Ne Zha's image: More than 100 transformations

However, Shen and his team were worried for a long time about the risks of producing a Ne Zha that shatters the stereotypical Ne Zha image in people's minds.

"We have to break those barriers and make more audacious endeavors as long as Ne Zha's image is in accordance with the personality shown in this script. Even if it fails to appeal to viewers and bombs at the box office, we'll accept that," Yang said to Shen.

Excited by the director's directive and audacity, Shen and his team gradually worked toward their goal and finally Ne Zha, a boy with crooked teeth and dark circles around his eyes, was born.

But to avoid developing a Ne Zha image that was too far from the one familiar to generations of Chinese, the designers retained Ne Zha's clothing style and more importantly, his signature hair buns.

Besides his looks, the way Ne Zha walks by putting his hands into the waist of his trousers, has also sparked a heated discussion on social media, with many asking if that was inspired by Hanamichi Sakuragi, the leading star in Japanese animation series Slam Dunk.