Golden Globes Double-Win Gives ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ The Lead In This Year’s Animated Feature Race

KPop Demon Hunters scored a key two-part victory at last night’s 83rd Golden Globe Awards, winning best animated motion picture and original song for “Golden,” a combination that positions the Netflix and Sony Pictures Animation release as the frontrunner in this year’s animated feature Oscar race.

The film was also nominated for the relatively new Cinematic Box Office and Achievement award, which eventually went to Sinners.

While accepting the animated feature award on Sunday evening, co-director Maggie Kang spoke about KPDH’s cultural roots and the importance of how its female leads are portrayed.

“Thank you to the Golden Globes and for everyone who believed that a movie so deeply rooted in Korean culture could resonate with a global audience,” Kang said. “Through this film, we really wanted to depict female characters the way that we know women, which is really strong and bold, really silly and weird, and really hungry for food, and sometimes a little thirsty.”

Fellow co-director Chris Appelhans described their work as “a love letter to music, to the power it has to connect us, to make us see some kind of shared humanity.” He added, “We just have to thank the fans for embracing the film. It meant everything,” before acknowledging Netflix, Sony Pictures Animation, Imageworks, and the crew who worked on the movie “through six years of nights and weekends.”

The film’s breakout single “Golden” won best song. Kim Eun-jae (Ejae), who performs Rumi’s singing voice in the film and wrote the lyrics to the track, used her acceptance speech to talk about her long road to becoming a professional singer and songwriter.

“When I was a little girl, I worked tirelessly for 10 years to fulfill one dream, to become a K-pop idol,” she said. “And I was rejected and disappointed that my voice wasn’t good enough. And so I leaned on songs and music to get through it. So now I’m here as a singer and a songwriter.”

She said being part of the song’s story had a special meaning to her because of how audiences have responded to it. “It’s a dream come true to be part of a song that is helping other girls, other boys, and everyone from all ages to get through their hardship and to accept themselves.”

Ejae closed the speech by addressing artists who have faced rejection, saying, “This award goes to people who’ve had their doors closed at them… I can confidently say rejection is redirection. And so never give up. And you know, it’s never too late to shine like you were born to be.”

With the wins, KPop Demon Hunters leaves the Golden Globes with the strongest awards momentum heading into the Oscars. Since the Globes added an animated feature category in 2006, their picks have closely tracked the Academy’s, with the two bodies selecting different winners only four times in the 20 years since.

BEST MOTION PICTURE – ANIMATED

• Arco (NEON)
• Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – Infinity Castle (Aniplex, Crunchyroll, Sony Pictures Entertainment)
• Elio (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
• KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix) – WINNER
• Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (GKIDS)
• Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE

“Dream as One” – Avatar: Fire and Ash
Music & Lyrics: Miley Cyrus, Andrew Wyatt, Mark Ronson, Simon Franglen

“Golden” – KPop Demon Hunters – WINNER
Music: Joong Gyu Kwak, Yu Han Lee, Hee Dong Nam, Jeong Hoon Seo, Park Hong Jun
Lyrics: Kim Eun-jae (EJAE), Mark Sonnenblick

“I Lied to You” – Sinners
Music & Lyrics: Raphael Saadiq, Ludwig Göransson

“No Place Like Home” – Wicked: For Good
Music & Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz

“The Girl in the Bubble” – Wicked: For Good
Music & Lyrics: Stephen Schwartz

“Train Dreams” – Train Dreams
Music: Nick Cave, Bryce Dessner
Lyrics: Nick Cave