‘KPop Demon Hunters’ wins best animated feature at the Oscars

KPop Demon Hunters Wins Best Animated Feature at the 98th Academy Awards

Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters” capped a dominant awards season Sunday night, winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature at the 98th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. The film defeated Disney’s “Zootopia 2,” Pixar’s “Elio,” Neon’s “Arco,” and France’s “Little Amélie or the Character of Rain” to claim the prize.gizmodo

Co-director Maggie Kang delivered an emotional acceptance speech alongside fellow director Chris Appelhans and producer Michelle L.M. Wong. “For those of you who look like me, I’m so sorry that it took so long to see us in a movie like this, but it is here,” Kang said. “This is for Korea and Koreans everywhere.”latimes

A Cultural Phenomenon

The animated film, which follows fictional K-pop girl group Huntr/x as they battle supernatural forces with their music, has been a cultural juggernaut since its Netflix debut last June. It became the platform’s most-watched movie ever, accumulating more than 480 million views as of January, according to the Los Angeles Times. Its soundtrack spawned multiple hits, with “Golden” spending eight weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 and producing a historic four simultaneous top-10 songs on the chart, including “Soda Pop” and “How It’s Done.”billboard

The ceremony also featured a live performance of “Golden” by EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami — the trio who voice the film’s singing characters — accompanied by traditional Korean instrumentalists and dancers. The song, which had already won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song and a Grammy, was also nominated for Best Original Song at the Oscars.latimes

From Near-Retirement to the Oscar Stage

The win held particular meaning for Arden Cho, who voices lead character Rumi. Three years ago, after her Netflix series “Partner Track” was canceled after one season, Cho was ready to leave the industry. “When it got canceled, I decided to quit the business because I just felt like maybe that was that for me,” she said in a TikTok post last August. She spent a year and a half traveling before the “KPop Demon Hunters” role drew her back. “This project reminded me of the reason I started acting in the first place,” Cho told The Korea Times.slashfilm

The Oscar victory follows wins at the Golden Globes, Critics’ Choice Awards, Annie Awards, and the Producers Guild Awards, with the film collecting 130 of 187 nominations across award bodies heading into Sunday’s ceremony.gizmodo