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When the Irish animated film \u201cThe Secret of Kells<\/a>\u201d received a surprise Oscar nomination in 2010, GKids, the boutique distribution company that mounted a stealthy but mighty grass roots campaign on its behalf, had been around for only a little over a year.<\/p>\n Back then, the company\u2019s entire operation consisted of two full-time employees and one part-timer. But this year, Hayao Miyazaki\u2019s \u201cThe Boy and the Heron<\/a>\u201d became GKids\u2019s 13th release in their 15-year history to receive a nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for best animated feature. The hand-drawn movie has a real shot at winning and becoming the first GKids release to do so.<\/p>\n How has a small outfit focused on animation managed to have such an outsized effect in Hollywood?<\/p>\n Eric Beckman, a former music industry executive, founded GKids with the intent of redefining American audiences\u2019 perception of animation as more than a children\u2019s medium. At the time, family-friendly, computer-generated and stylistically similar studio productions had an even tighter stronghold on animation in the United States than they do today.<\/p>\n GKids has since filled a precious gap by consistently releasing bold animated work from around the world. For more than a decade now, it has also been entrusted with the North American distribution of titles in the catalog of the revered Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli, maker of \u201cThe Boy and the Heron.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Beckman started in animation in a roundabout way. He co-founded the New York International Children\u2019s Film Festival<\/a> in 1997 with Emily Shapiro, his wife at the time. While the festival was not strictly an animation showcase, it allowed Beckman to develop meaningful relationships with numerous animation companies, including Studio Ghibli.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI felt young people needed more intelligent, thoughtful films, and because there was no big animation festival in the States, we became the entry point for a lot of amazing animation,\u201d Beckman explained during a recent video call. He wore a T-shirt adorned with the title character of the apocalyptic Spanish tale \u201cBirdboy: The Forgotten Children,\u201d a 2017 GKids release.<\/p>\n GKids first emerged as an offshoot of the festival. The name was derived from Guerrilla Kids, the moniker for the event\u2019s presenter, shortened to GKids on the festival website. He soon hired David Jesteadt, an intern at the since-defunct indie distributor New Yorker Films. He is now the president of GKids.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the minute Dave came on board, we communicated by osmosis,\u201d Beckman said. The two had long nurtured a love of animation \u2014 such as \u201cYellow Submarine\u201d (1968), which Beckman saw in theaters multiple times as a boy, and the bootleg VHS tapes that introduced Jesteadt to anime.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Aside from Sony Pictures Classics, which had distributed a handful of art-house animated features over the years, there was a wide-open market for GKids to help develop.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were a small company, so there were no rules about what we could or couldn\u2019t acquire,\u201d Jesteadt said via video call from Los Angeles, where he is based.<\/p>\n GKids started pursuing animated titles like their first release, Michel Ocelot\u2019s \u201cAzur & Asmar\u201d (released in the United States in 2008), for which other distributors couldn\u2019t envision an American audience, meaning large sums weren\u2019t needed to bid against competitors. To overcome biases against animation, the fledgling executives\u2019 strategy was not to market to young fans, even if the material was for all ages. Instead, they aimed for art-house moviegoers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe messaging would be: \u2018This belongs next to all other beautiful French cinema. It just happens to be animated, and you can bring your family too,\u2019\u201d Jesteadt said.<\/p>\n For the first four years or so, Beckman and Jesteadt worked shoulder to shoulder in a minuscule office with one window. The first breakthrough came when they acquired rights to Tomm Moore\u2019s hand-drawn, Celtic mythology-inspired \u201cThe Secret of Kells\u201d in 2009, just in time to qualify it for Oscar consideration. With limited resources and no experience, they put together an awards campaign. \u201cUp\u201d won that year, but just being nominated was, as the saying goes, a true honor.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n From that unexpected triumph, a fruitful bond formed with Cartoon Saloon, the Irish studio behind the film. For \u201cThe Breadwinner<\/a>,\u201d which is about an Afghan girl living under Taliban rule, GKids officially became a producing partner with the studio, providing feedback early in the development process.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Moore likened the executives to fellow travelers, explaining, \u201cYou don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re just another filler title in a huge slate. They feel like an extension of our studio.\u201d<\/p>\n After receiving an Oscar nomination in 2012 for \u201cChico & Rita<\/a>,\u201d a Spanish-language, adult-themed romance (their film \u201cA Cat in Paris\u201d was also nominated that year), the GKids executives considered changing the company moniker. Ultimately, they decided against it to avoid legal complications.<\/p>\n \u201cThe \u2018Kids\u2019 has been a misaligned part of our name since the earliest day,\u201d Beckman said.<\/p>\n Without the resources for the expensive campaigns typical of awards-season contenders, GKids focuses on ensuring that the animation industry sees its gems and hopes that their quality generates word-of-mouth interest. There\u2019s often an awards-qualifying theatrical run, followed by a wider release after the Academy announces the nominations; the recognition provides a promotional boost.<\/p>\n France\u2019s \u201cErnest & Celestine<\/a>\u201d (2014), which maps the unlikely friendship between a bear and a mouse; Brazil\u2019s \u201cBoy and the World<\/a>\u201d (2015), a wordless, kaleidoscopic indictment of capitalism; and Switzerland\u2019s \u201cMy Life as a Zucchini<\/a>\u201d (2017), a stop-motion dramedy set in an orphanage, are among GKids\u2019s other Oscar-nominated standouts.<\/p>\n Based on GKids\u2019s growing reputation, Studio Ghibli \u2014 through the head of its international division at the time, Steven Alpert \u2014 asked the distributor to handle its back catalog for theatrical releases after its deal with the Walt Disney Company lapsed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cThey\u2019re a small company, and we\u2019re a small company,\u201d Beckman said. \u201cI\u2019d like to think we\u2019ve taken care of their films really well, but I don\u2019t fully know how we got blessed with that.\u201d<\/p>\n The Studio Ghibli co-founder Toshio Suzuki recalled that Alpert, who knew Beckman from his days at the festival, recommended GKids because he thought there weren\u2019t \u201cany others who are as serious as they are among distribution companies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Releasing \u201cThe Boy and the Heron\u201d was the ultimate test of capabilities honed over 15 years since Studio Ghibli released the film without any advance publicity in Japan. GKids\u2019s marketing materials for the film were therefore the first to see the light.<\/p>\n \u201cWith their small staff, GKids is able to be agile in their process, and we really appreciate that they keep in close contact with the Japanese side,\u201d Suzuki said via email. \u201cI feel included in the promotion activities with them. Their results have exceeded our expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe Boy and the Heron,\u201d Miyazaki\u2019s first movie in a decade, debuted in theaters in December and is already Studio Ghibli\u2019s highest grossing title in the United States, as well as GKids\u2019s biggest success ever. It opened at No. 1 at the North American box office and has grossed $44.9 million domestically to date.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cI\u2019m still petrified about the whole thing. It\u2019s a huge honor and a huge responsibility,\u201d Beckman said. \u201cI\u2019m so overwhelmed with joy that it\u2019s gone as well as it has and that audiences have embraced this film.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2017, GKids returned to its roots in a way, starting one of its most profitable projects, Studio Ghibli Fest, which brings classics like \u201cMy Neighbor Totoro\u201d or \u201cSpirited Away\u201d to theaters across North America for special screenings every year. In 2023 alone, the screening series grossed $15 million.<\/p>\n