This animated film has been a box office phenomenon in China. As an English-language version opens in the United States, we provide an explainer.

There are other ways to get closer to immortality, too. For example, magical immortality pills can serve as a shortcut by granting years of cultivation. Meanwhile, a key plot point of Ne Zha 2 is that the titular main character is trying to complete three heavenly trials to win his immortality.

Chinese film “Ne Zha 2” became the highest-grossing animated movie of all time earlier this year, mostly because of its massive popularity in China.