Various companies are currently distributing the toys in different parts of the world. The characters of the series are grouped into families of woodland creatures. These creatures include mice, hedgehogs, bears and beavers, which is appropriate considering they use the word "sylvan", which is a term that means "of the forest". The animals are anthropomorphic, meaning they are given the attributes of humans such as human emotions and facial expressions.
Sylvanian Families were a large part of the rush in collectible toys in the 1990's, king of which would be Ty's Beanie Babies, as well as the Teletubbies. These toys were mainly popular for their collectability with the occasional rare toy selling for far more than their original retail value, adding a sort of treasure hunt feel to the collecting experience.
In 1985, the line was released in both North America and Japan under the name Sylvanian Families, though there were some minor differences in the characters and packaging. Their success led to their release in Western Europe by 1987, and by 1988 they were considered a major success worldwide, prompting the creation of an animated series based on the line of toys. An animated series also ran in Spain and the United Kingdom, and was showing in the United States early in the 1990's on Nick Jr, a segment of the Nickelodeon network that caters mainly to young children. The American animated program was co-produced in France and Japan by DIC Enterprises, Inc, who is also responsible for such popular children's shows as The Real Ghostbusters, and the first two seasons of the English adaptation of Sailor Moon.
Sylvanian Families has, throughout its history, been very popular as a collectible item, and even won "Toy of the Year" from the British Association of Toy Retailers three years consecutively from 1987 through 1989.
Tomy, which was the company that had been distributing the toys around the world, no longer owned the rights to the name "Sylvanian Families" in North America by 1993. The line was then reintroduced under the name Calico Critters, which is currently still distributed in the United States and Canada by the company International Playthings, LLC.
By the end of the millennia, the popularity of the toys had begun dwindling, and the line had been completely discontinued in the United Kingdom. Since then, however it has been picked up by Flair, which is a toy manufacturer that produces a wide range of toys, most notably the Etch-A-Sketch and Stickle Bricks. Sylvanian Families has also been reintroduced to the Australian market and is again becoming widely available in addition to International Plaything's Calico Critters.
In the UK, Sylvanian Families celebrated its 20th anniversary with a few new items in 2007. The best selling toys in this group consisted of the Otter boat and the reintroduction of the Dalmatian Family that now wore party hats reading "Happy 20th!" Because these Dalmatian Family plushes are different than the originals, the original plushes are sure to be some of the more expensive collector's items in the series.
Jenny Talorman is an amateur writer who enjoys learning and educating people on a range of topics including; childrens toys, dolls, Sylvanian Families and baking. If you have any feedback on this article please feel free to get in touch.
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