GKIDS is an American film and television distributor owned by Toho International. Based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, GKIDS releases mostly international animated films and television series to North American audiences, as well as American films by independent filmmakers. The name is said to be an acronym for "Guerrilla Kids International Distribution Syndicate". In October 2024, it was announced GKIDS would be sold to Japanese entertainment company

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

, becoming a subsidiary of the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

-based Toho International. The deal was completed in 2025.

History

GKIDS was founded by Eric Beckman in 2008. He previously co-founded and ran the New York International Children's Film Festival. Their first general release was '' Azur & Asmar'', 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'', which received a nomination for Best Animated Feature at the 82nd Academy Awards. They also received 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 ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...

'' and '' Cars 2''. 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 is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

library, which were previously held by

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is an American film distributor within the Disney Entertainment division of the Walt Disney Company. It handles theatrical and occasional digital distribution, marketing, and promotion for films produced and ...

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment) is the home entertainment distribution arm of the Walt Disney Company. The division handles the distribution of Disney's films, television series, a ...

, however, retained the home media distribution rights. GKIDS would later 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 fluid dynamics, a wind wave, or wind-generated water wave, is a surface wave that occurs on the free surface of Body of water, bodies of water as a result of the wind blowing over the water's surface. The contact distance in the wind directi ...

'' 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, with the distributor announcing plans to begin re-issuing the films beginning in October. ''The Wind Rises'' would eventually be reissued by GKIDS on September 2020. In 2020, partnering with TMS Entertainment, GKIDS handled the American and Canadian release of '' Lupin III: The First'', 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 '' Death (True)²'' and '' The End of Evangelion'' for a release in 2021. In February 2022, GKIDS and

Fox Corporation Fox Corporation (commonly referred to as Fox Corp or simply Fox) is an American multinational mass media company headquartered at 1211 Avenue of the Americas, 1211 Avenue of the Americas in Midtown Manhattan, with offices also in Burbank, Cali ...

's Tubi announced that they had entered into a content partnership deal. In March 2022, GKIDS announced their license to Makoto Shinkai's earlier works, ''

Voices of a Distant Star is a Japanese science fiction original video animation (OVA) short film created and animated by Makoto Shinkai. It follows the lives of two close childhood friends, a boy and a girl, who are separated when the girl is sent into space to ...

'', '' The Place Promised in Our Early Days'', '' 5 Centimeters per Second'' and '' Children Who Chase Lost Voices'', all of which were scheduled for release on home video in 2022. On October 15, 2024,

announced their intent to acquire GKIDS for an undisclosed amount. The deal was completed in 2025, with GKIDS officially becoming a subsidiary of Toho International.

Style and reception

Founder Eric Beckman has described the animated market in the U.S. as "dominated by expensive-to-produce, expensive-to-distribute movies." GKIDS received Oscar nominations for each of its first three films. GKIDS has been called "one of the most notable independent distribution companies in the US," and "the country's best distributor ortraditional hand-drawn animation." Industry magazine ''

Film Journal International ''Film Journal International'' was a motion-picture industry trade magazine published by the American company Prometheus Global Media. It was a sister publication of '' Adweek'', '' Billboard'', ''The Hollywood Reporter'', and other periodical ...

'' said, "The reason GKIDS films keep getting nominated despite the company's low profile is that, simply put, their films tend to be really good." Eighteen feature films released by GKIDS have a perfect, 100% "Fresh" rating on

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

: '' Sita Sings the Blues'', '' Approved for Adoption'', '' The Tale of the Princess Kaguya'', '' Only Yesterday'', '' Mind Game'', '' Grave of the Fireflies'', '' Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki'', '' This Magnificent Cake!'', '' Okko's Inn'', '' On-Gaku: Our Sound'', '' Goodbye, Don Glees!'', '' Summer Ghost'', '' Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time'','' The First Slam Dunk'', '' Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia'', '' Blue Giant'', ''Mars Express'' and '' Look Back''. ''Sita Sings the Blues'', combining stylistic elements of Rajput painting, shadow puppetry, vector graphic animation, and

Squigglevision Squigglevision is a method of computer animation in which the outlines of shapes are made to wikt:wiggle, wiggle and wikt:undulation, undulate, emulating the effect of sketchily hand-drawn animation. Tom Snyder (animator), Tom Snyder of Tom Snyder ...

, was selected by ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' reviewer

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

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'' (38%), ''Tales from Earthsea'' (37%), ''

Fireworks Fireworks are Explosive, low explosive Pyrotechnics, pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large numbe ...

'' (45%), '' MFKZ'' (39%), '' Earwig and the Witch'' (28%), '' The Deer King'' (59%) and '' Lonely Castle in the Mirror'' (50%) are, as of June 2023, the only seven with "Rotten" ratings.

Films distributed by GKIDS

Some Studio Ghibli films currently theatrically distributed by GKIDS were distributed by

for DVD and

Blu-ray Disc Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...

. 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'', which Sentai Filmworks continues to license the US home video rights to, although GKIDS does own the US theatrical rights to the film, and '' The Wind Rises'', which GKIDS would eventually release digitally on September 1, 2020, and on Blu-ray and DVD on September 22, 2020. 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 yearlong event called Studio Ghibli Fest, which features limited theatrical screenings of select

films in select AMC, Cinemark, Regal and other venues. The only year since inception without Ghibli Fest was 2020.

Television series distributed by GKIDS

Awards and nominations

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

! , - ! scope="row",

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, '' The Secret of Kells'' , rowspan="10", Best Animated Feature , , style="text-align:center;", , - ! rowspan="2" scope="row",

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, '' A Cat in Paris'' , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", , - , '' Chico and Rita'' , , - ! scope="row",

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, '' Ernest & Celestine'' , , style="text-align:center;", , - ! rowspan="2" scope="row",

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, '' Song of the Sea'' , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", , - , '' The Tale of the Princess Kaguya'' , , - ! rowspan="2" scope="row",

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, '' Boy and the World'' , , rowspan="2" style="text-align:center;", , - , '' When Marnie Was There'' , , - ! scope="row",

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, '' My Life as a Zucchini'' , , style="text-align:center;", , - ! rowspan="2" scope="row",

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, '' The Breadwinner'' , , style="text-align:center", , - , '' Revolting Rhymes'' , Best Animated Short Film , , style="text-align:center", , - ! scope="row",

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, '' Mirai'' , rowspan="3" scope="row", Best Animated Feature , , style="text-align:center", , - ! scope="row",

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, '' Wolfwalkers'' , , style="text-align:center", , - ! scope="row",

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

, '' The Boy and the Heron'' , , style="text-align:center",

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origina ...

, - ! scope="row",

, '' The Secret of Kells'' , rowspan="9", Best Animated Feature , , - ! rowspan="3" scope="row",

, '' A Cat in Paris'' , , - , '' Chico and Rita'' , , - , '' Wrinkles'' , , - ! scope="row",

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, '' The Rabbi's Cat'' , , - ! rowspan="2" scope="row",

, '' Ernest & Celestine'' , , - , '' A Letter to Momo'' , , - ! rowspan="2" scope="row",

, '' Song of the Sea'' , , - , '' The Tale of the Princess Kaguya'' , , - ! rowspan="3" scope="row",

, '' Boy and the World'' , rowspan="23", Best Animated Feature — Independent , , - , '' The Prophet'' , , - , '' When Marnie Was There'' , , - ! rowspan="2" scope="row",

, '' Miss Hokusai'' , , - , '' My Life as a Zucchini'' , , - ! rowspan="3" scope="row",

, '' The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales...'' , , - , '' The Breadwinner'' , , - , '' Napping Princess'' , , - ! rowspan="3" scope="row",

, '' MFKZ'' , , - , '' Mirai'' , , - , '' This Magnificent Cake!'' , , - ! rowspan="4" scope="row",

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, '' Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles'' , , - , '' Okko's Inn'' , , - , '' Promare'' , , - , '' Weathering with You'' , , - ! rowspan="3" scope="row",

, '' On-Gaku: Our Sound'' , , - , '' Ride Your Wave'' , , - , '' Wolfwalkers'' , , - ! rowspan="3" scope="row",

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

, '' Belle'' , , - , '' Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko'' , , - , '' Pompo the Cinephile'' , , - ! scope="row",

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, '' Inu-Oh'' , , - ! rowspan="2" scope="row",

, '' Ernest & Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia'' , , - , '' The Boy and the Heron'' , , Best Animated Feature , , - ! rowspan="3" scope="row",

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, '' Chicken for Linda!'' , rowspan="3", Best Animated Feature — Independent , , - , '' Look Back'' , , - , ''

Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission by the European Space Agency, European Space Agency (ESA) exploring the planet Mars and its moons since 2003, and the first planetary mission attempted by ESA. ''Mars Express'' consisted of two ...

'' ,

References

External links

* * {{anime News Network, company, 9638 2008 establishments in New York City American companies established in 2008 Anime companies Film distributors of the United States Home video companies of the United States Mass media companies based in New York City Mass media companies established in 2008 Toho 2025 mergers and acquisitions American subsidiaries of foreign companies