Yandex Turns Junion Plush Toy Brand into an Animated Series

From Toy to Screen

The story of Plushville began in 2022, when the Junion team — a children's products brand from Yandex Factory — came up with characters with personalities and backstories. The company was motivated to bring this world to the screen by the audience's interest not only in the toys themselves but also in their universe. The product line is growing: in the first eight months of 2026, purchases of the characters more than tripled compared to the same period last year.

Market Context

Toys as the basis for cartoons is one of the biggest business trends in global animation. It emerged in the 1980s after changes in U.S. television advertising legislation. The approach is called reverse licensing: the cartoon is created not for art's sake, but as a long-running commercial.

In 1983, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission allowed children's shows to be produced based on existing commercial products. Hasbro bought the rights to the Japanese toy robots Diaclone, brought in Marvel to create a backstory, and launched the Transformers in 1984. Hasbro's colorful ponies were also originally just toys — the scripts and the franchise were written for them later.

Modern companies sell not a toy, but an entire ecosystem. A classic example is Lego: the Ninjago series was originally created to support the launch of a new construction set line with spinners. Before releasing the Monster High dolls, Mattel developed media support — from web episodes to full-length animated films — so that buyers would know each doll's personality and style. Bratz dolls, Barbie's main competitors, hit the shelves in 2001, but animated series and 3D films about them only started coming out in 2005.