Japanese media giant Toho is acquiring Gkids, the North American distributor of animated films like the Oscar-winning "The Boy and the Heron."

The two firms have already worked together to release films in the U.S., with GKids handling last year’s Oscar-winning Studio Ghibli feature "The Boy and the Heron." Financial terms were not disclosed.

Japanese distributor Toho has acquired the animation distributor GKIDS to help its expansion into distribution in North America.