Is Sylvanian Families/Calico Critters related to PM at all?

[BlackPearl2006]

I swear I read somewhere that Sylvanian Families/ Calico Critters shared some common pieces or manufacturing at one point, but i can't find where I read that.  They do look incredibly similar to PM in terms of plastic quality, detailing, and scale.  If I'm not mistaken, I think our own dear Ms. Emma even uses Sylvanian Family items in her PM customs, which fit seamlessly together. Does/did Sylvanian Families share a common ancestory with PM at some point?

I know Sylvanian Families is a Japanese toy line, that's all I know.  My uncle does commercial displays and marketing photography for Sylvanian Families, but he's all the way in Asia too far away for me to bend his ear for a tic.  Does anyone know?


(This is my uncle's latest display....he did the landscaping and the water modelling as well.  I wish I had that, and similar scenery for my PM!)

[bonniebeth]

Wow, that's a beautiful display! I have to admit, I really do like calico critters. I used to have a few as a child, and I also had quite a collection of another line by Sylvanian Families, the Maple Town series. All those got thrown away, unfortunately. But they were awesome toys.

I'm not really sure about the answer to your question, but I would think no. I have never heard of any connection at all.

[BlackPearl2006]

hmmm, I swear I read somewhere on these forums that some PM parts were sub-licensed to Sylvanian Familes for a brief time, so you can find a few accessories that are the same between the two lines.  (one part I remember specifically was a picnic basket, but I could be wrong).  I do know I have held Sylvanian Family bedroom sets in my hand, and without a side-by-side comparison, they look almost identical to PM victorian bedroom furniture.  PM is also big in Japan, just as Sylvanian Families is also well-known in Europe (and to a slightly lesser degree as with PM) in USA.

But I'm trying to confirm that possibly faulty memory of mine...I swear I read it here somewhere in the past year or 2, but I can't find the thread if it existed.

One thing's for sure, the parts do translate nicely between the lines, except Sylvanian Familes seem to be WAAAAY more expensive than PM.

[Luis]

I don't think they're related at all, but who knows.

Jewelry companies tend to copy each other...I don't see why this wouldn't happen with toy companies too.

Btw that display is much prettier than the ones PM makes today...that's something PM should definately copy from the SF.

[Ace]

I could imagine Sylvanian Families making some accesories that were identical to Playmobil's, and having Geobra's premission. However, i think more likely the accesories are just very similar.

Btw that display is much prettier than the ones PM makes today...that's something PM should definately copy from the SF.

What about this one from the FunPark in 2006? The mini-castle used to create a sense of distance and the dragon landing-pad are so creative  !
Ace

[tahra]

The mini-castle used to create a sense of distance

That one is... BRILLIANT. Really.

[Luis]

What about this one from the FunPark in 2006? The mini-castle used to create a sense of distance and the dragon landing-pad are so creative  !
Ace

i personally don't like any of those two at all...

[bonniebeth]

I like that mini castle in that diorama. Well-spotted, Ace.

[PlaymoMan]

That one is... BRILLIANT. Really.

Yes, it does look cool. Hmm, maybe the micro-sets should be my next purchase...oh whatever.

[Lindama]

I cant comment about linkages between playmobil and calico critters (or Sylvanian families as they are called in Oz), but I didnt think all the furniture was sized correctly for klickies, ie, the seats are wide to allow the wider bums of the animals to fit.