Jiaozi

Yang Yu (; born 1980), known professionally as Jiaozi , is a Chinese animation director, screenwriter, and producer. He graduated from Sichuan University with a bachelor's degree in pharmacy. His work as the director and screenwriter includes the animated feature films Ne Zha and Ne Zha 2. His film Ne Zha 2 has made him the first non-Hollywood director to produce a movie earning US$1 billion and US$2 billion, and the first animation director to earn US$2 billion.

Biography Jiaozi was born in 1980 in the city of Luzhou, Sichuan, China. Both of his parents were medical doctors. He graduated from Sichuan University with a bachelor's degree in pharmacy. After graduation, with enthusiasm for animation and production work, he joined a local advertising company, but he quit the job after a year. Later, he was unemployed for six years. After his father died, he lived with his mother on her CN¥1,000 (US$120) monthly retirement pension for three years. However, he still remained unknown until the release of his first feature film in 2019. The global box office totaled US$726 million. The film became the highest-grossing film in mainland China in 2019 and is the fifth highest-grossing film in Chinese cinema history as of 2025.

In January 2025, Jiaozi released the animated feature film sequel, Ne Zha 2 , serving once again as both director and screenwriter. The film achieved both critical and commercial success, becoming the highest-grossing film in Chinese history on 6 February 2025, and the fifth highest-grossing film of all time worldwide on 15 March 2025. On 15 February 2025, with just two distributed films, Jiaozi became China's highest-grossing film director of all time, with a Chinese box office revenue of CN¥20.48 billion and a worldwide box office of US$2.96 billion.

Filmography