‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Finds Music That Slays (Monsters)

For head Maggie Kang (“The Lego Ninjago Movie”), “KPop: Demon Hunters,” from Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, represents nan fulfillment of a 20-year desire to make an animated movie astir Korean culture. But what began arsenic an exploration of demonology evolved into an explosive mashup of action and K-pop.

The film follows nan celebrated K-pop group Huntrix, comprised of Rumi (Arden Cho), Mira (May Hong), and Zoey (Ji-young Yoo), who lead double lives arsenic demon hunters. Up against nan supernatural unit of demons controlled by nan fiery Gwi-Ma (Byung-hun Lee), nan Huntrix abruptly find themselves competing pinch a boy set called Saja Boys, who are concealed demons led by Jinu (Ahn Hyo-seop). There’s moreover a spicy twist that connects Jinu and Rumi that’s worthy of immoderate K-drama and allows “KPop Demon Hunters” to tackle questions of dual identities and acheronian sides.

“I was drawn to demonology and thought that [it] would beryllium very visually impactful to characteristic successful mainstream media,” Kang told IndieWire. “And truthful that people led to demon hunters and a group of really badass superhero women. I felt for illustration I wasn’t seeing women who were excessively relatable for maine successful this superhero marketplace that is truthful saturated.”

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Kang wanted to spot women who were funny and goofy and unafraid to look stupid and ugly, gorging themselves connected snacks earlier a performance aliases a fight. There was besides nan opportunity to person philharmonic fighting sequences and K-pop concerts, wherever nan performances person to beryllium believable capable to pull specified a ample fanbase.

“That group nan reside for what nan movie could be,” she added. “And past nan K-Pop of it each really was folded successful past because demon hunting is usually done successful secret. And truthful these girls needed a nationalist look and K-Pop felt Korean and would bring spectacle and standard to everything, and evidently made it a musical, and it served arsenic a really bully pitching point.”

Wrapping it each astir nosy philharmonic action, though, allowed for an opportunity to delve into anime-influenced CG, courtesy of Sony Pictures Imageworks (the “Spider-Verse” franchise). This included eye-popping colors and 2D-like effects arsenic nan backdrop for nan glitter Huntrix to conflict an assortment of iconic demons (goblins, zombies, shapeshifters, and messengers of decease successful achromatic robes).

“You wanna find immoderate unsocial ocular elements for your movie that are unsocial to animation, and you request to fto nan movie thief show you what those are,” chap head Chris Appelhans (“Wish Dragon”) told IndieWire. “And truthful this thought that Maggie had, representing women pinch much range, was really adjuvant successful pulling from this awesome connection of goofy, cheapie artistic that immoderate anime do.”

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They took inspiration from K-dramas, wherever nan actresses uncover a scope of drama and melodrama, euphony videos for nan fighting, performance lighting, and editorial photography. But it was reliable to exemplary and rig to seizure precocious glitter aliases hyper-ridiculous facial expressions. “To activity successful 3D, it didn’t request to consciousness for illustration a momentary illustration, but much of a claymation approach,” added Appelhans. “As soon arsenic we committed to that, it felt good to those kinds of boundaries. We’re not trying to do 2D shorthand, we’re trying to support it each emotion dimensional, immoderate nan characters do. And past we sewage into nan action worldly and that was inspired by immoderate awesome camera blocking and shortening that they do successful anime.”

But pulling disconnected philharmonic action sequences was hard, particularly since they had to hold for nan songs to beryllium completed to decorativeness nan animation. But they were capable to do cuts and storyboards to nan tempos of nan songs. The highlights see “Golden,” “What It Sounds Like,” and “Takedown,” nan lead azygous from nan soundtrack (performed by Jeongyeon, Jihyo, and Chaeyoung of TWICE).

The first conflict was really 1 of nan past ones that they animated. It occurs connected a level during a frantic unreserved to get to their concert, accompanied by a rap philharmonic beat. “ I deliberation we ever talked astir it being benignant of for illustration ‘Baby Driver,’ pinch nan conflict punches connected nan beat,” Kang said. “ So, arsenic soon arsenic nan euphony kicks in, we alteration lighting, each these different things happen.  We conscionable wanted nan girls to person nosy and footwear butt to nan beat.”

The train conflict against a flowing wide of zombie demons provided a darker contrast. “The number of enemies was really a method challenge,” Appelhans said. “And nan animators did immoderate prototyping pinch blocking that successful pinch a elemental measurement that would later beryllium almost dressed up pinch nan bodies of each nan zombies.

‘KPop Demon Hunters’NETFLIX

“But nan different really nosy point astir that series was trying to support nan camera narration pinch nan characters and nan capacity they’re giving. Trying to find nan correct angles truthful you’re oriented, but besides find nan correct illusion of speed, going for illustration 4,000 miles an hr successful bid to get nan inheritance to do what it does.

Animating “Takedown,” a really toxic fellow break-up song, was besides difficult to animate. “We really wanted to characteristic a segment wherever nan girls wrote a opus successful nan portion of nan movie wherever they’re having to juggle truthful much,” added Kang. “And they’re getting overwhelmed because nan Saja Boys are gaining traction, and Rumi is emotion different things astir herself and what nan hunters represent.”

As successful live-action, they changeable a batch of sum and lined them each up successful hunt of happy accidents, which is not customary successful animation. “You person to tie it each first and scheme it out, truthful it was a mind bender,” added Appelhans. “ But it was breathtaking to do a series that’s astir building a song, telling a story, and besides cutting connected thumps and having action and speech happen.”

“KPop Demon Hunters” is now streaming connected Netflix.