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 . 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 , with the distributor announcing plans to begin re-issuing the films beginning in October . Unlike most of GKIDS ' material on home media , Universal Pictures Home Entertainment or Cinedigm is n't distributing the Ghibli re-releases , Shout ! Factory is instead handling the distribution . Since then , Shout ! Factory have gone on to distribute other GKIDS releases alongside Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
84th Academy Awards
84th Academy Awards
GKIDS