Just a few suggestions. This is where a thesaurus would come in handy.

Happy translating!

Paul

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Note added at 7 mins (2009-11-18 10:54:05 GMT)
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Just the adjective is above, I would add 'creature'!

I had an idea: you could use the idea of 'cute and cuddly' to name these

Something like the teletubbies I suppose....

this is certainly popular judging by its Google hits. One of them is:

The caipora is a fantastic creature of the forest, in the Tupi-Guarani mythology: a giant creature, covered with dark hair, who always rides a large boar.
http://tagbulb.com/q/QnA/Yahoo/saci

other options

For me, 'imaginary' is much cuddlier than 'fantasy'. Animals is an alternative to creatures, possibly more used by pre-schoolers. Could you even call them pets - imaginary pets, cuddlier and cleverer than real ones? (That's enough '_erer' comparatives.)

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Note added at 3 hrs (2009-11-18 14:27:10 GMT)
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You could take a lead from Borges and his translator and call them "imaginary beings":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Imaginary_Beings

Interesting that the original Spanish title of Borges' work was 'Manual de zoología fantástica' , suggesting animals/creatures, but that was expanded in a later edition to 'El libro de los seres imaginarios'. As the reference says, this covers "120 mythical beasts from folklore and literature".

Lots of childish things, like the Goofus bird, which builds its nest upside down and flies backwards.

Just another idea.

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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-11-18 15:05:32 GMT)
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I do realise you say they aren't mythical creatures, but I'm not sure 'imaginary beings' would necessarily suggest that.

might work. I realise you want something that sounds appealing. I presume these 'figments' are not based on Disney or the like ?! I'll keep thinking...

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Note added at 11 mins (2009-11-18 10:58:55 GMT)
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they have been 'dreamed up' rather than weirdly 'fantasy', right ?

» 9 Characters Dreamed Up By European Kids! - REDEFINE MAGAZINE - [ Traduire cette page ]1 Sep 2009 ... Cutesy characters dreamed up by kids from France, Spain, and Germany are on display at the Jardín de la Ciudadela in Pamplona, Spain, ...
www.redefinemag.com/.../9-characters-dreamed-up-by-european... - En cache

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Note added at 4 hrs (2009-11-18 15:18:05 GMT)
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thanks for the support above, I still think invented is less misleading. It's amazingly hard to get more precise. Googling 'non-human comic characters' produces little! If these little creatures are not (yet) out as soft toys perhaps cuddly is overtranslating. Maybe (in light of your added context) 'little characters' alone sounds 'cute'

or even storybook character

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Note added at 8 mins (2009-11-18 10:55:29 GMT)
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or creature too, but I think I prefer character

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Note added at 5 hrs (2009-11-18 16:00:17 GMT)
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Must say I'm surprised that several people seem to view this expression as being used exclusively for children's play. I think it means "imaginary" or "pretend" or "unreal" and is often used to refer to cartoon characters and animated doll characters in children's tv and films.

Here is one example of such usage:

"A major leap forward in American animation, the 2004 Oscar-winning The Incredibles retains all the joy of a cartoon movie loaded with funny gags; delivers a solid, emotional moral about keeping the family together; and yet still achieves the scope, excitement and dimensional thrill of a James Bond action film. Composed with the most advanced computer animation techniques of its time, the artwork is constantly dazzling, and yet it is always drenched in human wit and ingenuity. It seems, really, to achieve some kind of halfway point, where the characters and setting are make-believe, but are graspably real within that world (the animators often refer to their characters as 'puppets')."