3180. Cottontail Rabbit

Sylvanian Families is the name of a line of video games and anthropomorphic collectible toy flocked plastic figures, created by the Japanese company Epoch in 1985 and distributed worldwide by a number of companies. The characters, grouped into families, feature woodland creatures such as beavers, hedgehogs, mice, rabbits and bears, although in recent years, they have expanded to other animals such as cats, dogs, penguins, monkeys, koalas and meerkats. They remain a quintessential part of the 1990s boom in craze (or fad) toys. The word 'sylvan' means 'of the forest'.

At the beginning of production, in 1985, Sylvanian Families were released in both Japan and North America, albeit with different packaging and minor differences to the characters themselves. In 1987, the success in these markets led to expansion into Western Europe. By 1988, Sylvanian Families had become a major success around the world, spawning an animated series, and winning the British Association of Toy Retailers award for "Toy of the Year" three years consecutively, in 1987, 1988 and 1989. There was also an animated series shown in the 80s that was popular in Spain and the UK and was also shown in the early 1990s in the US on Nick Jr.
In 1993, Tomy, who had been distributing the toys worldwide, lost the rights to the name "Sylvanian Families" in Canada and the USA.[citation needed] Tomy reintroduced the line under the new name Calico Critters.
The Calico Critters line is currently distributed in the US and Canada by International Playthings, LLC.

By the end of the 1990s, Sylvanian Families had been discontinued in the UK, although they have since been reintroduced by Flair. Subsequently, Sylvanian families have been reintroduced in Australia and are becoming more widely available. Tomy stopped selling Calico Critters, but a new company, International Playthings, picked up the line.
In 2007, Sylvanian Families in the UK celebrated their 20th anniversary with a selected number of new items. The best selling was an Otter boat, and a reintroduced Dalmatian Family who now wore party hats that read "Happy 20th!".

1987 animated television series
Sylvanian Families is an American animated television series, co-produced in France and Japan.