‘Heartsping’ director confident that Teenieping movie appeals to all ages

“Heartsping: Teenieping of Love,” the first movie of the hit Korean animation series “Catch! Teenieping,” appeals not only to young viewers, but to those in their 50s and 60s as well, its director said.

Kim Su-hoon, who doubles as the movie's director and the CEO of SAMG Entertainment and is responsible for the Teenieping worldview, said he differentiated the movie from the TV series by adding elements of a family movie.

“From the beginning, I was sure that this film had to be a family movie. It is a difficult genre because it has to both satisfy children and the adults who watch it with them,” Kim told reporters in an interview in Seoul on Wednesday.

“Teenieping” is a 2020 TV animation series by SAMG Entertainment that revolves around Princess Romi of the Emotion Kingdom. She comes to Earth to catch cute and mischievous creatures called Teeniepings, each of which has a unique power linked to an emotion or concept it represents.

The movie “Heartsping: Teenieping of Love” tells the story of what happened to Princess Romi before coming to Earth and her fateful encounter with Heartsping who becomes her soulmate.

According to Kim, the key to turning this three-season animation series into an 86-minute-long movie was the detailed expression of emotions throughout the “simple” storyline.

Though Disney movies often revolve around simple stories, they insert complex emotions and feelings so that they can develop depth as a family movie, Kim observed.

Kim said the soundtrack played a pivotal role in delivering emotional depth to the animated characters.

“Incorporating complex emotions into an animated film is quite difficult. So we decided to add depth by using relatable music,” Kim said, adding that he focused on the storytelling and emotional development of Romi and Heartsping.

“(Thanks to the soundtrack,) anyone, including parents or even those in their 50s and 60s or whoever watches this movie can understand the feelings and emotions of the Teenieping characters.”

To appeal to young audience members, music director Kim Tae-ho created a soundtrack with lyrical melodies and upbeat rhythms. The soundtrack also blends well with the story and feelings throughout the film.

“Heartsping: Teenieping of Love,” which opened in local theaters on Aug. 7, has attracted over 610,000 moviegoers as of Saturday.

The box office record is raising anticipation on whether the Korean animated film will become the next “Frozen,” the 2019 hit Disney animated film that saw ticket presales top 1.1 million -- the first animated film to reach such a milestone at the box office according to Korean Film Council data.