Julius the Monkey, created by Paul Frank Industries from odd pieces of leather and other bits, is a quirky monkey bearing a classic Roman name, with big red lips and a playful personality.

Before long, Julius, true to his larger than life personality, began to appear on Paul Frank accessories such as wallets, t-shirts, hats etc – in fact, wherever he was likely to get a bit of attention – you know what monkey’s are like!

Perhaps it is his cheeky nature that makes him so popular. Some people assume Julius is smiling happily, but actually, if you take a closer look at Julius, he is not so much smiling as smirking!

But, in spite of this (or perhaps even because of it) Julius does actually have friends. And many friends at that. There is Skurvy, who likes to think he can be a tiny bit scary, Clancy a very cute giraffe, and Worry Bear, who hates going anywhere without his security basket.

Skurvy is pirate skull and crossbones, but if you look closely, he looks a bit like Julius – he’s got the same eyes and nose, so it’s kind of like there is a family resemblance.

Clancy, the giraffe was inspired by Clancy’s Irish bar in California. Paul Frank liked the idea that “clancy is a totally Irish thing and giraffes have nothing to do with Ireland as far as I can tell”. We thought it might be because Clancy likes Guinness, but hey, we got it wrong!

Worry Bear was born from a doodle created by Paul Frank while flying back to California. He says “his worried expression is exactly what I was feeling inside”. There is something very human and vulnerable about Worry Bear – he is very endearing and let’s be honest, none of us wants to get stung by a bumble bee.

At their home in California’s Planned Pines, Julius, Skurvy, Clancy and Worry Bear have lots of other friends in their animated community, including Clancy's older brother, Cornelius, Ellie an elephant, Bunny Girl, a girl in a bunny suit who has a reputation as a recluse but actually loves people and giving presents and possibly has a crush on Worry Bear!

There is also Hulius, a Hawaiian version of Julius, Simmy McGiggleswick, a Scottish terrier and Marshmellows, the hot cocoa rapids riders – to name but a few.