Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violence, some drinking in Chinese animated fantasy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Legend of Hei
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In THE LEGEND OF HEI, Hei is a small cat living peacefully in the forest. But when humans come along and tear down the forest, Hei must flee, and ends up in the big city. While surviving on scraps of food, Hei does his best to hide, but when three thugs corner him in an alley and throw bottles and oil drums at him, Hei transforms into a giant cat demon and tosses the thugs aside. It's there where he's rescued by Stormend, a spirit who takes Hei to a place far from humans, where he meets fellow spirits Bamboo and Sky Tiger. While feeling safe with Stormend and his friends, Hei transforms into a young boy. However, he's soon taken by another spirit named Infinity, who rides away from Stormend on a wooden raft. Thinking him to be a dangerous bad guy, Hei tries to escape and then is hostile towards Infinity, until the audience and Hei begin to learn the truth about Stormend, and Infinity offers to teach Hei how to use his powers to their fullest potential. Infinity tells Hei that Stormend is leading a group of spirits who want to get revenge on humanity for their destructive ways, and to accomplish that, Stormend is starting to steal the spirit-powers of anyone he can, and that could include Hei if Hei isn't careful. Infinity leads a group of spirits who seek to find ways to coexist with humanity. Hei must choose to believe Infinity, or to follow Stormend, as the two face off in a large city.
Is It Any Good?
This is a story about right versus wrong, coexistence, and deforestation that's as thoughtful as it is cute. The Legend of Hei is a Chinese animated fantasy movie in which Hei, a young boy/cat/cat-demon, must pick a side in a rapidly-escalating battle between a spirit that rescued Hei from humans and a spirit that's trying to rescue Hei from the spirit that rescued Hei from humans. The movie makes effective use of the blurred lines between "good guy" and "bad guy," and the confusion Hei contends with as he must choose between the two, even as he's learning how to use his spirit powers. There are some moments of levity, as there's something amusing about a tiger-spirit of few words who holds a cup to Hei while he's a young boy and grunts, "Booze?"
It's a movie that combines many serious themes and conflicts with cutesy animation and engaging action. While the story sometimes seems on the verge of veering off into so many tangents and random moments (there's a shootout between cops and a robber while Hei and Infinity are at a table in an outdoor cafe for some reason), it more or less stays on track. The animation, while at times using some of the more familiar aspects of Asian animated fare, has an original style, particularly in scenes involving deforestation. Best of all, it's an animated movie that be enjoyed by both adults and kids as much for the messages and conflicts as for the cute characters and fight scenes.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about environmental themes in The Legend of Hei. What does the movie communicate about deforestation, and how does this lead to the conflict between the two opposing spirit sides?
What's an example when the violence seemed gratuitous?
How is this similar to and different from other animated fantasy movies, particularly animated fantasies from Asia?
Movie Details
- In theaters : May 17, 2019
- On DVD or streaming : May 15, 2021
- Cast : Youji Wang , June Yoon , Kei Gambit
- Director : MTJJ Mutou
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Shout! Factory
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Topics : Activism ( Animal rights , Civic engagement , Climate change ) , Adventures , Animals ( Cats ) , Arts , Fantasy ( Magic ) , Friendship , STEM ( Nature )
- Run time : 101 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 6, 2025
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