I interviewed Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, the co-directors of K-Pop Demon Hunters, for a special post-screening event hosted by the wonderful folks at MilkTea!
K-Pop Demon Hunters is an animated action/comedy/musical film about the members of a K-pop girl group called Huntrix, who lead double lives as demon hunters. It quickly became the most watched Netflix film in history, going on to win Best Animated Feature at both the Academy Awards and Golden Globes and its hit track, “Golden”, simultaneously winning Best Original Song at the Oscars, Golden Globes and the Critics’ Choice Awards (if you haven’t seen the film yet, you’ve certainly heard its infectious musical numbers!).
Speaking with Maggie and Chris was a delight. It was fascinating to hear how the film came to be. The concept was originally born from Maggie’s desire to create an animated film that celebrated Korean culture and mythology; she described waiting expectantly for such a film to be made, compelling her to eventually put those wheels in motion herself. She also discussed her early cultural influences, and the emotional themes that helped shape the film. Maggie’s background as a story artist spans films including Over the Hedge, Rise of the Guardians, Trolls, and The Croods: A New Age, with K-Pop Demon Hunters being her first feature directorial debut!
Chris joined the project as co-director, bringing his own wealth of experience in animation, having previously written and directed Wish Dragon (one of my favourite films!), alongside work as a concept artist, production designer and story artist on films like Coraline, The Princess and the Frog, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and The Little Prince. He gave great insight into their collaborative creative process, as well as sharing his own personal connections to the film’s themes of identity and conformity.
Your girl also shared her own, MilkTea-exclusive story about auditioning for this very film! I won’t say too much, but somewhere out there is a file of me rapping Nicki Minaj’s ‘Monster’ verse that must never see the light of day…
Both were incredibly generous with their time, thoughtful in their answers and open with the audience. They were on a tight travel schedule and I myself was feeling slightly loopy having come straight from a set – so it was extra wonderful to have such forthcoming guests as interviewees, makes my job easy!
Thank you to MilkTea for inviting me back to host a discussion, and for always creating such special opportunities to celebrate East and Southeast Asian storytelling. It was a privilege to be part of the evening and I hope to be back again soon!
