Yanting Lü

The young boy in Ne Zha (2019) is troublesome, and Yanting Lü does not soften him into someone merely waiting to be understood. Her husky voice suits the mischief; there is nothing politely ingratiating about the character she helps create. We warmed to him because his bad behaviour did not disappear whenever the film wanted our sympathy. That makes Lü’s performance worth hearing: it lets us care about a child without needing to approve of everything he does.

That film, written and directed by Jiaozi, was her breakthrough, and she returned as young Nezha in Ne Zha 2 (2025). Between those films came a small live-action appearance as an interviewer in Gold or Shit (2024). The voice role remains the useful starting point for understanding her work, because it asks for more than a recognisable sound. She has to make the boy’s independence appealing without pretending that living with him would be easy.

Jiaozi’s screenplay helps by leaving that awkwardness intact, and is at its strongest when it does so. Lü gives us someone to watch while the film explains the forces surrounding him, which is useful when the mythology grows muddled. The lively animation carries Ne Zha a fair distance, but the action becomes exhausting, and no performance could reasonably be expected to make those stretches shorter. The film earns our recommendation through its mischievous lead and the parents trying to protect him; patience is still required for the explanations.

Lü has described the brief this way: “The director wanted not just a voice, but a personality. Even in Nezha's quietest lines, there's a complex emotional world behind them.” That is a more promising basis for further work than simply finding more children who need to sound raspy. Her return to Nezha makes sense, but we would be interested to hear what another director might ask of her. Start with the first Ne Zha, and do not expect its young lead to be well behaved.