‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Writers/Directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans on shaping HUNTR/X and Creative Inspirations [VIDEO INTERVIEW]
There is no denying that KPop Demon Hunters is the global phenomenon of the year. Full of dazzling animation, a rich sense of culture and lore, an emotionally resonant story, and one banger song after another, the film shattered record after record ever since its June release on Netflix.
By the end of July, the film became Netflix’s most watched original animated film of all time. By the end of August, it surpassed Red Notice and became Netflix’s most watched film. Lastly, by the time September arrived, KPop Demon Hunters passed the first season of Squid Game. It is now Netflix’s “most watched title ever” with a staggering 325 million views.
Writers/directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans crafted a stylish, entertaining movie that hit the cultural zeitgeist, but none of it would’ve been possible without first telling an impactful story with memorable characters and deeply felt themes. For Maggie and Chris, a lot of effort was put into shaping HUNTR/X, the K-pop girl group in the film, with special care and attention put into its lead member Rumi, who spends the crux of the story hiding the truth that she is secretly half-demon.
When speaking to Maggie and Chris, I asked them about Rumi’s journey and the creative inspiration behind highlighting such personal struggles.
Kevin L Lee: Congratulations on an incredible movie!
Maggie and Chris: Thank you!
KL: I just want to start with a question for you both. On a story and character level, this movie felt very personal. You touched on ideas like generational trauma, the sense of inner shame, and the struggle of how do you love yourself fully, right? I just wanted to know, what was the inspiration behind some of those ideas and what was the process like in shaping Rumi’s journey?
Chris: Hmm, that’s a good question.
Maggie: That’s a really good question. I think the idea of shame felt like, you know, something we haven’t explored a lot of, especially in animation. It is a very mature, kind of deep theme, but it’s something that I think everybody can relate to. I think the first few screenings we had, we had 6-7-year olds really, you know, recognized that theme and explained it to us. So it felt like something that could resonate with anybody, no matter their age and experience.
And [laughs] shame is a very Korean thing, you know. That’s how I was punished as a child with shame and so it just felt kind of like a natural thing to lean into for a movie about Asian people. And I think when we started to really hone in on the mythology and showcase the kind of older generations of the hunters, it also felt like naturally we wanted to tell a story that was about generational trauma and making up for that and the changes that the new generations bring to this centuries-old legacy.
And then, you know, with Rumi, I think one of the hardest things about this film was telling a story that wasn’t an origin story. We wanted her shame to be a lived-in shame, something that she had lived with for many years and was kind of stewing in it. And so we knew early on that that’s the character that we wanted to build and kind of come out of that at the end of our journey. So, yeah, that was kind of set pretty early on.
Chris: I grew up in a small town in Idaho a long time ago, because I’m old. But I had two people close to me who were in the closet their own lives. More than anything, from their own families. I think when working on Rumi’s story, the thing that really blew my mind about my friends and how they got through it was… there was this permanent heartbreak that they could not be loved for all of themselves and yet, they went out in the world and they found a new group of people who could. And they built a new family and they built a new way to live. They had to write a new version, basically.
When we were really digging into Rumi’s story, the idea that she was going to have to see the old Honmoon destroyed and sing that new song that no hunter knew how to sing. It was such a perfect analogy. Other parts of the analogy aren’t perfect, but that part of the strength that it takes, I’m so impressed by the strength. If you watch, like Paris is Burning, like, the strength of those people to find a way to make families and live. So I felt like that was, on a personal level, really helpful to tap into writing those scenes.
KL: Does it surprise you about how much your movie has been resonating with people of all different cultures?
Chris: I guess not?
Maggie: I think we’re surprised by the scale of it, but you did feel like it was a story that a lot of people can relate to and come at it from different experiences, in which we’ve heard, you know.
Chris: Yeah, and everybody wants unconditional love, you know. Literally everybody. So I think the fact you have somebody chasing that in a flawed way and then finding the right way… whatever your particular inner demons or your shame, your powers are, that could take so many forms, but the journey is pretty accessible, I think.
Maggie: One of my favorite things is… I’ve read this a few times – Fans expressing their surgery scars as, as kind of embracing them, as the journey that they’ve deepened on and the pain and learning to really embrace that and learning that from the movie. I thought that was really beautiful. And really unexpected, really.
Chris: Yeah. And you know, it reminds me when we were writing the last song, the breakthrough it was. Basically talking to the songwriters and saying, “This isn’t like a song about just a happy ending.” Actually, it’s about continuing a kind of struggle. And like, you’re gonna carry pain with you forever. Like, it’s not like ooh, all done now. And I think there’s sort of an honesty about that that’s not a perfect tidy thing that people take with them rather than just being like, “Yay, we’re done here. Life is fixed.”
KL: Well, I can’t express enough how much I love this movie. I’ve been listening to the songs on repeat, and you guys deserve all the praise in the world for telling such a great story. So thank you so much and congratulations again.
Chris: Oh, thank you.
Maggie: Thank you, Kevin.
KPop Demon Hunters is currently available to stream on Netflix.
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