Watch: A Tribute to the Hottest Distributor You May Not Know

This year's GKIDS slate is perhaps its most impressive to date. In 2017, GKIDS has so far announced plans to release its first 3D film, a gorgeous fantasy adventure called Mune; the third collaboration with Cartoon Saloon (and first co-production), The Breadwinner; a nationwide Studio Ghibli retrospective; and a Wes Anderson-esque disaster comedy from Dash Shaw, starring Jason Schawartzman, Reggie Watts, Maya Rudolph, Lena Dunham, and Susan Sarandon, called My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea. 

With High School coming to theaters this weekend, April 14, animation fans are in high spirits. Carlos Aguilar and Conor Holt, the creators of "One Week Only Podcast," are among those fans. To honor the film's opening weekend, the duo put together a supercut highlighting the distributor's diverse catalogue. 

The video is made up of gorgeously edited clips from every single GKIDS release, including some of the only available footage from its 2017 slate. (Can you spot The Breadwinner?)

In the YouTube description, Aguilar and Holt express just why they love GKIDS so much. "This tribute aims to highlight the collection of works that GKIDS has taken under its wing and elevated to unprecedented heights in the realm of auteur animation," they wrote.

Indeed, that's just what the distributor has been doing. GKids has garnered nine Academy Award nominations in just nine years, second only to Disney in the category of Best Animation—a record that will prove more difficult to keep up with the Academy's changing rules, which dictate that more Academy members will take part in choosing the nominees for the Best Animated Feature, presumably favoring the wide studio releases. But that's not to say that GKIDS is giving up. 

"I'm hopeful that quality will prevail." — Eric Beckman, CEO/Founder of GKIDS

In response to news of the new Oscar rules, CEO/Founder Eric Beckman told The Hollywood Reporter, "I'm hopeful that quality will prevail. If you look at animation as a genre, maybe the results of a little film you never heard of getting nominated is surprising. But look at live action. No one is surprised when Jurassic World doesn't get a best picture nomination and Moonlight or Manchester by the Sea does. If you take that viewpoint, films like The Red Turtle or Princess Kaguya make a lot more sense. My hope is that this will continue with the new rule, though inevitably some smaller films probably aren't going to get the attention that they should."

Through making this supercut, it seems that Aguilar and Holt are trying to say just that: quality will prevail. And if you watch, it's not hard to believe. The video showcases the range and beauty of animation, transporting the viewer into many new worlds.

For Dave Jesteadt, President of GKIDS, the supercut was a welcome nostalgic experience. Jesteadt says, "The video is a nice tribute full of great memories, films and filmmakers we have had the honor to work with. I hope in a few years we'll have the films to justify a video twice as long."