Samuel Goldwyn films couldn’t just trust that fans of director Satoshi Kon would flock to Tokyo Godfathers. Courtesy of Destination Films and Samuel Goldwyn Films.

For whatever reasons, when people think of animated films here in the United States, they tend to understand them as being family entertainment. For the average moviegoer, “cartoons” are dismissively or nostalgically assumed to be the amusements of childhood. Even though people visit museums and concert halls to share in the creative spirit of the arts, most people do not consider going to the movies as an experience of something similarly artful.

Within this cultural milieu, studios are tentatively exploring the opportunity to acquire and distribute feature animation outside of the mainstream, family market. There is a growing niche audience for adult-oriented animated stories, and the studios are learning what business practices are conducive to bringing such films to the silver screen.

How is adult-oriented animation being promoted to increase its appreciation and audience? With the release of Spirited Away, Millennium Actress, The Triplets of Belleville, and so on, we are seeing a pattern emerge for how studios will sell their mature animated films to the public.

While the box office numbers don’t compare to normal expectations — even Spirited Away, honored with an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, did not earn huge theatrical returns — there is good enough financial incentive to distribute adult animation, otherwise the studios wouldn’t bother. For audiences, it provides an occasion to see animated features that they may not have been able to see; for artists, it provides encouragement to produce independent features, knowing that there is an outlet for such niche films.

In recent months, Destination Films and Samuel Goldwyn Films have brought to theaters the acclaimed Tokyo Godfathers, and Go Fish Pictures, the new specialty distribution arm of DreamWorks, has released the equally lauded Millennium Actress.

During the upcoming summer, Samuel Goldwyn and Go Fish will be distributing other adult-oriented animated films — Kaena and Innocence: Ghost in the Shell, respectively.

R.J. Millard of Samuel Goldwyn Films feels that the U.S. audience for adult-themed animated features is growing.

R.J. Millard, vp publicity & marketing, IDP — Samuel Goldwyn

Greg Singer: How did Tokyo Godfathers come to your attention? What about the film, in particular, made you feel it was worthwhile to acquire and distribute?

R.J. Millard: We’re always looking out for foreign films as well as American independents and documentaries. A lot of our films that we’ve done over the past year are through our Sony International partners. We look at everything they’ve got coming up. We did a picture for them about a year and a half ago called El Crimen del Padre Amaro, which was the Mexican entry for the Oscar last year. We have a long history with animation, as well — anime mostly. We did Cowboy Bebop in May 2003, so we’re always looking out for new works. We’re looking for what’s interesting and provocative.

GS: Is the interest in distributing these kinds of features because Japanese animation is so popular, or because of the success of other animated movies that have been released in the States?