Latest news with #ChrisAppelhans
Gizmodo
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘KPop Demon Hunters' Directors on Meeting Fan Expectations and Championing Original, Inclusive Animation
When Sony Pictures Animation first announced KPop Demon Hunters back in 2021, director, writer, and longtime K-pop devotee Maggie Kang (The Lego Ninjago Movie) envisioned the project as both a love letter to the early days of the genre she grew up with and a vibrant celebration of Korean culture. Teaming up with co-director Chris Appelhans (Wish Dragon), Kang set out to craft a film that merges the dazzling precision of K-pop choreography with the spectacle of magical girl action, all wrapped up in an original animated adventure premiering on Netflix on June 20. KPop Demon Hunters follows Huntrix, a rising girl group made up of Rumi, Mira, and Zoey (voiced by Arden Cho, May Hong, and Ji-young Yoo), as they juggle their pop superstardom with their secret lives battling demons invading the human realm under the command of the sinister Gwi-Ma (played by Squid Game's Lee Byung-hun). To prevent the girls from enveloping the world in the healing light of their music, he concocts the only plan that could threaten the loyalty of their diehard fanbase: a rival supernatural boyband called the Saja Boys. Before the film's release, io9 spoke with Kang and Appelhands about how they balanced the expectations of K-pop superfans, magical girl enthusiasts, and animation lovers, as well as their hopes for how their original film might inspire a new wave of mythmakers in the animation industry. Isaiah Colbert, io9: What sparked the idea of merging the world of K-Pop idols with demon hunting? Was there a defining moment or inspiration that led to this unique fusion of music and supernatural action? Maggie Kang: It was first conceived as just a demon hunter idea that was a group of really awesome women who fought demons from Korean demonology—a movie that was set in modern-day Korea. The K-pop of it all was kind of the last thing to be added in because demon hunting is usually done in the dark alleyways. Not in front of people. I just wanted the girls to have a public-facing image and K-pop felt like a cool thing to set the movie in. It naturally made it a musical and gave it that spectacle and scale. Track 01: "How it's Done". Performed by HUNTRIX! Kpop Demon Hunters premieres THIS FRIDAY! — Netflix (@netflix) June 16, 2025io9: Obviously with that title KPop Demon Hunters does set a high expectations for both electrifying action and dynamic dance sequences as well. KPop Demon Hunters naturally carries a lot of pressure, especially for K-pop fans eagerly anticipating it. How did the team navigate that challenge and ensure the film delivered on both fronts? Kang: It was tough. It's a very loyal, dedicated fanbase that expects a lot on every aspect. Whether it's design, lighting, animation, we made sure that it would hold up to what we see in K-pop today. The dance practice videos that we see are so good already. It was like 'How do we take what's so great that they're doing as real humans [and] bring it into animation and elevate that?' Even with some K-drama lighting and music video lighting is so beautiful. It was a challenge to bring it into the animation medium and be like, 'Okay, they've done all this amazing stuff. How do we take it one step further?' It was a lot of first figuring out how do they do it currently and how we can take it up a notch because we're animation. Chris Appelhans: I think Maggie really early on said we all love K-pop and if we try to make it for our own fandom—let's find lighting that we think is amazing, and choreo that we love, and go 'Dude, that is so good'—that is the most honest, authentic way to make the movie. And, if we're lucky, the other people who love K-pop will love it too. But that's all we could control and that was actually really helpful because it felt like you could go and look at great music videos and be inspired by, 'This is the kind of editorial lighting that I always love and always wanted to see in animation. I'm inspired to go get our lighting team to go raise their game to bring this level to the material.' I feel like it's what you said, a love letter from the medium we know really well. We know this special stuff that you can't do, also. Kang: Watching it as fans ourselves and wanting to push the medium,[and] being our harshest critics. One of the most difficult things to do for us Simulation Artists is to create dynamic movement in jewelry pieces. In these outfits Rumi has more than 35 individual pieces of jewelry from earrings to chains.¿Most complex piece? Mira's shoulder tassels !! KPOP DH June 20! — Cruz Contreras (@cruzencanada) June 8, 2025io9: What was the most thrilling moment in directing KPop Demon Hunters, where you hit an eureka moment in production when you truly felt you were bringing something unique and special to life? Appelhans: In stages. Different scenes delivered a different part of the promise. I remember Maggie doing some really funny reference videos for one of the girls' conversations and seeing in animation daily—that exact comedy shows up in our characters—and I'm like, 'Oh my god, the girls are going to be really cute, and adorable, and weird.' And the first time seeing great choreo and animation. Some of our Korean animators did some stuff that we didn't even ask for, they just took it and ran with it, and we got the butterflies. Like, 'Check, oh my gosh. We can do this.' We kept checking boxes that were part of this whole ambitious soup. Kang: Similar to me, too. Finding the shape language of even their eyes and mouth shapes on a Korean face, we wanted the expressions to feel very Korean and the girls' mouth shapes to feel like they're speaking Korean, even though they were speaking in the English language. One of the solutions we found—one of our amazing animators Sofia [Seung Hee Lee]—figured out rounding the corners of the mouth was really helpful in them feel that way. Those kind of milestones of figuring out certain languages for design and style really cracked those problems. Appelhans: Every time we heard the version of a song that we finally felt was doing it—whether it was the third try or the ninth try—when a song really started to hit and we would feel it in our guts, that was always like, 'Oh my gosh, we did it. One more piece to the puzzle' because that's so elusive—a pop song that's actually a bop. My only contribution to KPOP Demon Hunter. Screaming characters seems to be my thing. Congrats to the rest of the hard working crew of this movie! @sonyanimation — Guillermo Martinez (@billybobmartinz) May 24, 2025io9: Speaking of pop songs, the film also features contributions from the talented members of Twice. How did you approach collaborating with K-pop artists to bring the musical elements of KPop Demon Hunters to life? What was the process of ensuring the soundtrack not only energized the film but also complemented its emotional core? Kang: It was really important for the entire movie to live in that K-pop space. And collaborating with an actual K-pop artist felt like it finally legitimized our project in the K-pop world. Working with Black Label and all these amazing pop writers that write for BTS, Twice, and ultimately collaborating with Twice. Ian Eisendrath, who is our executive music producer, and Sony Music really wanted this album to feel like a real, legit K-pop album, so they brought this amazing team together and created an album that can hold up in the K-pop space. io9: Recently, animated films like Turning Red and Ultraman: Rising have demonstrated the power of animation as both a storytelling medium and a bridge into beloved fandoms, such as K-pop and Tokusatsu. These films not only celebrate vibrant animation and bring life to pre-existing fandoms but also center Asian heritage and allow characters to center in their authentic narratives. What was most important in balancing the global appeal of K-pop with the significance of Asian-led stories told by Asian characters? Kang: One way to answer that is that in animation, we've told a lot of stories about inanimate objects [and] different animals. And we've yet to tell stories that are culturally specific through a different cultural voice that can also be very universal. It's really promising that we are seeing more films and animation that are told through a different cultural lens. It's really important to try to feature as much diversity as possible in animation because, primarily, it is still regarded as a medium for more of a younger audience. We have all these different films globally that showing us that and it feels like we're not really doing that quite yet in animation. I think that is something that we really need to give more diversity at this stage in animation. Appelhans: What I've seen in my 25 years doing this is how much more diverse the actual day-to-day crews are and the talent, and that means everything. Because when Maggie shows up with an original idea, there are incredibly experienced and talented Korean artists in every department, and they don't have to do any homework. It's their lived experience they bring, their influences, their favorite things that shaped them as artists. That allows us to make more interesting, more original films than what could've been possible 25 years ago. It's kind of happening under the hood, but it's really promising and exciting. io9: What do you hope audiences and your fellow creative colleagues in animation take away from experiencing KPop Demon Hunters wanting to share this universal story with the world? Kang: There's nothing like film that shows that no matter what language you speak, what culture you grew up in, no matter if you are a demon, a chair, or a toy doll, everybody feels the same things as human beings. Telling stories with characters that emote in a very Korean way and speak looking very Korean, I hope that audiences and filmmakers can see that we all ultimately are human and we feel and want the same things which is love and acceptance KPop Demon Hunters streams on Netflix starting June 20. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
New York Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
‘KPop Demon Hunters' Review: Singing, Slinging and Slashing
Lest you roll your eyes and think of it as a four-quadrant-friendlier version of 'Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,' 'KPop Demon Hunters' immediately establishes its premise, getting any prospective scoffing out of the way. For generations, a voice-over intro explains, girl groups have used their popular songs to secretly trap hordes of demons underground and keep the world safe. The latest group on their trail? Huntrix, a K-pop girl band that, in its fight against the sinister Gwi-ma (Lee Byung-hun) and his demons, is close to completing the Golden Honmoon, a protective barrier that will permanently keep evil forces at bay. But the girl group soon faces its toughest challenge yet: a demon boy band. With that somewhat silly logline behind us, what we'll find in this Netflix animated film, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, is an original universe that is charming, funny and artfully punchy. It's a Sony Pictures Animation film that shares a kind of lineage with the studio's recent hit 'Spider-Verse' franchise that is most apparent in the similar visual style. But otherwise what it borrows mostly is a more holistic and technical sense of the cinematic, a philosophy of approach that is rare in big-budget animation films. The action sequences are fluid and immersive, the art is frequently striking and the music (catchy, if formulaic earworms) is a properly wielded and dynamic storytelling tool. And as for the cheesy girl group vs. boy band story, Kang and Appelhans have a sly sense of humor about it all, too; the movie is funniest when it pokes at pop culture that is highly manufactured, from K-pop to K-dramas to mass-produced singing competitions — the very things the film itself would never stoop to. Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes. Watch on Netflix.
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
‘KPop Demon Hunters' Is a Hilarious, Kaleidoscopic, Monster-Hunting Bop
In an era where K-pop music groups have undeniably become a dominant force in the global music scene, Sony Pictures Animation's latest film, KPop Demon Hunters, does more than ride the wave of this craze. It cleverly presents the phenomenon in an action-packed animated film that serves as a gateway for parents who are curious about why their kids are so enamored with synchronized choreography. What's more, the movie demystifies the idols, portraying them as regular people, and weaves a touching story about acceptance while incorporating tons of flashy dance and fight breaks along the way. KPop Demon Hunters, co-directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, is a movie that could be summed up very easily by its title. Thankfully, the film has more to offer than what it lampshades on its proverbial tin. It follows follows Huntrix, a girl group built around the friendship of its three members: Mira (May Hong), the sardonic punk-girl lead dancer; Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), the bubbly, little sister-coded rapper; and Rumi (Arden Cho), the workaholic lead singer who is the heart of the group. While the trio top the charts to their army of adoring fans, Huntrix moonlights as demon hunters, protecting their adoring public from things that go bump in the night. In concert with films of its ilk that came before it, like Turning Red and, surprisingly, Sinners, KPop Demon Hunters explores music as both a haven and a form of emotional expression through its musical elements. But unlike those films, KPop Demon Hunters leans heavily into the magical girl anime aesthetic—think Sailor Moon (or, for real ones out there, Winx Club and Totally Spies!) meets Twice—where the members aren't just deified performers; they moonlight as warriors protecting humanity from demonic threats as the latest iteration on a generations-long line of singers who protect humanity with the power of song. All the while, their dazzling stage presence and catchy tunes manifest in a healing shield they magically enmesh the world in; the more popular and resonant their songs are with fans, the more they serve to create the legendary golden honmoon. This golden, shimmering shield keeps demons under the command of a dark entity called Gwi-Ma (Squid Game's Lee Byun-hun) from opening rifts in the world forever. While all of the above is a lot to take in conceptually, KPop Demon Hunters doesn't get bogged down in a year-one-esque tale of their heroic exploits, exposing the ins and outs of their heroic mission. The moment the film opens, the girls are established as both a veteran K-pop group and demon hunters, confidently handling the hijacking of their private plane by shapeshifting demons en route to their big concert. What's more, Huntrix kick ass while serving a live performance about how much ass they're kicking with the same kinetic energy and sonic flair as a Riot Games' K/DA—catchy, visually dazzling, and undeniably stylish—before they skydive into the stadium below to regale their adoring fans with the opener for their show. With the girls on the precipice of achieving a golden honmoon, Gwi-Ma concocts a plan to undo the girl group's meteoric rise in popularity: Saja Boys, a rival demon boy group led by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop), who plan on taking down Huntrix by hitting them where it hurts the most, by poaching their fans. The obvious bar that KPop Demon Hunters sets for itself is to deliver a film worthy of its distinction as the follow-up to Sony Pictures Animation's Spider-Verse success, where both its songs and action are exceptional. The animation team at Sony Pictures Animation didn't skimp, delivering yet another visual treat with decadent and vibrant animation. Most notably, KPop Demon Hunters' character designs are bold and expressive, filled with off-model gags and chibi-like moments that add texture to its idol protagonists, allowing them to shed their near-mythic personas and become the kind of approachable girls with gremlin-like tendencies that anyone would want to hang out with. Alongside the phenomenal voice work of its main cast, who display an uncanny sense of comedic timing that matches the film's fluid action, KPop Demon Hunters adds another layer of authenticity to its musicality. This is showcased by the girl group's diss track, 'Takedown,' performed by Jeongyon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of Twice. This song, along with other catchy tracks from Huntrix and Saja Boys, demonstrates that the musical efforts are not just standard fare. In conjunction with the attention to detail in the rival group's stunning sequences, wardrobe, and rhythmic choreography, the film's musicality ensures that the songs are so catchy that even the most reluctant K-pop critic would find themselves bobbing their head and humming along to the chorus. While the main crux of the film sees Saja Boys and Huntrix battle over the affection of fans, KPop Demon Hunters sidesteps a basic 'battle of the bands' set up by introducing an intriguing early twist. Rather than facing their rivals one on one, Huntrix finds itself embroiled in a deeper struggle beyond the grueling media tours. The film's emotional core, like with the group itself, centers on Rumi whose journey to superstardom takes an unexpected turn when she loses her voice. What could have been a predictable obstacle turns into the film's most compelling arc, forcing her to confront her own identity beyond her talent as a songstress and demon hunter. While the film does bring its conflicts and big ideas to a resolution, its ending feels overly convenient, so neatly tied up that it loses some of the depth that its setup promised. There's a twinge of missed potential here, as intriguing plot threads, particularly those tied to Rumi's journey of self-discovery and Juni's backstory, are prematurely trimmed rather than fully explored. The film could have benefited from a longer runtime, allowing for a more layered conclusion instead of opting for a simplistic 'day is saved' wrap-up. The film cheekily has its cake and eats it too by calling attention to this with quips from Mira and Zoey. As a result, KPop Demon Hunters' final act, while functional, rings a bit hollow. Putting aside any complaints about its somewhat rush-job wrap-up finale, KPop Demon Hunters is an animated film that boldly embraces its over-the-top premise and approaches a powerful message of acceptance. With high-energy fight sequences and moments of genuine hilarity, KPop Demon Hunters never loses sight of the magic that makes animation and idol culture so irresistibly fun. Sony Pictures Animation continues to establish itself as a leader in Western animation. Much like Tsuburaya Productions and Industrial Light & Magic's 3D CG animated film, Ultraman Rising, which elevates a familiar premise while celebrating Asian heritage at its core, KPop Demon Hunters reinforces Sony Animation Studio's reputation for creating visually stunning, genre-blending spectacles. KPop Demon Hunters will be released on Netflix June 20.
Express Tribune
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Netflix drops trailer for 'KPop Demon Hunters', featuring original music by Teddy Park and TWICE
Netflix has released the official trailer for KPop Demon Hunters, an animated action-musical from Sony Pictures Animation, directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans. KPop Demon Hunters follows Rumi, Mira, and Zoey—K-pop idols by day, secret demon hunters by night—as they battle supernatural threats while maintaining their music careers. Their biggest challenge arrives in the form of a rival demon boy band, testing their strength and loyalty. The film features a soundtrack crafted by top K-pop producers Teddy Park, 24, Danny Chung, Ido, Vince, Kush, and Dominsuk of TheBlackLabel. The original songs are performed by artists including Ejae, Rei Ami, Andrew Choi, Kevin Woo, Samuil Lee, Neckwav, and Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of Twice. 'I have been a fan of these incredible artists and their work for many years,' said director Maggie Kang. 'It's a dream come true to have original songs written and produced by TheBlackLabel and to collaborate with members of Twice. It legitimises our film in the K-pop world.' Co-director Chris Appelhans added, 'We have an amazing voice cast. Byung Hun Lee and Ahn Hyo-seop bring authentic K-drama emotion, while Arden, May, and Ji-young combine star charisma with the humour and depth of young women leading double lives.' KPop Demon Hunters will premiere globally on June 20.
