Company: Takara / Playmates
Year: 1993
Size: various
Main distribution: Worldwide
Furry Families, also known as Secret Families or Furry Tails, are a bunch of playsets existing out of little animal family figures, often forest creatures, with a little home.
Although mostly pastel in colour, in Japan these came in more realistic natural colours.
The packaging read: “Who are the Furry Families? The Furry Families are happy clans of clever critters. Their job is to keep you smiling all day long, so they secretly handle the little hassles that might make you sad. In fact, the Furry Families are so smart, they can fix your problems before you have them! And guess what? The Furry Families want to be your secret friends!”
Several sets came out.
Smaller sets, with families of three (father, mother, child) came with a single room in a theme. They all share the same base of a floor, a wall with a bay window and a door that opens. I believe there’s 4 of them and I have them all complete and in good condition.
Larger sets, with families of various sizes, came with a little house (of everyday objects) and little furniture, with a specialty job. I believe there’s 6 of those and I got 5 families, although missing bits.
One huge set of a full house was also made.
I got 9/11, although not all complete.
Bear Family Bedroom Playset
I found some packaging online. It reads: “These snoozy bears invite you to a sleepy (…)” I could not read the rest. It also has taglines such as “Open the door! The Bear Family can play… then, hit the hay!” and “Includes Mama, Papa and Baby Bear, plus a cozy bedroom!”
The room is purple with a blue door that opens. The interior is all stuck inside and can’t be moved. There’s a pink bed, pink bedside table, pink vanity and pink stool, with a yellow open wardrobe. It’s decorated with little basic items and stickers.
On the bottom is the branding. It reads in raised font: PLAYMATES TOYS · 1993, TAKARA, MADE IN CHINA.
It comes with 3 figures; Mama, Papa and Baby Bear. The bears are a light brown, and Papa wears a blue overalls, Mama a pink and white polka dot apron dress and Baby a purple floral dress. There is no branding on the figures.
My set is complete and in great condition.
Dog Family Kitchen Playset
The room is yellow with a purple door that opens. The interior is all stuck inside and can’t be moved. There’s pink kitchen cupboards with a sink and chopping board, a pink hutch, a green table with food and a white fridge. It’s decorated with little basic items and stickers.
On the bottom is the branding. It reads in raised font: PLAYMATES TOYS · 1993, TAKARA, MADE IN CHINA.
It comes with 3 figures; Mama, Papa and Baby Dog. The dogs are a light brown, with dark brown ears. Papa wears a dark blue overalls, Mama a white and pink floral dress and Baby a mint and white dress. There is no branding on the figures.
My set is complete and in great condition.
Duck Family Dining Room Playset
The room is blue with a white door that opens. The interior is all stuck inside and can’t be moved. There’s a table in the centre with food on it, three purple chairs around it and a purple hutch in the corner. It’s decorated with little basic items and stickers.
On the bottom is the branding. It reads in raised font: PLAYMATES TOYS · 1993, TAKARA, MADE IN CHINA.
It comes with 3 figures; Mama, Papa and Baby Duck. The ducks are white, with yellow beaks and feet. Papa wears a dark blue suit jacket and a red bowtie, Mama a pink shawl and head and Baby a red bowtie and white bonnet. There is no branding on the figures.
My set is complete and in great condition.
Pig Family Bakery Playset
The room is pink with a yellow door that opens. The interior is all stuck inside and can’t be moved. There’s blue kitchen cupboards with counter space almost all around, a microwave in the corner and a register in the other. In the middle is a weddingcake. It’s decorated with little basic items and stickers.
On the bottom is the branding. It reads in raised font: PLAYMATES TOYS · 1993, TAKARA, MADE IN CHINA.
It comes with 3 figures; Mama, Papa and Baby Pig. The Pigs are light pink. Papa wears a green chef’s outfit, with a yellow scarf and a white chef hat and apron, Mama a white apron and Baby a yellow bib. There is no branding on the figures.
My set is complete and in great condition.
Bunny Family Playset
The Bunny Family lives in a pink jewellery box, which opens on a hinge like a box. The inside is decorated with stickers.
The top of the box has flowers in relief on it, which hints at the Bunny’s secret job; Gardening.
The family exists out of 5; Papa, Mama, Sister, Brother and Baby. The Bunnies are all white. Papa wears a green overalls with a tulip on the front, Mama wears a yellow apron with a pink pocket with a daisy on, Sister wears a blue top and pink skirt, Brother wears a yellow sweater with green stars and Baby a blue apron. There is no branding on the figures.
The furniture pieces are mostly green, with a few yellow pieces. There’s a green table with 2 green chairs, a green closet, a green plant stand, a green flowerbed, a green bucket / plant pot, green plants with yellow and pink flowers, a yellow twig to keep the box open and a yellow ladder to climb into the box.
I only have one chair, the table and the ladder.
My set is in good condition and mostly complete. I hope to find the other furniture pieces some day.
Kitty Family Playset
I found some packaging online. It reads: “The Kitty Family is “sew” smart! Quick as a stitch, these cute kitties can mend torn trousers, ripped ruffles, and toeless socks… or even whip up a pretty party dress! After a happy day of hemming and sewing, this fun-loving family cuddles together in their elegant teapot home!” and the tagline is “These cute kittens live in a lovely teapot cottage filled with furniture and fun!”
The home is a green teapot and comes with mostly purple furniture. It has a family of 4 Kitties; Papa, Mama, Brother and Sister.
The Kitties are orange, but in Japan they are brown.
I do not have this set. I hope to find it complete some day.
Mole Family Playset
The Mole Family lives in a green pendulum clock, which once on its back opens on a hinge like a box. The front little window opens up too. The inside is decorated with stickers, which hints at the Moles’ secret job; Carpentry.
The clock face has cute artwork of the Mole Family on it.
The family exists out of 5; Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister and Baby. The Moles are all light grey with brown snouts. Papa wears a blue trouser with yellow suspenders and a pink scarf, Mama wears a pink gown, Brother wears green trousers with pink suspenders, Sister wears a yellow skirt and Baby is wrapped in a green blanket with only his tiny head peaking out. There is no branding on the figures.
In Japan the Moles are a dark brown.
The furniture pieces are yellow. There’s a wooden round table, two wooden round stools, a yellow pendulum clock, a yellow turnkey, two yellow screws, a yellow wrench and a small yellow stick to keep the window open.
I only have one stool and the table.
My set is in good condition and mostly complete. I hope to find the other furniture pieces some day.
Mouse Family Playset
The Mouse Family lives in a purple old shoe, which I do not have. This hints at the Mice’s secret job; Cobbler.
The Mouse Family is the largest and exists out of 7; Papa, Mama, Older Brother, Older Sister, Younger Brother, Younger Sister and Baby. The Mice are all grey. Papa wears green overalls trouser with a shoe on the front pocket, Mama wears a pink apron with a green shoe on the front pocket, Older Brother wears a yellow shirt with a green M, Older Sister wears a pink and white school outfit, Younger Brother wears yellow trousers with pink suspenders, Younger Sister wears a green skirt with suspenders and Baby is wrapped in a pink blanket with only his tiny head and paw peaking out. There is no branding on the figures.
The furniture pieces are mostly green. There’s a green shelving cupboard with coloured shoes, a tall green shelving unit, a yellow cobbler’s anvil, a yellow shoe, a yellow chair and a yellow twig to keep the shoe’s nose open.
I only have the shelving cupboard with shoes and the cobbler’s anvil.
This is my least complete set, missing the house and most furniture. I’m glad I managed to get the entire family though. I hope to find the missing pieces some day.
Raccoon Family Playset
The Raccoon Family lives in a green book, which opens the front cover like a box. The inside is decorated with stickers.
The pages are made from yellow plastic, but the green cover is made from cardboard, which makes it prone for dents and folds, hard to clean, and easily rips in the fold. The book hints at the Raccoon’s secret job; Writer.
The family exists out of 4; Papa, Mama, Older Brother, and Younger Brother. The Raccoons are light brown with darker brown markings. Papa wears a green and yellow shirt and hat, Mama wears a purple dress, Older Brother wears green sweater with a yellow C and Younger Brother wears yellow trousers with purple suspenders. There is no branding on the figures.
In Japan the Raccoons are grey.
The furniture pieces are mostly purple. There’s a purple study desk, a purple typewriter, two purple books, a purple bookcase with colourful books, a purple swivel chair with a blue seat, a yellow ladder to get inside and a yellow twig to keep the book open.
I only have the swivel chair, desk and bookcase.
My set is in okay condition. The book / house could be better but is alright considering the age. I’m missing furniture as well but it’s mostly complete. I hope to find the other furniture pieces some day.
Squirrel Family Playset
The packaging read: “The Squirrel Family is a whiz around the house! They can scrub a dub… flip a flap-jack… or press a dress in seconds flat! These handy household helpers just love to brighten a room with their sunny, funny smiles! And when everything is neat and tidy, these clever cleaners scamper back to their sugar-sweet jelly jar house!”
The Squirrel Family lives in a purple strawberry jelly jar, which opens on a hinge on its side. The lid comes off and a little window opens up too. The inside is decorated with stickers and the front label has cute artwork of the Squirrel Family.
The family exists out of 5; Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister and Baby. The Squirrels are grey. Papa wears a purple suit jacket and green messenger bag, Mama wears a pink and yellow apron, Brother wears a green shirt and pink scarf like a scout, Sister wears a pink shirt and purple dress and Baby wears a yellow bib. There is no branding on the figures.
The furniture pieces are pink. There’s a pink bed with a sticker blanket, a pink lamp, a pink nightstand, a pink iron, a pink iron board and a pink table.
My set is in good condition and the most complete of these ones. I’m only missing the pink table. I hope to find it some day.
Lion Family
Probably the largest playset. The home is a large play house with a carry handle. It has a family of 5 Lions; Papa, Mama, Brother, Sister and Baby. The furniture is yellow and pink and comes with lots of little items as well as a car.
I do not have this set. Maybe I’ll get it complete some day, although I prefer the smaller sets.
When I was elementary school age, I had a classmate and used to play at their place a lot. They had the Mouse Family. I instantly fell in love. I was always drawn into role play toys, little figurines with houses, and animals. The mice looked so cute and their shoe home equally so. Whenever I was over, I would play with it. Often even alone. I never got the play set myself though.
Many years later, I find a mouse toy that reminds me of these figures. Of the Mouse Family that lived in the shoe. I spend that evening searching the internet until I found out what they were called. Furry / Secret Families.
Now that I knew what they were called, my quest began to find the set. I quickly found others, all equally adorable. The Squirrels was the first set I bought (I love Squirrels!). I then found the Pigs (little chef is so cute!). Then I found some lots. And again. Before I knew it, I had most sets. The lots made them quite cheap due to the bulk, and I could find the best / missing pieces in the dupes.
The irony is I still don’t have that Mouse Family play set complete. I don’t even have the shoe home! But I got the whole family at least. Empty houses are easily found and without pieces relatively cheap. Family figures always seem wanted (even on their own they are quite cute) and can be found often for sale but for high prices sadly. The hardest to find is the furniture pieces! These would often go missing or break, and finding complete sets seems impossible. But I’m confident I’ll find that shoe home at least.
I love the pastel colours of these sets, but I found the natural looking Japanese ones also interesting looking. Maybe I’ll manage to buy those one day too. For now I’m super happy I got all these cute critters.
To find out these are from Takara is also such a fun discovery for me. I love Japanese stuff and toys, and their cute aesthetic, and have many Takara items. The early 90’s is my favourite era I think as well. So this really feels like part of my toy collection.
Although I don’t think I’ll ever get every little piece, it would be fun to have the whole lot complete. They’re quite hard to find as the words “furry” and “secret” bring up some spicy results, and “family” often results to Sylvanian Families. I had more success with the brand names.
If you like cute anthropomorphic animals and playsets these are so lovely.
But if you’re into less childish things, or figures with articulation give these a miss.
I still have lots of sets double, if anyone is interested in buying or trading for pieces I’m missing.
Got any more details / information you think I should add? Or did I get something wrong? Do you own any Furry Families? Which one is your fav? Do you agree or disagree with my findings? Let me know in the comments below!
thank you so much for this post! i’ve been trying to find more info on these toys for YEARS without remembering the name (and like you said, even when i tried searching for furry families, nothing helpful came up lol – or everything would lead me to sylvanian families instead). i’m in canada and had quite a few of these when i was little, but unfortunately only a few of the animals survive – no complete families or houses (the shoe was definitely my favourite too!!) 😔 but i’m very happy to at least have something. so nostalgic!
I’m glad you liked the post! It’s exactly why I started this blog, to document some of these older toys as it’s so hard to find info on them. Hold onto those cute critters, they are the best!