Animation Guild | We are 839 Digital Magazine
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1535742
SUMMER 2025 29 With animation's potential for sweeping, dynamic movement and eye-catching design, it's no surprise that practically every preschool cartoon (and more than a few studio blockbusters) makes time for the characters to burst into song. But the team behind K-Pop: Demon Hunters has taken this relationship between sight and sound to another level, bringing K-pop to the screen in the tale of three music idols. In their band called HUNTR/X, they must use the magic generated by their fandom to seal the barrier to a demon world. As a huge fan of K-pop, first-time feature Director Maggie Kang had a specific vision for this project. So specific, in fact, that the storyboarded animatic she used to pitch the concept eventually became the film's opening sequence. In it, the idols use a combination of dance and fight choreography to take down a group of demons posing as flight attendants on the way to their next gig. Kang captured the precision and synchronicity of her favorite music genre, and Sony gave it the green light. Moving forward, Kang constructed a reference library filled with images, videos, and performances so that the crew could understand what she was going for. She co-wrote the screenplay with Danya Jimenez, Hannah McMechan, and Director Chris Appelhans, and she and Appelhans did intensive launches with every department, making sure their goals were clear. The crew took it a step further, becoming experts in K-pop and even attending a BLACKPINK concert together (as research, of course). "I saw 50,000 fans of all ages at Dodger Stadium, waving their light sticks, and I became an instant fan," says Ryan Savas, Head of Story. Their newfound appreciation for the popular music genre was passionately infused into their work. Story Artist Bridget Underwood recalls lying on their couch, listening to the songs over and over, feeling out the rhythmic energy. In most films, artists either board to finished songs or to pre-existing temp tracks with the final music added later, but in this process, they worked as the music was being written. Rhythm, choreography, and visual cues were always changing, and this led to endless chances to get things right. SUMMER 2025 29 BY ROMA MURPHY THROUGH THE ART OF ANIMATION, K-POP: DEMON HUNTERS TAKES A DEEP DIVE INTO A CULTURAL PHENOMENON. The team behind K-Pop: Demon Hunters depicted the highly stylized look of the genre's mega-stars with the main characters (from left) Zoey, Rumi, and Mira. Images courtesy of Netflix.