Film at the top of the Netflix chart proves that original animation can still flourish

Let’s not Sugarcoat – Original animation is in a bit of a rough spot these days. Between The gut cancellation of the emmy prize “The Tiny Chef Show,” “Elio” Pixar flies on the opening weekend of the box office (I still hope for “Elemental” return narrative), the endless parade of living redoing empties the animated classics we grew up on, and Max removes original episodes “The Looney Tunes” For some godly reason, things look, well … bleak! But among the Internet thoughts and the hashtags “RIP Original Animation”, the air-hysteria collapses prematurely. Point case: “Kpop Demon Hunters” out here is absolutely thriving, and does not play according to anyone’s dusty rules.

The latest team between Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation, the glitter drenching glasses, a demon spectrum “Kpop Demon Hunters” is the sequence of the last company of the last company “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, nominated for the Academy Award. Instead of bringing a dear piece of IP to life, the film focuses on a K-pop girls group called Huntr/X, which includes Rumi Pop idols (Arden Cho/Ejae), Mira (May Hong/Audrey Nuna), and Zoey (Ji-Young Yoo/Rei Ami). The trio is not only one of the most popular musical acts in the world, but they are also the latest in a long lineage of demon hunters who are tasked with using their musical gifts to maintain the Honmoon barrier that seals demons-and their leader, GWI-MA (“Squid Game” Villain Lee Byung-Hun) -The human world.

Under the confident direction of Maggie Kang (in his first appearance) and co-director/author Chris Appelhans, “Kpop Demon Hunters” explodes on screen as a genius-genated animated poem with the legitimate songs of Oscar -abains, stunning, inventive animation, and emotionally borders, and beonments, and indebted, and indebted Presence, and Beonme, and Beonmente, and Beonments, and Beonments, and Purified, and Lack of Story, get his Fountain. He has everything someone might want in an animated film, and based on his stellar performance on Netflix, audiences display en masse.

“Kpop Demon Hunters” wears its influences as a Bedazzled Honors Badge, with the flavors of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “totally spies,” “The PowerPuff Girls,” and anime turning into a good measure. And yet, what could have been a derivative mash is landing as a smart, cheerful thematic remix. Arc Rumi, in particular, is an exploration of a generation obligation and accepts even the darkest truths about its existence, while also juggling the challenges of everyday existence in the world alone. Incorporated into a k-pop entertainment landscape-which has become increasingly influential to American audiences (you can thank Star “The White Lotus” and Blackpink Lisa Member For the current Labubu Labubu) – gives the film’s relevance of the film and determined now sensation. So many films these days are desperately trying to gain feelings from yesterday or repeat formulas honored by word for word, but “Kpop Demon Hunters” evolves the familiar to something thrillingly fresh.

A large part of the film’s success comes courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation, which continues its reign as a style powerhouse. Following images push the boundaries of the “Spider-Verse” movies and “The Mitchells vs the machines,” This film once again highlights the studio’s mastery of mixing animation styles, textures and tones. Each specific piece shines, drenched in a hyper-flawless color and kinetic details-but the quieter, or more absurd character moments that shine real.

The CG animation flirts with the expressive elasticity of classic 2D anime styles, providing striking surface contortions without sacrificing the futuristic gloss. Zoey, in particular, is a comedic revelation: Whether shark’s toothpicks are mid-rant anime or get her morph eyes into a six pack (which is then unexplained in corn on the cob and eventually becomes full of full popcorn) at Ogling the Saja-Band Saja-band K-pop, a ghost boyband in the visual film Compatible with frenetic, electric and exciting worlds hunting k-pop and devil, and cementing “Kpop demon hunters” as one of the year’s most original cinematic rides.

When he performed “Elio” compared to the opening of weekend projections, Doug Creutz, a media analyst at TD Cowen, said Close. This assertion – that audiences are to blame for the performance of a declining box office from original animated features – not only erroneous, it is intellectually lazy. Audiences do not reject original animation; They respond to a market that has made such content increasingly inaccessible and unaffordable.

Last month, he removed “Lilo & Stitch” large crowds reshaped live-not only because he is a “identical IP” in an age where cultural complacency reigns, but because of families, It represents a lower risk investment. If I bought one adult and two children’s tickets to see “Elio” at my local theater in the earliest non-Matinee screening (to accommodate for parents who have to work), it would cost me $ 59.04-and that before factoring in pricy outlandish concession. In our current economic climate, it is understandable that families are risky in terms of what they are going to see in theaters. When marketing is very small and film has a brand familiar, people are much less likely to spend more than $ 70 on what feels like a gamble.

Meanwhile, “Demon Hunters’ Kpop is streaming on Netflix – immediately accessible to millions, at no extra cost beyond the subscription and ability to be enjoyed from the comfort of the sofa. As much as I would have put a member to see this in all his great, beautiful glory on the big screen where he belongs, no doubt, his success is credited to the accessibility of a streaming platform. This is not a matter of audience apathy. It is a structural problem within a combined industry that has made theatrical experiences increasingly cost-trio. Until that changes, original animated films will continue to thrive where accessibility is overburdened – and that is probably not going to be in film theaters, but on streaming platforms.