“IvyBears was never simply a consumer brand that suddenly decided to venture into entertainment,” he told Variety in an online interview in the wake of MIPJunior. “In many ways, the story actually began the other way around, and it was my son, Pars, who ultimately brought these two worlds together.”
Kaan Haylaz, creator of ‘IvyBears.’ Credits Moontrail Animation Studios, IvyBears
“I’ve always been fascinated by the way animation creates characters that become part of our lives,” recalled Haylaz. “In my early childhood, I was a big fan of ‘Transformers’ and ‘He-Man, the Masters of the Universe’. Later, in the late ’80s and early ’90s, it was mainly the ‘Ninja Turtles’… until Pixar launched ‘Toy Story’ and animation changed permanently from hand-drawn 2D cels to fully digital 3D imagery.”
From the start, turning his gummies into super-powered heroes, and mirroring these characters on both labels and animated narratives was in fact at the foundation of Haylaz’s strategy.
“Imagine a child watching the IvyBears on television, developing an emotional connection with those characters, and then recognizing the same heroes on a product in a supermarket or pharmacy. The entertainment and the consumer product are no longer two separate businesses. They become parts of the same universe.”
From brand to content, quality as a compass
To bring his characters to life, Haylaz relied on AI tools, guided by human talents, in an approach he discussed openly.
“I believe the discussion (around AI) is both legitimate and necessary. AI is not the filmmaker. AI is a tool in the filmmaker’s hands. At Moontrail, creative direction, storytelling, emotional decisions and artistic judgment remain purely human responsibilities. We are not trying to eliminate artists from the filmmaking process. We are trying to eliminate many of the financial but also technical barriers that have historically prevented independent creators from bringing ambitious ideas to life.”
As he framed it, this approach allowed Moontrail to greatly increase production speed and reduce costs, producing 12-minute animated epsiodes in approximately two weeks.
AI as an empowering, imperfect tool
For Haylaz, the biggest revolution isn’t that AI makes animation faster. It’s that AI makes independent filmmaking economically achievable on an entirely different scale. “And that changes who gets to tell stories.”
Creating with generative AI is, per Haylaz, far more complex than typing a few prompts. “In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. Maintaining consistent characters, environments, lighting, visual identity and emotional performances across an entire episode is a substantial technical and artistic challenge. Because a character might look fantastic in one shot but lose subtle aspects of their identity or expression in another, maintaining cinematic continuity demands considerable supervision, iteration and attention to detail.”
“For us, the greatest challenge isn’t generating beautiful images. It’s turning those images into a coherent, emotionally engaging film, a story that works and that ultimately starts with the right script.”
Scripts and characters Haylaz is very keen on protecting, as he envisions building long-term intellectual properties rather than producing disposable content.
“Our characters, their personalities, their stories and their visual identities represent the fundamental assets of Moontrail Animation Studios. We therefore distinguish between the technologies used to produce content, and the ownership and control of the underlying intellectual property. Commercial licensing, confidentiality, the protection of original production materials and the terms governing third-party AI tools are all important considerations in our approach. Ultimately, our ambition is to build characters with lasting value, and protecting their originality is essential to that ambition.”
Expanding the IP, caring for the audience
“In essence, we are leveraging ‘IvyBears’ established global popularity to accelerate the growth of our entertainment franchise. Our mid-term ambition is to establish ‘IvyBears’ as a recognizable international children’s entertainment property, spanning animated series, feature films, licensing, merchandise, gaming and more consumer products, while continuing to develop entirely new original IPs through Moontrail.”
IPs that, much as “IvyBears,” Haylaz is building with kids at the heart of his creative concerns.
“As a father of three children, I watch anywhere between three and five animated shows or films every single day. I see the bonds they create, the emotions they trigger and the messages (and the importance of those messages) they deliver. Animation is a major emotional vehicle throughout a child’s life.”
Haylaz originally created IvyBears because he wanted to help his son. “Today, I’m creating animated stories that my children, and hopefully millions of children around the world, can grow up with. For me, it’s all about storytelling that moves children.”
