in 1985 sylvanian families were launched in both japan and north america. they were such a success that in 1987 they moved over the atlantic to western europe and to the uk. by 1988 these small toys were a major success world wide, they went on to win london toy of the year award 3 times in a row this had never been achieved before or after. they were so popular that in the late 80's an animated tv series was made, this was greatly watched and spain and the uk. in the 90's it was aired on american tv.