Last year, Yu Yang released the sequel to his successful 2019 debut feature, Ne Zha. Although it was the director’s second directorial project, Ne Zha 2 not only became the highest-grossing film of 2025 but the highest-grossing animated film ever. In short, the bar is set for China to deliver the next big animated hit: enter a debut directorial feature that has already domestically grossed more than one billion yuan this summer alone.
Inspired by the Chinese legend, The Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, All Wishes Come True! sees mortals seek a new life in the Penglai Immortal Realm after a global apocalypse, known as Doomsmite, threatens the world. The film follows a group of eight mortals who disguise themselves as immortals to enter a treasure vault that only gods can access, only to cross paths with powerful beings.
Like all heist movies, the setup of All Wishes Come True! is straightforward. It features a motley crew, including warrior Lü Dongbin, pickpocket Zhongli Quan and inside man Cao Guojiu, who target an inaccessible vault with countless amounts of gold and antiquities, notably a unique lantern that will stop the Doomsmite. But it’s also a race against time to complete the job before a godly birthday banquet will see the lantern handed off to a mysterious benefactor.
The film’s beguiling blend of traditional and computer animation dazzles with bold colours. The film especially comes alive in its elaborate action scenes, which juggle intricate fight choreography among multiple characters. The end result is a visually rich canvas that captures the beauty of the film’s vibrant costumes and production design.
Yet despite its visual charms, director and writer Zhengxing Mu’s bold attempts to balance characters’ motivations and importance to the story, ultimately disrupts the film’s cohesiveness. For such a simple premise, it culminates in a messy ending that leaves more questions than answers.
It’s complicated by various subplots that slowly become underdeveloped. For instance, the group’s bumbling actions bring them overnight success as thief-catching ‘immortals’ (as simply put, ”it takes a thief to catch a thief”), but this is quickly forgotten, rather than as a notable route to redemption. Mu deploys an extensive roster of characters to add depth and expand the story past the crew, but it also causes the film to buckle under that pressure as certain characters become more significant than others. Particular examples include He Xiangu, a skilled warrior who randomly joins the group mid-heist, and the mysterious Yang Jian, who dominates the last act with his own vendetta.
When it’s not busy competing for screentime the majority of the film is focused on the sibling-like brotherhood between former schoolmates Lü Dongbin and Zhongli Quan. Their respective motivations clash repeatedly: Zhongli’s fast mouth and Lü’s serious demeanor causes tension that brings unexpected light relief. Yet their relationship shines in the quieter scenes, as their emotions become more evident through poignant flashbacks and unexpected moments bonding over life lessons. Their reluctant partnership essentially fuels the heist and the group camaraderie, positioning them as indispensable members of the crew.
That quick humour becomes All Wishes Come True!’s strongest asset. Apart from Zhongli Quan’s craftiness, it features chucklesome sequences that range from a repeatedly interrupted ‘video’ call to a tense bargaining scene involving a lot of gold and a massive hole. Zhengxing Mu also expands Penglai to be more than just a heavenly island in the sky – it provides mortals a second chance at happiness, courtesy of its wish-granting deities. But their co-existence brilliantly grounds the story, as it pits the wits of the heroes against all-powerful deities to amusing effect.
With a runtime of nearly 2.5 hours, All Wishes Come True! is a mammoth animated debut feature. However, its heady blend of action, comedy, fantasy and adventure is marred by a confusing narrative that causes the film to lose its way.
All Wishes Come True! comes out in UK cinemas on 14 August.
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Director: Zhengxing Mu
Stars: Hao Chen, Yuze Han, Yunqi Zhang
Runtime: 144 minutes
Country: China
