“KPop Demon Hunters” – The Oscar-Nominated Cultural Phenomenon

Oscars 2026

by Mascha DeikovaMarch 13^th, 2026

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It’s close to impossible that you haven’t at least heard about this film. But even if that’s the case, you have most definitely heard the music. I’m talking about “KPop Demon Hunters,” Netflix’s animated fantasy musical that quickly became a global cultural phenomenon. The songs composed for it are not only all over social media but also on the Billboard Hot 100 hits chart. The characters inspire millions all over the world. And the film itself? Gathering one award after another! What’s so special about this animated story? In the vein of our Oscars run this week, let’s unpack it!

I’m a millennial, and like many millennials, we grew up watching “Sailor Moon” (yes, even in post-USSR Russia), dreaming of becoming pretty guardians with supernatural powers who fought villains to save the world. It turns out that nowadays, children want to become “KPop Demon Hunters”, a K-pop girl group that secretly fights demons. The animated musical film I am referring to has not only become the most-watched original title in Netflix’s history, but it has also received countless accolades, including two Academy Award nominations.

A perfect blend for a cultural phenomenon

“KPop Demon Hunters” is an American musical urban fantasy film directed by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans and produced by Sony Pictures Animation for Netflix. It follows a popular K-pop girl band, called “Huntrix,” who hunt demons as a secret side-hustle.

They use music, songs, and dance to protect the world from the threat. In the story, the girls (Zoey, Mira, and Rumi) have to face a rival boy band, the Saja Boys, whose members are undercover demons and want to steal their fans’ souls. At first glance, the plot doesn’t sound like something unusual or first-of-its-kind, does it? Well, hang on a minute.

In this short making-of featurette, the director Maggie Kang explains that she wanted to write something about Korean folklore. After all, most people are intrigued by demon stories. But she needed someone cool, someone tough to fight these demons. So she added K-pop music on top, and bam, everything clicked. I guess this animated feature has become the perfect blend of Korean culture, the catchy spirit of their insanely popular music, art, action, drama, anime-inspired humor, beautiful graphic design, and a range of universally relatable themes. (We’re talking not only about general female empowerment, but also deeper layers. Take Rumi, for example. She is part demon, part hunter, and struggles with feeling like she does not fully belong, which makes her relatable to many.)

After it was released on Netflix, it became so popular that cinemas started to organize so-called sing-alongs. Sing-alongs are events where you can watch the movie in theaters while also singing along with the audience, like in a concert crowd.

The relatability factor of “KPop Demon Hunters”

In an interview, co-director Chris Appelhans mentions that one of his favorite things about this project was to create girl characters that actually act like girls, and not just “pristine superheroes.” The filmmakers wanted to achieve a duality through story, but also visually. On one hand, the protagonists are beautiful K-pop stars, popular, glamorous, fashionable:

And on the other hand, they are human. They cry, make faces while eating, and have a weird sense of humor. To express these exaggerated facial expressions, the directors leaned heavily on an anime and manga style in 3D. In practice, they deconstructed the faces almost as if they were 2D drawings, then added volume to give them a familiar yet fresh look:

Both directors admitted that they love “silly” jokes, slapstick comedy, and films that combine this kind of humor with honest and touching themes. As they explained in this conversation with the famous YouTube VFX artists “Corridor Digital,” they bonded over films like “Kung Fu Hustle,” Korean cinema, and Bong Joon Ho’s works, such as “The Host.” And although they referenced classic animated series like the previously mentioned “Sailor Moon” and “Cowboy Bebop” in “KPop Demon Hunters,” they also found a lot of freedom and fun in working with “silly” humor. This proved just as important in making the results both relatable and entertaining to watch.

Not an easy project

In the same conversation, the directors compare this project to a scene from “Children of Men.” In particular the long take where characters carry a baby through a war zone to safety. It took them roughly seven years to bring the idea to life, and it was by no means an easy journey. First, neither Maggie nor Chris is a music specialist or professional choreographer. And if you want a film centered on K-pop culture, you have to learn the craft to deliver pop-star-level performances that feel authentic. Maggie recalls how she started sketching the airplane scene, which had been part of the concept from the beginning:

She instantly felt trapped, she says. To execute such a sequence, they had to juggle many elements: characters, comedy, action, music, choreography, fights, mythology, all in a single scene. Maggie adds that every scene in the movie came with that same challenge. They wanted every detail to be perfect. Just a curious tidbit: “KPop Demon Hunters” has more costume changes than any other animated film, with an impressive 108 pieces of clothing that had to be designed, colored, and animated.

On top of that, neither of them considers themselves a huge musical fan. Thus, they didn’t want to make the classical “break into a song” musical. They tried to approach it from a different perspective.

Music: the centerpiece of “KPop Demon Hunters”

They knew they couldn’t start production without the finished songs since they formed the backbone of the film. In Chris’s words, this was probably the most challenging part because the music had to work on several levels. First off, it had to convey the story. Second, it needed to work as a pop song. (And they clearly succeeded, with viral TikTok dances and high chart positions as proof!) In addition, each song had multiple meanings.

Take the anthem “Golden” as an example. (Personally, I recognized the single within the first few beats, even before I knew what KPop Demon Hunters was.)

On the surface, it reflects the characters’ goal in the plot, as they hope it will turn the Honmoon, the magical barrier against demons, golden. From a storytelling perspective, the song tells the audience a bit about Mira and Zoey and where they came from, as well as Rumi’s secret. It also carries an empowering message: “We started as nobodies, and now we’re on top.” The icing on the cake is that the words and melody are so catchy that “Golden” works outside the film, just as emotional and powerful as it is within the story. No wonder it became so popular and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

Behind the scenes: storyboards

After the music was finished, the filmmakers proceeded with an extensive storyboarding process. With temporary voices, raw drawings (one sketch every 12 frames) – sometimes still, sometimes with slight motion – the film started to take on its form.

In the directors’ words, animated storyboards are one of the most critical, and often underrated, parts of the process. They help double-check elements like editing, pacing, story development, suspense, humor, and emotional reactions before moving into a very expensive full production.

The creators of “KPop Demon Hunters” even screened the full storyboard movie in the middle of production to a massive public audience in a theater. Some people walked out because they could not watch the story in such a rudimentary form. Yet many others stayed. As Chris Appelhans emphasizes, if you can get a theater full of people to feel something for 90 minutes at the storyboard stage, it’s only going to get better.

Conclusion

Naturally, there are different ways to approach an animated feature. (Last year, we wrote about an indie-style “Flow,” which also won an impressive collection of awards.) There is no one way that is correct. However, it is always a long, multi-layered, and complicated process that involves many specialists. After storyboards come character and environment design, 3D modeling, building, painting, rigging, animation, compositing, color grading, as well as voice acting, song recording, music mixing, and more. In the end, all these elements must come together into a unified vision with the tone and story the directors set out to achieve. In “KPop Demon Hunters,” they clearly did.

The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will take place this Sunday, March 15, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Stay tuned to find out more about the event and who will have the honor of taking home a prize (or prizes) this year. In the meantime, you can read our essays about other nominees with striking cinematography and interesting directing choices (“One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” “Hamnet,” “Train Dreams”).

Feature image: a film still from “KPop Demon Hunters” by Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, 2025 / Courtesy of Netflix.

Have you or your kids watched “KPop Demon Hunters”? What do you think about this movie? Why has it become such a cultural phenomenon, in your opinion? Let’s talk further in the comments below!