GKIDS

GKIDS is an American film distributor based in New York with, according to the "Los Angeles Times", a focus on "sophisticated, indie" animation. GKIDS uses a bespoke distribution method to release critically acclaimed, mostly hand-drawn, international films—such as the works of Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli—to North American audiences. GKIDS also distributes computer animated and stop-motion films in addition to hand-drawn ones, as well as American films by independent filmmakers. Although the name is said to be an acronym for "Guerrilla Kids International Distribution Syndicate," the company is commonly referred to only as GKIDS (stylized in all-caps), and is legally registered as such in New York state.
History.
GKIDS was founded in 2008 by Eric Beckman, who previously co-founded and ran the New York International Children's Film Festival with his partner, Emily Shapiro. Their first general release was "", a French film dubbed in English for British and Irish audiences.
The company attained national recognition with the 2010 release of "The Secret of Kells", the debut film by Irish animator Tomm Moore, which received a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards. This surprise nomination was followed by two more Best Animated Feature nominations at the 84th Academy Awards, Spanish-language "Chico and Rita" and French-language "A Cat in Paris". Both nominations were considered highly surprising by film insiders, beating out such notables as "The Adventures of Tintin" and "Cars 2"—the first eligible Pixar film not to be nominated since the category's founding. This marked the first time that an independent distributor had two films in the Best Animated Feature category in the same year, a decision which "Puss in Boots" director Chris Miller said indicated the Academy's "respect for diversity."
In September 2011, GKIDS announced the acquisition of the North American theatrical distribution rights to the Studio Ghibli library, that were previously held by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, however, retained the home media distribution rights in Taiwan and Japan. GKIDS has since also managed the North American distribution of three new Studio Ghibli films, "From Up on Poppy Hill" in 2013", The Tale of the Princess Kaguya" in 2014, and "When Marnie Was There" in 2015 as well as the first-time North American releases of "Only Yesterday" and "Ocean Waves" in 2016. On July 17, 2017, it was announced that the North American home media rights to the Ghibli library (with the exception of "Grave of the Fireflies" and "The Wind Rises") had transitioned from Disney to GKIDS ("The Wind Rises" being reissued on September 22, 2020), with the distributor announcing plans to begin re-issuing the films beginning in October. Beginning with these releases, Shout! Factory became GKIDS' new home video distributor, taking over from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (whose contract with GKIDS expired in late-2018) and Cinedigm (whose contract with GKIDS expired in late-2013).
Founder Eric Beckman received the Mifa & "Variety" Animation Personality of the Year Award at Annecy in June 2017.
In 2020, partnering with TMS Entertainment, GKIDS will be handling the American and Canadian release of "", a 3DCG film adaptation of Monkey Punch's (Kazuhiko Kato) "Lupin the Third" franchise.
In October 2020, GKIDS announced their license to the "Neon Genesis Evangelion" TV series, as well as the films, "" and "The End of Evangelion" for a release in 2021. This marks the first Blu-ray release of the anime in North America.
In May 2021, GKIDS announced their license the Maybe Movies films "Calamity Jane" from July 2021 and the 2020 animated feature made in Spain, "Josep" from Late 2021.
Style and reception.
While films distributed by GKIDS span a wide range of nationalities, languages, and animation styles, the distributor focuses almost exclusively on "handmade, mostly auteur-driven animated movies" created by individual animators working with small teams. Founder Eric Beckman has described the animated market in the U.S. as "dominated by expensive-to-produce, expensive-to-distribute movies". To this end, the company relies heavily on critical reception and accolades to attract audiences, rather than big-budget marketing campaigns. Beckman has said of the Academy Awards, "The Oscars are the great equalizer. You don't have to spend millions to reach millions, you look to a smaller group of people who know and like film … But you've got to start with something super."
As a result of this focus on artful, stylistically distinct animation, GKIDS has been hailed by critics and animation insiders as a welcome complement to the standard Hollywood fare, being referred to variously as "the saints of independent animation," "one of the most notable independent distribution companies in the US," and "the country's best distributor [for] traditional hand-drawn animation." Industry magazine "Film Journal International" said of the company's track record, "The reason GKIDS films keep getting nominated despite the company's low (relative to Disney, DreamWorks, et al.) profile is that, simply put, their films tend to be "really" good."
Seven feature films released by GKIDS have a perfect, 100% "Fresh" rating on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes: "Sita Sings the Blues", "Only Yesterday", "Approved for Adoption", "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya",
"Mind Game",
"This Magnificent Cake!"
and "Okko's Inn". "Sita Sings the Blues", combining stylistic elements of Rajput painting, shadow puppetry, vector graphic animation, and Squigglevision, was selected by "Chicago Sun-Times" reviewer Roger Ebert for his annual Ebertfest, calling it "one of the year's best films".
Not all have been broadly successful with critics, though: "Mia and the Migoo" (distributed in theaters by GKIDS and on home video by Entertainment One), "Fireworks", "MFKZ", and "Earwig and the Witch" are, as of February 2021, the only four with "Rotten" ratings.
Films distributed by GKIDS.
Some Studio Ghibli films currently theatrically distributed by GKIDS were distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures for DVD and Blu-ray Disc. However, on July 17, 2017, GKIDS announced that they have acquired the home video rights for the entire Studio Ghibli catalog except "Grave of the Fireflies" and "The Wind Rises".
The company also tours selections of short and feature films screened at NYICFF across the country. In mid-2009, the live-action features "Tahaan" and "West of Pluto" ("À l'ouest de Pluton") were licensed for potential general releases but plans for both were dropped by late 2011 in favor of a focus on animation.
Studio Ghibli Fest.
Since 2017, GKIDS has partnered with Fathom Events to host an annual event called Studio Ghibli Fest, which features limited theatrical screenings of select Studio Ghibli films in select AMC, CineMark, Regal, Cineplex Entertainment and other theaters.
Awards and nominations.
Academy Awards.
! scope="row"| 2009
! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2011
! scope="row"| 2013
! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2014
! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2015
! scope="row"| 2016
! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 2017
! scope="row"| 2018
! scope="row"| 2020
Annie Award.
! scope="row"|2009
! rowspan="3" scope="row"| 2011
! scope="row"|2012
! rowspan="2" scope="row"|2013
! rowspan="2" scope="row"|2014
! rowspan="3" scope="row"|2015
! rowspan="2" scope="row"|2016
! rowspan="3" scope="row"|2017
! rowspan="3" scope="row"|2018
! rowspan="4" scope="row"|2019
! rowspan="3" scope="row"| 2020