Gkids has taken all U.S. rights to Julián, the new hand-drawn animated feature directed by Louise Bagnall and executive produced by Zoe Saldaña. Cartoon Saloon produced the film with Melusine Studios, Aircraft Pictures and Sun Creature. Gkids will release it in U.S. theaters beginning March 26, 2027.
The deal
The acquisition was closed with CAA Media Finance and brings the film to U.S. audiences through a distributor with a long relationship with Cartoon Saloon. Gkids President David Jesteadt said the friendship is “nearly as old as Gkids itself” and called the project a “bold and delightful take” on Jessica Love’s book.
Day-and-date releases are lined up in Canada via Elevation Pictures, in the United Kingdom via Anime Ltd., and in Ireland via Wildcard Distribution.
What the film is
Adapted from Jessica Love’s award-winning picture book Julián is a Mermaid, the film follows a 7-year-old boy, voiced by Knyght Darius Jack, who spends a transformative summer in Brooklyn with his Abuela, voiced by Milcania Diaz-Rojas, and discovers his dream of becoming a mermaid. The feature is hand-drawn 2D animation at 12 frames per second, made by more than 150 artists across Ireland, Luxembourg, Denmark and Canada.
Director Louise Bagnall said Gkids are “true champions of Cartoon Saloon’s work.” The film is co-directed by Guillaume Lorin and Mark Mullery, written by Juliany Taveras, and produced by Nora Twomey, Tomm Moore, Paul Young and others. Zoe Saldaña, Mariel Saldaña and Cisley Saldaña are among executive producers.
Why it matters
For entertainment marketers and film-business watchers, the deal is a concrete example of a U.S. specialty distributor betting on hand-drawn animation with a set theatrical date, rather than sending it quietly to streaming. That matters because it preserves a theatrical window for an independently produced family title and gives media planners a date to build Q1 2027 campaigns around.
Ahead of the American Film Market, sales agent New Europe Film Sales added several international deals.
- Spain: Rita & Luca Films
- Italy: Wanted Cinema
- Germany: Eksystent Films
- Portugal: Films4You
- Switzerland: RTS
- Serbia/Croatia: MCF Films
What to watch
The next signal will be U.S. marketing materials and how closely Gkids ties the campaign to the book’s inclusive, visual identity. For teams planning around international animation, watch whether the March 26 U.S. date becomes the anchor for coordinated day-and-date campaigns in Canada, the U.K. and Ireland, and for the new European territories.
For independent animation teams, a set theatrical date can do more than sell tickets: it gives buyers and media planners a fixed campaign anchor. That makes the March 26, 2027 date the operational detail to lock in now, even before the first U.S. poster drops.
Source: Variety
