Latest news with #Sylvanians
Irish Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish TikTok creator to 'rebrand' after toy giants u-turn on law suit
The Irish creator behind Sylvaniandrama has confirmed that the channel will be rebranded after a lawsuit against her was dropped. Thea Von Engelbrechten is the mastermind behind one of TikTok's most popular parody channels Sylvaniandrama. Her videos were widely beloved on social media for their unhinged skits involving the little animal families: parodying everything from kidnapping, drug abuse, to divorce. However, fans were confused when the channel suddenly went quiet several months ago. It then came to light that Thea was being sued been sued in the US by Epoch, the Japanese toy and computer games company behind Sylvanian Families over her videos. The company claimed that Von Engelbrechten's videos had caused 'irreparable injury' to their reputation. Thea, from Kildare, was just 19 when she started the channel back in 2021 – and the videos quickly skyrocketed in popularity. She currently has over 2.5 million followers on TikTok and one million on Instagram. However, they also eventually caught the attention of Epoch Company Ltd., the Japanese toy and video game company who own Sylvanian Families. The toy giant wasn't impressed (Image: Sylvaniandrama/TikTok) Epoch filed a lawsuit against the creator, claiming the videos could confuse potential purchasers of Sylvanian Families toys into believing that they have been produced or authorised by Epoch. They were suing her over issues pertaining to copyright – including 'creating, publishing, and disseminating online advertising videos' on the back of brand deals with companies like Marc Jacobs and Burberry. A pre-trial conference was set for August 14, where the legal teams from both sides were to meet to explore settlement options or prepare the case for trial. However, Epoch has since dropped its suit against the skit creator. On August 8, the company voluntarily dismissed all claims "without prejudice," with each side covering its own legal costs. On the same day, Thea posted on Instagram: "Hi guys, on the 19th August I will be changing the name and profile picture of this account. I'm not sure what to change it to yet so please let me know if you have any suggestions". Fans flooded the comments with suggestions of what the channel could be renamed to. Popular suggestions included "notsylvaniandrama", "CancelledCritters" and "Desperate Mousewives". Previously, news of the lawsuit had caused fan uproar on social media, with many believing that the videos actually helped promote Sylvanians online. TikTok account @junk_mom posted: 'Imagine if every little girl that ever posted a video on YouTube making her stuffed animals talk to each other was sued by the corporation that made those stuffed animals.' She continued to say that Sylvaniandrama 'opened up a lot of new people to the Sylvanian toys.' 'Sylvanian drama is literally doing free advertising for them, that's so sad,' one comment added. 'Why sue her she's literally giving them customers,' another wrote. A third pointed out that many other people have also created channels around creating fake scenarios with popular toys. They wrote: "It's like the old videos on YouTube we'd watch as a kid of people doing the same thing with Barbie's... It's always been a thing." The Mirror has reached out to Epoch and Sylvaniandrama for comment. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
The Irish Sun
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs
The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok RAMPANT RABBITS Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs A TOY firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs. The clips show Sylvanian Families creatures drinking to cope with a failing marriage and robbing a shop. Advertisement 5 A toy firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics 5 Sylvanian Families creatures feature in videos toting guns Others include a nun hoping for sex with an ex and a graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work. In other videos a drink-driving hedgehog kills a rabbit, a cat drinks bleach after her husband cheats and a drug-addict moggie relapses. A video showing a cat using her new partner's caravan to run over guests at her ex-husband's wedding has more than 20million views. The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok. Advertisement But Japan's Epoch Company, which has made the popular children's animal dolls since 1985, claims the skits have caused 'irreparable injury' to the brand's reputation. Last month the firm filed a copyright infringement case in the US against Thea von Engelbrechten, 23, from Kildare, Ireland. She submitted a counter notice insisting her videos, which are also available on Instagram and YouTube, are a parody. Sylvanians are marketed as 'an adorable range of distinctive animal characters with charming and beautiful homes and accessories'. Advertisement Sylvanian Drama's popularity has earned ad partnerships with big brands including Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Netflix and Hilton. No new videos have been posted since December when a rebel group of gun-toting women are seen training to shoot misogynistic male animals. Mum left in stitches after finding her daughter play with a toy that looks VERY rude A pre-trial conference to try to thrash out a settlement is scheduled for next week. 5 One character is a nun hoping for sex with an ex Advertisement 5 A doll graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work
Scottish Sun
07-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs
The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok RAMPANT RABBITS Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TOY firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs. The clips show Sylvanian Families creatures drinking to cope with a failing marriage and robbing a shop. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 A toy firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics 5 Sylvanian Families creatures feature in videos toting guns Others include a nun hoping for sex with an ex and a graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work. In other videos a drink-driving hedgehog kills a rabbit, a cat drinks bleach after her husband cheats and a drug-addict moggie relapses. A video showing a cat using her new partner's caravan to run over guests at her ex-husband's wedding has more than 20million views. The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok. But Japan's Epoch Company, which has made the popular children's animal dolls since 1985, claims the skits have caused 'irreparable injury' to the brand's reputation. Last month the firm filed a copyright infringement case in the US against Thea von Engelbrechten, 23, from Kildare, Ireland. She submitted a counter notice insisting her videos, which are also available on Instagram and YouTube, are a parody. Sylvanians are marketed as 'an adorable range of distinctive animal characters with charming and beautiful homes and accessories'. Sylvanian Drama's popularity has earned ad partnerships with big brands including Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Netflix and Hilton. No new videos have been posted since December when a rebel group of gun-toting women are seen training to shoot misogynistic male animals. Mum left in stitches after finding her daughter play with a toy that looks VERY rude A pre-trial conference to try to thrash out a settlement is scheduled for next week. 5 One character is a nun hoping for sex with an ex 5 A doll graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work
New York Times
05-08-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
The Human Urge to Corrupt These Wholesome Critters
When Paul Welander, a health care worker in Britain, heard about a lawsuit that the maker of Calico Critters toys recently filed against a social media content creator, he wasn't totally surprised. The critters, introduced in 1985, are tiny velvety-bodied animals — rabbits, mice, moles, bears, beavers, badgers, pigs, penguins — dressed in modest clothes and sold in sets as families. The lawsuit alleges that the creator committed copyright and trademark infringement by making videos that portray the twee toys in scandalous situations: having affairs, driving drunk, taking drugs. Videos not unlike the crassly captioned pictures of the toys, also known as Sylvanians, that Mr. Welander, 51, started sharing on social media back in 2016. One of his posts, featuring a photo of two squirrels in cottagecore attire near a pile of leaves, had the caption: 'Cover the feet, we have till spring to get our story straight …' Another, featuring a bushy-tailed rodent sitting at a piano, was captioned with a lyric from the song 'Baby Got Back.' It read, 'I like big butts and I cannot lie, you other brothers can't deny …' When Mr. Welander began sharing the posts on X (back when it went by Twitter), his account, called Sylvnianans, amassed some 10,000 followers within a week, he said. He attributed the interest in it to the humor of imagining the squeaky-clean creatures engaged in 'adult topics,' as he put it. Soon after, his account was suspended. The reason Mr. Welander was given, he recalled, was for 'misrepresentation of a product.' A representative for X said it would be hard to confirm the reasons for actions taken against accounts as far back as 2016. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
