为代表的动画电影人。

Prequel: Before the Birth of the Nezha Series of Movies

1

The director of "Ne Zha," Jiaozi, whose real name is Yang Yu, was born in Luzhou, Sichuan. He graduated from the West China School of Pharmacy at Sichuan University. His parents are doctors, and during his university years, he decided to abandon medicine to pursue art.

If the dumpling craftsmanship were any less professional, Nezha's back muscles wouldn't be so perfectly defined.

2

Jiaozi once helped someone else submit their elective art assignment, but the grade wasn't great.

3

We have the opportunity to appreciate the excellent works of the current directors thanks to the fact that Huaxi did not cut off the power at night back then, which created the conditions for Jiaozi to tirelessly produce animations and embark on the path of art.

4

Because his name sounds similar to "potato" and he is fond of fitness with a sturdy physique, Jiaozi was nicknamed "Potato" during his university years.

The habit of fitness has always been maintained by Dumpling. He can leap up the long stairs in the company in just two steps. He says he cannot afford to fall.

In the behind-the-scenes documentary of the movie "Ne Zha," the director Jiaozi (nickname of Yang Yu) is seen running with a motion blur.

5

After resigning from the advertising company, Jiaozi spent one year and zero months living frugally on his mother's monthly pension of a few hundred yuan, fully dedicating himself to creating the 16-minute animated film "See Through." This short film swept over a dozen awards both domestically and internationally.

In the film, the confrontation with the flood is depicted with a gush of blood, tragic yet not gruesome, bearing a striking resemblance to the scenes in "Ne Zha."

Screenshots from "Hit, Hit a Big Watermelon"

The visuals of "Ne Zha"

6

At the end of "Hit, Hit a Big Watermelon," a young person in their twenties pays tribute to their predecessors with a long list. The list includes Disney, the Wan brothers, and Osamu Tezuka.

In an interview more than a decade later, when asked "Which animations do you like besides Nezha," Jiaozi smiled knowingly and, as if drawing from a question bank, listed them off: the entire series from Shanghai Animation Film Studio, the entire series from Hayao Miyazaki, the entire series from Mamoru Oshii, the entire series from Katsuhiro Otomo, the entire series from Pixar, and the entire series from Disney. Then, with a smirk, he retorted, "Should I keep going?"

Interview video screenshot

**正传：饺子团队和哪吒的“相爱相杀”
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7

From year to year, the director's hair turned white rapidly.

8

In an interview during the release of "Ne Zha," director Jiaozi mentioned the envy of the company's employees towards the "work schedule," stating, "There were no all-nighters, at most until four or five in the morning."

9 《哪吒1》中有场申公豹需要变身成豹子头的特效画面，特效师磨了两个月还是达不到想要的效果，最终选择跳槽。没想到，《哪吒》找的新外包公司，恰好就是他的新公司，老板说：“听说你做这个镜头已经很有心得了，那就还是交给你吧。”
饺子笑称：“如果有人问我人能否改变自己的命运，我不晓得，但我晓得，让申公豹长毛就是他的命。”

10

"This chain, once added, the cycle cannot be maintained! It's too difficult!" said Chen Changjiang, the executive producer of "Ne Zha," over the phone. The chain that drove her to despair refers to the chains bound to each of the millions of demon beasts released during the Battle of Chentang Pass.

Jiaozi believes that the chain play is closely related to the theme of the film and cannot be altered. It must maintain a sense of order within chaos and possess aesthetic beauty, like strands of hair gently swaying in the air.

On the other end of the phone: "But besides the chains, there are many other difficulties as well."

Producer Sister (after three seconds): "Hmm."

The conversation has ended.

11

The scene where Nezha breaks through the "Heart-Piercing Curse" recreates the famous moment of "bone removal and flesh cutting" from the original story. However, how to convey the sense of pain without being bloody, without showing flesh being torn apart and flying everywhere, while still maintaining a sense of tragic beauty?

The second-long animation was "struggled" over for a year. It was as difficult as ascending to the heavens, after all, Nezha was torn apart, and inside was... lotus root powder!

12

Staff: The director requested that the fish demon's hammer be made of crabs. Hahaha... (People really do laugh when they're at a loss for words.)

13

In the movie, Nezha also experiences "appearance anxiety," feeling too unattractive to meet his brothers. The director addressed this setting in an interview: "How strong must one's inner self be to completely disregard others' evaluations?" "We cannot let Nezha become a stereotypical character, nor can we let him be just a superficial slogan or a floating figure."

14

Some netizens have noticed that the director seems to have "slipped in a personal touch" in the movie: by covering the upper half of Ao Guang's handsome face, take a look at this chin and lips, who does it resemble?!

The design of Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East Sea, in "Ne Zha".

15

During the post-production of "Ne Zha," director Jiaozi's performance was spontaneous and immediate. He acted out nearly every scene, including the bronze mirror of the Stone Witch...

16

"Ne Zha" is like an Olympic village, bringing together the finest animators from across the country, all striving together to reach higher and more distant goals.

Huang Gong, the Director of Technology Development, initially encountered four or five former colleagues from his previous company. Later, even the CEO of his former company joined the project as an animation director. A visual effects company executive came to "Cocoa Bean" for on-site work, thinking it would take only three months to complete, but ended up staying for two years.

Wang Xin, the co-director of "Jiang Ziya," was called to Chengdu. Upon seeing Jiaozi's demands, he exclaimed, "Top-tier production and top-tier aesthetics? You want both? That's too extreme!" After his outburst, he still led his team to do their best.

Sequel: "Why don't you hold on a bit longer? We want to watch 'Ne Zha'."

17

Please enjoy part of Jiaozi's winter vacation homework, where every day starts with opening the eyes to draw. (If only I had known, I would have drawn billions and billions.)

18

When mentioning "Ne Zha," Jiaozi said: So many "pits," it's despairing.

19

Netizen in the "Cruel Client" version: Maybe you should hang in there a bit longer, we want to watch "Ne Zha".

Considerate Version for the Client: No rush, take your time. We'll wait however long it takes.

It is said that as soon as "Ne Zha" was released, some audience members personally visited the company to inquire about the release date of "Ne Zha." The staff member naively replied, "This still depends on the pace of Director Jiaozi."

20

On Douban, the expected release date of "Ne Zha" was changed from one year to another, and then changed back again. "Director Jiaozi remains silent, only obsessing over the release date of the next movie."

Those who do comedy are the kings who maintain an optimistic mindset amidst the pain of life. Watching these hardworking diaries of laborers, one laughs until tears well up in their eyes. No passion is easily maintained without effort, and no fervor is ignited merely by shouting slogans.

In the interview about dumplings, the most frequently mentioned word was "persistence." There are no shortcuts, only hard work.

In the behind-the-scenes documentary of the movie, Jiaozi also said this while reviewing the film: "We serve the audience, not the director." The barrage of comments was filled with applause. Someone responded: "If you keep the people in your heart, the people will lift you high." This message is for all artistic creators.

Whether we visit in person to urge for updates, passionately request them online, or gently nudge with consideration, our hope is that the "Ne Zha" series of films will continue to thrive with the fervor and passion of the nation, that Ne Zha's footprint will extend even further globally, and that the resulting wildfire of Chinese animated films will burn even more fiercely.

Author/Editor: Wu Beibei

Proofreading: Wei Yuan

Editor: Song Fangcan

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