Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney. Man, I haven't done one of these in a long time. Anyways, today I'm diving back into the world of Lego & Disney. Now, this one will be shorter then I planned because I had intended to go over the new sets that were released stateside and one set that were released internationally first and won't be stateside until August of this year. And I should mention that all but one of these are Duplo sets. Let's start with the Duplo sets as I did on the very first Lego & Disney article and let's start with the set that is not for sale in the states.
Duplo
Mickey Mouse & Friends
If you recall my Top 6 Disney TV Show/Movies That Could Work as Lego Sets, Mickey Mouse was on the list at # 6 tied with Kim Possible. Well, it happened and as mentioned up top, these sets were first released in Singapore in 2012 and then Australia earlier this year. I don't know if this is the first time that Lego has done this but it wouldn't surprise me to be honest. Now as for the pieces themselves, they are kinda lame. Look, I know this set is meant for a younger crowd but here is something I take issue with.
Look maybe it is just me but I don't like the character bricks. And as I said I understand that this set is intended for a younger age. The age listing on the site was 1 1/2 - 5 years old and I get that a little bit but it almost feels cheap and as though, they didn't want to take the time to figure out make the molds for the characters. And they had a prior Mickey set. And they had already done molds for Mickey, Minnie and Pluto. I know because I own of the original Mickey Mouse sets.
I think that is what bugs me the most, sure you could make the argument that this is for a younger audience. They may not be able to handle the figures. Bull, the intended age is 1 1/2 - 5. I'll give you 1 1/2 year olds but 3 - 5 year olds, not so much and this isn't even the first time they've made a set based on a Disney property meant for kids around the same age. From 1999 - 2001, & then again in 2011, there was a Winnie The Pooh Duplo set. And here take a look at the Duplo Winnie The Pooh. Both variants.
Now I can't recall but I'm pretty sure that this set was meant for around the same age group and you notice the difference here, they actually took the time to make a Pooh Bear figure. Look, I don't what the process is to make a figure but to me, what they did with the new Mickey Mouse & Friends set just comes across as being lazy. As for the rest of the set, it's cute and simple. Nothing to write home about. That I don't have too much of an issue with because the Duplo backgrounds have really never been anything special. Let's move onto the next
Disney Princess
I've touched on this one in the past and the basic reason, this is around is because Lego is trying to tap into the little girl market. Because in the past, they have been excused of being a boy exclusive toy. Even though, I know plenty of female AFOL's (Adult Fans of Lego). Right now, this set only on 4 princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, and Ariel. And here's something weird,while they did include Prince Charming and Prince Eric respectively for Cinderella, Prince Phillip and Snow's Prince are absent. Okay, look I know Snow's Prince didn't have a name and isn't well remembered but I thought Phillip was somewhat popular. Also, I can pinpoint why but something about the faces on these figures unnerve me.
I think that the Princes bug me the most. Really, the only two that don't creep me out somewhat are both versions of Ariel as they also made a human variant of Ariel.
Oh, and Flounder is included as well.
Although, I gotta ask something why does the set titled Ariel's Undersea Castle look more like a playground then a castle?
Maybe I am just overthinking things and this is kinda cute but what castle has a slide and a swing. Weird. Now as I mentioned they also included human Ariel and there is set with that called Ariel's Magical Boat Ride. Which is basically Kiss The Girl and oh, in case your wondering why I'm not complaining about Sebastian being a character brick is because I can see the difficulties with him. Sure, I would've preferred it if they had an actual figure for the crab but I think I've exhausted my character brick complaining.
It seems to me that the big piece of the princess set is Cinderella's Castle. Which doesn't look half bad except for the fact that it's the wrong color but I believe they did that more to appeal to girls.
Okay, look I'm going to say something right here about this. I don't have any problem with these colors but I want to know, when did we start associating colors with genders? I mean I've heard the girl aisle in toy stores called The Pink Aisle. Look, I'm not trying to go off on a tangent here but that is just something I never understood.
The first one for Snow White that really caught my eye was the cottage. I have to admit, I'm a little shocked that the Seven Dwarfs were left out.
Still, it's cute. Okay, let's move onto the next and last Duplo set.
Jake and The Never Land Pirates
Now this is from The Disney Junior show, Jake and The Never Land
Pirates. I know very little about the show other then Captain Hook is the villain and that Peter Pan is not the main character.
Though part of me thinks that this is to be the companion piece to the princess set. By the way, I think Hook looks a little weird.
Now we have one more Duplo set to go over.
Planes
I'm going to be honest, these look better then the film that they are tied into. And more fun. You recall how I said that I didn't feel any charm with the characters in the trailer, well I get a sense of Lego charm with these characters. I think the one I like the most is Skipper's Flight School.
And now, we go to the main line to take a look at the final set.
Lego (Main Line)
The Lone Ranger
Okay, that train looks awesome. It's odd but I've barely seen any promotion for this one. I mean I knew it existed but there really isn't anything out there about this one. Though I do like it and it just looks like a lot of fun. And what's strange is that this set was out way before the film as in April of this year. I wonder why, it was released so early.
All of three these especially the train and bank heists look like a lot of fun. I don't know if I'll see the film but I think I want that Lone Ranger train. It's a bit of a shame that Lego really hasn't been promoting The Lone Ranger set as this one looks FUN! Of course, Lego has always been great with their Western sets, so this doesn't surprise me too much. This is probably my favorite set, I've featured today. Of course, the rest are for a younger audience.
I hope that you've enjoyed this look at Lego & Disney. It was a joy to work on another Lego & Disney article again. Peace!
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