By Rebecca Keegan
Last Oscar season, upstart New York film distributor GKIDS surprised many in the animation world by collecting two of the five nominations in the animated feature category — for the foreign-produced movies “Chico & Rita” (Spain) and “A Cat in Paris” (France). It was an impressive showing for a tiny, young company going up against such industry giants as Disney and DreamWorks Animation.
This year GKIDS qualified four upcoming movies in the Oscar race with a one-week theatrical run in Burbank in November — and will attempt, again, to win over the academy’s animation branch with 2-D style, foreign-made films that feel far from Hollywood studio fare.
“It’s excruciatingly difficult to make these movies,” said GKIDS President Eric Beckman. “But it’s a particularly rich crop for independent animation this year.” Here’s an overview of their releases:
Full story: GKIDS’ winning pitch as the go-to market for foreign animated films | Awards: 2013 | WATCH: Directors on the future of animations
