As the #Chinese animated film ‘#NeZha2’ enters the all-time global box office top 9, let’s take a look at two of its most adored characters - a pair of bumbling ‘Boundary Guardian Beasts’ (Jiejie Shou) modeled after 3,000-year-old Sanxingdui bronze relics. As guardians of mystical barriers, both their clumsy behavior and their unique defensive capability, humorously dubbed “three-second invincibility” by netizens, deliver essential comic relief throughout the story.
Liu Wenzhang, producer of the 'Ne Zha' series and CEO of Chengdu Coco Cartoon Co., revealed during a recent event that the creatures’ designs were inspired by bronze heads and gold masks from Sichuan’s #Sanxingdui and #Jinsha Ruins, two key #archaeological sites from the ancient Shu civilization.
One guardian beast bears a resemblance to Sanxingdui's iconic Bronze Human Head with Gold Mask, complete with heavy eyebrows, widened eyes, and gilded facial plating. Its companion has a distinctive hooked nose mirroring the beak of Sanxingdui's Bronze Eagle-Shaped Bell. Elements from other relics including the Bronze Mask with Protruding Eyes and the Giant Bronze Mask can be found on these characters as well.
The guardian duo’s popularity has brought traffic to Sanxingdui Museum’s social platforms, with fans urging the museum to release replica figurines. This comes as demand for the film’s IP merchandise skyrocketed, with products like Pop Mart’s blind boxes having sold out.
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