Film Name: 新东方神娃 / Xin Dong Fang Shen Wa
If Longwa and Fengwa were a bit older, they might truly become China’s He-Man and She-Ra. Unfortunately, they’re only ten years old.
Whether it’s the Gourd Brothers, Little Nezha, or Oriental Super Kids, domestic animators love depicting child heroes—endowing children under ten with supernatural powers and making them champions of justice who battle evil forces, typically embodied by adults. The Gourd Brothers take this to extremes: born with a mission to save the world, they’re denied even a minute of carefree childhood.
Sometimes I feel a pang of sadness for these child heroes like Shenwa. At such a tender age, when they should be growing, playing without a care, discovering the world, learning knowledge and skills—why must they be burdened with saving it? Recalling films like The Shining Red Star or The Magic Brush, it becomes clear: our class-based education starts with the youngest.
In Western animated hero series, most protagonists are teenagers or adults, rarely children. Firstly, such shows often contain violent elements. Having children perform these acts—even if it’s to fight evil—feels slightly off. Second, children should simply be allowed to grow up happily. Take my favorite show, “Phineas and Ferb.” While the two teenage protagonists are heroes, their primary traits are playfulness and world exploration. The real battle against evil is fought by the platypus—an adult animal spy.
In the film, Dragon Boy and Phoenix Girl emerge from stone only to immediately shoulder the monumental task of protecting villagers and confronting the Snake Spirit. Yet they retain childlike traits, often shedding tears. This creates a unique resonance between their precocious heroism and their tender, childlike tears.
Plot-wise, Shen She’s arc blends mythical elements with rich emotional depth, particularly through its dilemmas: whether Shen She should shoot the other demonic eye stone—a choice where both actions carry consequences—and whether Longwa should kill Shen She, a decision agonizing either way. This dramatic content is relatively rare in this film and even in domestic animation.
In contrast, the introduction of the Heaven and Earth Divine Stones feels somewhat arbitrary, lacking both proper groundwork and a sense of ritual. The snake demon’s demise is notably simplified, causing the long-established tension between her and the Demon King to fizzle out without resolution.
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