IvyBears is preparing to make a bigger leap into entertainment, with an animated feature now in development and production expected to begin before the end of the year.
The film plan follows rapid digital growth for the property. The IvyBears YouTube channel, launched earlier this year, has surpassed 7.7 million subscribers, while IvyBears content has generated more than 75 million views across all platforms.
Creator Kaan Haylaz, the CEO and founder of Malta-based Moontrail Animation Studios, disclosed the feature project in an online interview with Variety following MIPJunior. Moontrail is also expanding into additional character-led series, including “The Dr Muppy Show” and “Banana Rainbow.”
A Consumer Brand Designed as an Entertainment Universe
IvyBears began as a vitamin brand, but Haylaz says its entertainment ambitions were present from the outset. A theater and film studies graduate with a lifelong enthusiasm for gummies, he developed the business after trying to help his son Pars, who was struggling with food.
That personal effort grew into an international consumer brand and an intellectual property built around turning the gummies into super-powered characters. The same heroes were designed to appear on product labels and in animated stories.
“IvyBears was never simply a consumer brand that suddenly decided to venture into entertainment,” Haylaz said. He described the business model as a “reverse flywheel strategy,” beginning with products before using that established consumer presence to support an entertainment franchise.
His approach reverses the more traditional progression he identified, in which entertainment companies first introduce characters, attract an audience and then extend those characters into merchandise and other products. IvyBears, by contrast, already has an international retail infrastructure through which its characters can reach consumers.
Haylaz’s interest in animation stretches back to childhood, when he watched “Transformers,” “He-Man, the Masters of the Universe” and later “Ninja Turtles.” He also pointed to “Toy Story” and the industry’s move from hand-drawn 2D animation to digital 3D imagery as an important shift in the medium.
For IvyBears, he wanted personalities that went beyond being simply cute or predictable. Haylaz compared the group’s dynamic to “The A-Team” meeting “Angry Birds”: distinctive, confident characters who stand for good but enjoy punishing the bad guys.
Moontrail’s AI-Supported Production Model
Moontrail is producing its animation through a combination of human filmmaking expertise and AI-supported workflows. Haylaz said the studio has a relatively lean team of more than 20 full-time staff members, many of whom have film or storytelling backgrounds.
According to Haylaz, that structure allows the company to complete a 12-minute animated episode in approximately two weeks while reducing costs and increasing production speed. He argued that AI can lower financial and technical obstacles that have historically made ambitious independent productions difficult to develop before an audience has had a chance to discover them.
However, he rejected the idea that generative AI can replace filmmaking judgment. At Moontrail, he said, creative direction, storytelling, emotional choices and artistic decisions remain human responsibilities.
The technology also presents continuing challenges. Maintaining consistent characters, settings, lighting, visual identity and performances across an episode requires supervision and repeated refinement. Haylaz noted that AI may speed up individual tasks but does not inherently understand story construction, timing or emotional pacing.
Moontrail is also navigating questions involving intellectual property, creative rights, commercial licensing, confidentiality, original production materials and the terms attached to third-party AI tools. Haylaz said the studio distinguishes between the technology used in production and its ownership of the underlying characters, stories, personalities and visual identities.
ShowBiz Take
IvyBears’ feature-film move matters because it tests a notably different route to building a children’s entertainment property. Rather than waiting for a television or film audience before launching consumer products, Haylaz is using an existing brand, retail network and fast-growing digital following as the foundation for a broader screen franchise.
The strategy also places Moontrail’s AI-supported workflow at the center of its expansion. Its ability to produce 12-minute episodes in roughly two weeks gives the studio a way to develop and test content independently, while the company’s emphasis on human-led storytelling and IP protection reflects the creative and rights questions accompanying that technology.
What Happens Next?
The immediate milestone is the planned start of production on the IvyBears animated feature before year-end. No release date or distribution platform for the film has been confirmed.
Beyond the feature, Haylaz’s mid-term ambition is to establish IvyBears as an internationally recognizable children’s entertainment property spanning animated series, movies, licensing, merchandise, gaming and additional consumer products. Moontrail also intends to continue developing original IP beyond IvyBears.
A father of three, Haylaz said he watches between three and five animated shows or films each day and sees animation as a powerful emotional presence in children’s lives. Having first created IvyBears to help his son, he now hopes to make stories that his own children—and children around the world—can grow up with.