Plush Toys: From Mass-Produced Items to Unique Emotional Anchors

When you think back to your childhood, what comes to mind? Many people think of the stuffed animals that accompanied them, perhaps a puppy, a bear, or a bunny, which may still be with them today.

Nowadays, plush toys aren't just for children; they've also entered the adult realm. In recent years, the most popular plush toys have included IKEA's shark named Blahaj, Disney's Lingena Belle, and the currently popular JellyCat. These toys range from animals to fruits and vegetables, and have become popular with everyone from the children of celebrities like David Beckham and Tom Cruise to entertainers like William Chan and Bai Jingting. These adorable plush toys are now popular photo companions, extending beyond the entertainment industry to become popular with people of all ages and social classes.

Our in-house designers and enginPopular plush toys have their own personalities or stories. For example, Broy the Shark has a world-weary face with drooping mouth corners. Many people see it as a reflection of themselves tired of work and life, so they humorously mock themselves with sharks, saying it is a true portrayal of "office slaves." JellyCat's plush toys, on the other hand, have a cute and adorable smile, and the soft touch makes them delightful. As Louis Pobriye said, "If an object can generate emotion, then the human fantasy falsely promised in the market may actually be real: fairy tales can come true."eers have produced countless great designs for customers from different industries

Each of these unique plush toys has become a social media sensation for their owners—their "owners." Projecting their own emotions onto their stuffed toys, and through the process of complaining, seems to alleviate some of life's frustrations. From real life to social media, every JellyCat collection is available, offering everything from classification, size, and color to how to identify authenticity and bathe the animals. Owners can even direct and act out their own stories about their extended family of dolls.

Beyond the status of a doll, people have redefined it as a family member, a close playmate. This has given plush toys sentimental value, imbuing interactions with them with meaning. In the Douban group "What's your IKEA shark doing today?", over 27,000 people have gathered to discuss their own "sharks." In the group "Plush toys have lives too," over 44,000 people have joined. Plush animals are treated as companions, children, and treasures. In their eyes, they have lives, thoughts, emotions, and even emotions. Couples even consider them their shared children, fostering a bond.

Since the first plush toys were produced over a hundred years ago, these soft, cuddly things have been used in countless ways to make people willingly buy them home. Why are plush toys so popular? Besides their adorable appearance, soft touch, and inherent meaning, the manufacturers and designers have also contributed greatly.

Still from Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium

Every emotional need of modern people can become a commodity. Plush toys were originally designed for children. In the world of children, society is unknown. They imitate adults and the images in cartoons they see, imbuing the dolls and toys around them with meaning in their imaginary worlds. Children imitate their parents' actions towards themselves, talking to their stuffed animals, singing nursery rhymes, and lulling them to sleep.

Scholar Joe Turney once combined the views of Freud and Lacan to explain the relationship between objects and emotions. The beginning of a baby's life is driven by needs. The baby relies on the warmth and comfort provided by the mother and obtains satisfaction through breasts, blankets, clothes, etc.; as a child grows up, from dependence to independence, he will have a sense of loss and realize that "his world will never go back to the past."

Possession is a form of compensation. "From this moment on, children are constantly seeking ways to compensate for this loss. This loss seems to be temporarily compensated through objects and possessions (a form of sublimation), sucking on a blanket, petting a pet, or purchasing a thing that seems to be lacking - such as love, friendship, fashion, status, etc. can bring them comfort."

Since plush toys are an emotional bridge for children as they transition from dependence to independence, why are they also so popular among adults? One key reason is that plush doll designs resonate with the current reality and spiritual world of modern people: where there is loneliness and emotional rifts, there is a need for comfort, and where there is demand, there is business opportunity. Toy manufacturers are tapping into this "emotional economy" to meet these needs.

British plush toy brand jellycat

Modern people face multiple pressures from work, life, and family. Everyone's spiritual world requires a certain degree of resilience to cushion the blow, but reality often lacks breathing space, and emotional investment has gradually become a luxury. Emotional design is the value of plush toys. As Victor Maglin, a researcher specializing in design thinking, puts it, "Designers can make objects more emotionally valuable by creating pleasing forms or useful functions."

These soft, adorable plush toys offer a place for modern people to rest their minds, providing a small dose of comfort and companionship. The moment they see them, people feel a brief sense of soothing. One Lingna Belle fan commented, "Lingna Belle's popularity is matched by the hardships of office life." People love Lingna Belle because she behaves like a human, but she can't speak, and interacting with humans is too tiring.

Imagine those fleeting moments of emo, when emotions bubble up from the cracks of the mind. The adorable faces and soft touch of plush toys can timely fill those fleeting moments. While their existence certainly doesn't solve fundamental practical problems, in today's hectic pace of life, a brief moment of comfort is better than nothing. In today's busy lives, virtual social interaction reigns, yet loneliness remains undiminished. Touchable, companionable objects are even more crucial. At such moments, a soft, tangible object that offers a mental resting place can provide a momentary sense of security.

Still from Ted

At work, relationships between colleagues can become distant due to conflicting interests; in family relationships, family members aren't always a safe haven for the soul. However, a cuddly stuffed animal will never betray you. Unlike cats and dogs, which require investment in care, a stuffed animal is only cleaned once you bring it home. While plush toys may be expensive, they are undoubtedly the most affordable spiritual companion.

The world of toys sometimes serves as a metaphor for the adult world. In the movie "Toy Story," space cop Buzz Lightyear sees himself as a unique interstellar leader, charged with saving Earth. But then, in a moment of inadvertent discovery, he discovers he's a mass-produced, manipulated toy. In real life, everyone desires a unique self. When connection to the outside world and self-control become paralyzed within the machinations of time, emotions require support.

Still from Toy Story 3

In the production process, plush toys are mass-produced. However, in the hearts of their owners, they are unique. In "Toy Story 3," the original storyline circulated: an aging Buzz Lightyear is recalled by the manufacturer. The toy friends discover their friend, Bao, is about to be replaced and no longer their only friend, and decide to overcome numerous obstacles to rescue their old friend. The film version of the story, however, ends with the owner passing the toy to a new child. Despite their reluctance to part, childhood is no longer a given. While these two versions differ, both, through a child's imaginative perspective, demonstrate that in the hearts of their friends, each toy is unique and irreplaceable, not because of its worn or aged appearance, but because it once entered their spiritual world.

While we can't change the reality of childhood, we can find a sense of spiritual eternity in the companionship of toys. Plush toys are adorable and innocent. Their innocent faces offer a steady companionship for their owners. Amidst the complex emotions of the human world, those who retain a childlike heart extract the purest elements, imbuing them with meaning and illuminating the often-hidden softness and innocence.