Now I know why this animated sequel fired up the box office.

I overlooked “Ne Zha 2” when it was released last March, as I didn’t think it would be a big deal. But much to my surprise, it has grossed over $2 billion worldwide, even beating “Inside Out 2’s” record.

I apologize if I’m late with this review, but if it’s all the same to you, it’s better late than never, especially when A24 is re-releasing it with an English language version with the voice of Michelle Yeoh as Ne Zha’s mother Lady Yin. I haven’t seen that version, but the original Chinese language has a lot of authenticity.

Watching it for the first time, I was thinking about how Mei behaves as a human and red panda in “Turning Red,” and I was thinking about how “Kung Fu Panda 4” needed to have the kind of elevation the franchise has crafted. I should have reminded myself on how “Flow” and “The Boy and the Heron” deserved their Oscars, and that international animation has infinite worlds to explore and tests our senses with.

Ne Zha is based on Chinese mythology, and is a protection deity through Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese folklore. And in animation, it shows how he represents his rebellious state through fire. As the sequel begins, the souls of Ne Zha and the ice dragon prince Ao Bing are placed in new bodies, but an attack puts Ao Bing’s life at great risk. At this point, the only recourse is for the two of them to share the same body for a week. Ne Zha will be the host and he must complete three trials to win a potion that could save the dragon prince’s life.

Here are some complications to sharing bodies. Ne Zha is barely able to have full control of his body, but if he falls a sleep with special pills (courtesy of Ne Zha’s master Taiyi Zhenren), Ao Bing takes full control with his face pasted on Ne Zha’s body. Like something out of “Face/Off,” isn’t it.

Parts of the humor has to feature the obligatory bodily functions (and the title character almost has to eat puke), which is too typical of an animated movie. But at the very least, the funniest gag in the formula regards Ne Zha urinating in what he thinks is a toilet. And plus, the gross-out jokes get overshadowed by the movie’s depth and emotion. There are battles with the title hero expressing his anger, which regards him dealing with his rebellious and evolving personality. And many of the battles are filled with many creatures-too many for me to count- but fighting a bad octopus creature with swords looks challenging, and there are dragons that breathe out purple, blue, and orange fire.

“Ne Zha 2” can have it both ways with the comedy and pathos within. Making the new bodies for the Ne Zha and Ao Bing out of some kind of gelatinous matter looks whimsical, especially when a pig can crave them with different appearances. And how they must keep their new bodies at ease or else they’ll be destroyed sounds risky, and it is. I admire the colors used through the film, and I admire how it shares its passion for Chinese folklore and expresses it in a modern fashion.

I’m not familiar with many mythologies, but it is nice to hear people talk about it and express their opinions on how movies and books portray them. Again, I’m sorry it took me this long to realize the entertainment value inside this sequel, but I’m glad I was given another chance to see what all the fuss is about. And believe me, I’ve praised animated movies that haven’t even reached the $2 billion dollar mark before.

English Dub In Theaters This Friday