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Acclaimed Korean-American animator and filmmaker Gene Kim recently brought out a new Director's Cut version of his 2019 film One Last Monster. The latest animated independent short promises viewers an adventurous sci-fi/fantasy ride, further developed from its original source.
Based in the fictional planet of Adin—a reimagined variation of the Joseon Dynasty—the film packs in Korean history and culture in its contemporary anime narrative. The original version bagged over 100 international laurels, nominations, and official selections, including the 2020 First Prize for Best Animated Short at the Academy Award-qualifying FLICKERS' Rhode Island International Film Festival.
The film, which was made over the course of two years with only two animators on board, has Empress Eura, the ruler of Adin, as its protagonist. She comes face-to-face with a predicament surrounding a weapon developed by the kingdom.
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When an alien monster arrives with a dire warning, the weapon initially seen as a protection for her kingdom becomes a potential tool for destroying galaxies. Eura must now confront her prejudices and decide whether to trust the monster's claim or rely on her people, who may unknowingly unleash a catastrophe.
In conversation with animator Gene Kim on his film One Last Monster: The Official 2024 Director's Cut
The original 2019 film went on to be featured by celebrated media names like Forbes, NextShark, and more and was even displayed on a large electronic screen at Times Square, NYC. It caught the eye of former Korean President Moon Jae-in, earning a letter of recognition, and its trailer was also presented to the former First Lady of South Korea Kim Jung-sook.
Gene Kim, who has worked with Disney and Pixar, is currently a storyboard artist who has worked on shows for Netflix, HBO Max, and other streaming platforms. Speaking with SK POP's Sreejita Karmakar, here's what he had to say about the new Director's Cut and its reputed preceding version.
Q) Hello, Gene! Thank you so much for joining this interview. Congratulations on releasing One Last Monster: The Official 2024 Director's Cut. Could you share what inspired you to create the original film and the new version, including your creative process, especially working with just one other animator?
Gene: It’s my sincere pleasure to be here with you and your wonderful readers! One Last Monster emerged from a long-standing desire of mine to create a fantasy epic inspired by things like the Final Fantasy games, Lord of the Rings, or anime such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, Robotech, or Rurouni Kenshin. I’m also a huge fan of Chinese Wuxia films and stories like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, and Journey To The West. I wanted to create a similar kind of fantasy epic adventure story but rooted in Korean culture and history—something I didn’t really see growing up as a Korean-American.
There’s also a lot from a more personal and emotional perspective that went into the story of the film. 2016 was a turbulent time for the US politically, and living through that period was rough at times. I had also lost my mother to cancer in 2015, and I went through an agonizing period of doubting my Christian faith because of that, though I held onto it in the end.
The story of the film involves a character (Empress Eura) going way out of her comfort zone and embracing the unknown instead of being afraid of it in order to grow. As a creator, it was really satisfying to take all these personal feelings and artistic influences and mold them into this short film.
Q) The original version of One Last Monster received over 100 international accolades and nominations. How did this recognition impact you personally and professionally? How do you hope the new version will resonate with audiences and critics?
Gene: It was an amazing feeling to see an original, untested idea resonate with audiences like that—pretty validating, especially considering the ambition and risk of making a 25-minute animated film from scratch! I hope that this new version is even more well received because it corrects a number of animation and storytelling issues that the old one has (and I hope people forget about the old version!) Almost every shot was remastered and touched up in some way; some shots were almost entirely redone. So I’m excited for this version to become the true face of the One Last Monster universe.
Q) How would you describe the latest Director's Cut release as being different from the original 2019 film? How much of the final product has lived up to your expectations as its creator?
Gene: I think the story and character motivations are far more clearer in this one thanks to the introductory text that appears in the beginning (which is an animated sequence set against a visual pattern inspired by Korean Buddhist temple paintings). I have my wife to thank for some really good constructive criticism that fixed some of the storytelling issues she had in trying to understand the story. It’s also really cool for me personally to animate entirely new shots and get to play in the One Last Monster sandbox again. I couldn’t be more proud.
Q) Through your original film One Last Monster, you wanted to honor some 80s/90s anime, as mentioned in Forbes' article on the same. Who would you call your inspirations among anime creators? Also, what are some anime that shaped your creative journey?
Gene: Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa, and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya were probably the major influences on One Last Monster because all three movies are very cinematic and tell stories of deep substance and thought in a visually beautiful way. I’d also say the aforementioned Evangelion, Kenshin, and Robotech were also huge as inspirations for how to tell an action-adventure story in an exciting way. There’s just something really amazing about how 80s and 90s anime got the storytelling and characters right. I absorbed all these films and TV shows as a kid, and so it’s gratifying to see the influence come out in my own work.
I should say that the non-anime influences were also just as important as the anime influences on this film. I wanted to make a short film that would be accessible and enjoyable even to people who don’t watch anime. So movies as varied as The Queen with Helen Mirren, Breaking Bad, Star Wars, Star Trek, Dune, and even Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo and Throne of Blood helped make One Last Monster feel even more like a real film.
As much as I love anime, I think it’s important as a creator to have as diverse a range of influences as possible; otherwise, your work ends up looking like what everyone else is making.
Q) In the same Forbes interview, you spoke about growing up in New York City and encountering people who knew little about Korean culture. How do you see the latest Director's Cut contributing to a broader understanding of Korean history and culture, particularly in the age of the rapidly spreading Hallyu or Korean Wave?
Gene: Great question. It’s really so wonderful how popular Korean entertainment has become all around the world and in the United States as well, first of all. I sometimes run into non-Koreans who are passionate about learning the language and know a ton about K-Dramas and K-Pop—it’s amazing. I would hope that One Last Monster can help non-Korean audiences further appreciate Korean history.
Additionally, Korean anime, also known as “hanguk aeni” (한국 애니) isn’t as well known as Japanese anime, so I hope that One Last Monster can help bring more attention to animation about Korean culture or animation produced in Korea. Hanguk aeni is the one area of the Korean wave that I feel is a bit underrepresented at this moment compared to K-Dramas, K-Pop, and webtoons.
Q) Your film is set during the Joseon Dynasty and reimagines it as the fictional planet of Adin. Can you share some insights about your historical research process and how you blended historical elements with sci-fi and fantasy themes?
Gene: Surprisingly, the idea to base Adin off of Joseon-era kind of came late in the writing process. I forget what I was reading, but I remember reading that Joseon Korea had cut itself off from the wider world and put up a barrier. Makes sense after being attacked and invaded over and over again. Not to get political, but then when I realized the same rhetoric about building walls and isolating ourselves from the world was coming up in the US around the 2016 election, I immediately saw a modern-day parallel.
So I thought, “What if instead of hostile foreign powers, Korea was invaded by hostile extraterrestrials?” and after that, it all started to come together. I additionally thought, “What if instead of becoming hostile to the rest of the universe, Adin overcomes the temptation to fight fire with fire but stops the cycle?” That’s the story in a nutshell.
There are plenty of surface-level references to Korean history as well. Emperor Taejo takes his name from the real-life Emperor Taejo, who was the founder of the Joseon dynasty. Eura’s costume is based off of the red costume of Queen Seongduk I saw in a 2009 TV K-Drama based off her life. The giant armored turtles are a nod to the ironclad Turtle Boats of Joseon’s Admiral Yi-Soon Shin.
Prime Minister Oolong the Rabbit is a nod to the Korean children’s song Santokki (산토끼), which means “mountain rabbit.” Rabbits are also just my favorite animal. Lastly, this isn’t so much a historical reference, but I should note that Emperor Eura was also inspired by my late mother, who I think had the same energy and desire to do the right thing as Eura.
Q) You have had a diverse career, currently working at Netflix and HBO Max, while having been a former Disney and Pixar CG artist. What is one key takeaway from all these roles and experiences?
Gene: I’ve really come to appreciate that no matter what the genre or setting is for any TV show or movie, the secret formula to an entertaining film seems to be a compelling story, likable characters, clear storytelling, and thematic depth. It’s amazing how not having one of these elements can wreck a project and potentially alienate an audience. It’s kind of ironic that having worked on some mega-budget projects with the latest technology that in the end that stuff all means nothing if we don’t get the story right.
Q) Your creative team behind One Last Monster includes lead animator Elmer Barcenes and concept artist Eileen Kim. What were some of the challenges and highlights of this collaboration, and how did you manage to achieve such precision and quality with limited creative minds?
Gene: Working with Elmer and Eileen was absolutely wonderful (and shoutout to our music composers Lulu Chen and Cai-Jhen Jhu as well!) They all communicated so well, as we all worked remotely in the New York City/New Jersey area of the United States, where I live. I think their passion, as well as the Toon Boom Harmony software we used to animate everything, are the reasons that One Last Monster looks like a much bigger independent production than it actually was. The only real challenge was the amount of work we had; Elmer and I each animated about 10,000 frames for a total of 20,000 frames over the course of two years.
I think the highlight was just the fact that we were able to pull off such big shots with things like moving cameras, multiple characters, fight scenes, etc. Of course, if we had a normal TV or film budget, we’d be able to create animation of incredible quality, but there’s a lot in this film that hopefully looks cinematic. I’m just so pleased we were able to do it with such limited resources.
Q) You previously mentioned plans to expand the Monster universe. Can you give us a sneak peek into what audiences can expect from future projects within or outside of this universe?
Gene: I’ve partnered up with NextShark, which is a leading platform for Asian-American media, and so we’re going to soon be exploring the possibility of creating more content based on One Last Monster, such as a webtoon. The dream would be to fundraise to do an entire anime TV series and get it on a major streaming platform. But one thing at a time, I suppose! You can stay tuned at our YouTube channel (YouTube/One Last Monster) or Instagram (Instagram/one.last.monster) for more info.
Q) As we reach the end of this interview, would you like to share any messages with our Sportskeeda readers and your fans?
Gene: I would love it if you would please go check out One Last Monster and support the creation of more Korean anime. It’s so beautiful to see so many wonderful people from different cultures support each other, and I’m grateful that you took the time to read this interview. Thank you so much for being fans of Korean culture and entertainment!
Gene Kim's newest One Last Monster: The Official 2024 Director's Cut can be viewed on the production's official YouTube channel, One Last Monster.
