While Pixar’s Elio floundered at the box office, Netflix’s original animated movie KPop Demon Hunters went viral.
Disney — Pixar in particular — used to be the home of unique concepts, heartfelt stories, and groundbreaking animation. Now, the studio is losing relevancy after a series of box-office flops, controversies, and cash grabs, including Elio, Lightyear, Turning Red, and Toy Story 4. Elio, in particular, only earned $35 million in its opening weekend. According to an artist who worked on the project, the movie was originally written with gay themes that were later scrubbed, leaving the plot empty. Days before the movie was released in theaters, Pixar was already chiding its audience for not supporting “original” animation.
The audience has simply taken its support elsewhere. KPop Demon Hunters remains in Netflix’s top ten movies a month after its release. It has been viewed over 100 million times. Three of the movie’s original songs are in the top ten on global charts. The movie has spawned a flurry of fan edits and HUNTR/X-inspired hair tutorials on social media. It has a 97 percent critic score and a 91 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes to boot.
This is the kind of cultural phenomenon Pixar needs if it wants to continue to be a viable player in children’s and young adults’ entertainment. So, what did KPop Demon Hunters get right that Disney is missing?
A Unique Concept Well Executed
KPop Demon Hunters tells the story of K-pop girl group HUNTER/X — Zoey, Mira, and lead singer Rumi — who protect their world from soul-eating demons by strengthening a magic forcefield called the Honmoon based on how many fans they have. Unbeknownst to the others, Rumi is half demon, and the tell-tale skin patterns that mark her as such are spreading.
Meanwhile, the demons hatch a plan to steal the girls’ fans. Jinu, a human who sold his soul to demon lord Gwi-Ma in exchange for a beautiful voice, proposes to send a group of demons to earth to form a rival boy group. So, the Saja Boys are born.
The Saja Boys are an instant success and steal many of HUNTER/X’s fans, weakening the Honmoon. Jinu and Rumi strike a deal: If Jinu helps HUNTER/X seal the Honmoon, he can stay on earth.
The plan falls apart when Jinu sends demons to reveal Rumi’s patterns onstage, leaving Zoey and Mira feeling betrayed. The Saja Boys stage a final performance to dissolve the Honmoon, but Rumi reconciles with her bandmates, and they interrupt the boys’ performance. They successfully seal the Honmoon with a new song, and Jinu sacrifices his human soul for Rumi so she can remain on earth.
There’s a lot more for the whole family to love — excellently choreographed fight scenes, loveable minor characters, well-timed humor, and an intelligent critique of K-pop idol culture. However, KPop Demon Hunters knows what it is and who it appeals to and leans into that, producing an infinitely better story than if the creators had tried to push an agenda for a quick cash grab.
Understanding the Audience
KPop Demon Hunters’ chief strength is that it understands its audience and gives them exactly what they want. The movie is unapologetically for the girls, striking a balance between relatability and aspiration that Disney failed to achieve in Turning Red, which had a similar target audience of pre-teen girls. However, while that movie’s main character had her relatable puberty struggles, these were overshadowed by unnecessary rebellion.
“I wanted to portray women the way I’ve always wanted to see women portrayed, especially in a superhero movie. I wanted the girls to be funny and silly and goofy and messy, as well as cool and aspirational and sexy,” the director of K-Pop Demon Hunters told Animation Magazine.
The movie delivers on this promise. In addition to strutting their stuff on stage, HUNTR/X is depicted lounging around in their sweatpants, enjoying a ridiculous number of snacks, doing their makeup during a fight, and collapsing exhausted on the couch after their shows. When they initially meet the Saja boys — and develop instant crushes on them before realizing they are demons in disguise — Zoe and Mira’s eyes inexplicably begin spouting popcorn, which strangely makes sense in context.
A central message of KPop Demon Hunters is that honest, vulnerable friendships are far more valuable than relationships shallowed by secrets. Rumi constantly struggles with the gap between who she really is — part demon — and the way her fans and her friends perceive her. For any girls struggling with social media and imposter syndrome, this theme rings true. Rumi’s friends are far less upset about her being part demon than they are that she hid it from them. Meanwhile, Elio‘s failure not only reveals that audiences aren’t interested when studios like Pixar push a sexual agenda on children, but it also serves as a reminder that a story void of a central theme is no story at all.
Aiding its popularity, KPop Demon Hunters is tapping into larger pop culture trends. K-pop, K-dramas, manga, anime, and other pop culture exports from westernized Asian countries are gaining popularity is the U.S., especially among girls. However, the movie, despite being about Asian culture and featuring strong female leads, is not obnoxiously pushing the multiculturalism or feminism of Pixar’s Elemental and Toy Story 4. The setting and the characters just are, much like in Disney’s old, animated Mulan movie.
Because of its ties to probably-transient pop culture trends and its hyper-stylized design, KPop Demon Hunters is unlikely to become a classic. However, the movie is a much-needed kickstart in a market flailing in the aftermath of Elio.