A Look at Disney Gets Tangled in Lego: Rapunzel's Traveling Caravan

Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney.  It's been a while since I've done a blog but I'm back and today, we are combining two of my favorite things.  Tangled & Lego.  Yes,  if you have followed this blog for a number of times, you'd know that since the earliest days of A Look at Disney, I have done a series of blogs looking at Disney & Lego.  And last year, I introduced a new series titled A Look at Disney Gets Tangled.   And well,  Lego has been releasing Lego sets based on Tangled: The Series.  From what I could gather, most the sets seem to be based on season two aka Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure but there are some sets based on the first season as well.  (Editor's note: There seem to be only two sets for this entire series)

Now as I made mention, there are apparently only two sets based on the TV series and that is a little disappointing but there are other Tangled Lego sets.

So, I'm not overly upset by this as the movie had already some sets but I will admit to being a tad disappointed there are only two as there are so many more ideas that could be done like Varian's lab or something with Eugene and Lance.  Speaking of, that is something that is something that baffles me a smidge.  The Caravan is a season two set and for the first couple episodes of season two, it is the main mode of transportation and we have a large ensemble that includes Rapunzel, Cassandra, Eugene, Lance, Hook Foot, Shorty, Pascal,  & Maximus.  Only two of those characters are included in this set. Rapunzel and Cass.   And overall,  only three of those characters are available in the Tangled: The Series Lego sets.   Observe...

 



The bedroom set (which I bought for niece's last birthday) comes with Rapunzel and Pascal whereas as the Caravan only comes with Cass and Rapunzel.  You could maybe.... argue that the horse is Maximus but I don't see it.

The only way I could say that is Max is that like the horse pulling the caravan in the Lego set. Max is one of the horses that pulls the caravan.   Sadly,  when you Google Caravan and Tangled,  this set is the only result that you get.  And according to search results using Maximus' name, that is Max but okay hold up then. Why does he look so generic?   I mean look at Pascal.

It's not perfect mind you but just by looking at it, you can tell that is Pascal.   That horse,  all you have to go by to assume that it's Max is that he's white like Maximus.  Maybe horses are a little harder to make more distinctive but that just looks like any old generic horse that could be a part of any Lego set.

Now, there are some differences between "Max" and this horse that is pictured up above but that ties into a larger point.   Tangled Lego sets are part of Lego sets that are aimed at girls.   We see that with sets based on other Disney Princesses, Elves,  Lego Friends,  and stuff like DC Superhero Girls.

These sets have been a push to get girls more into Lego over some time and it has been working but this is something that I'll discuss over the course of this review but the Lego sets aimed at girls are built differently than regular Lego sets. You even get this idea that this is a girl's Lego set as soon as you open the instruction booklet for this set and this is the first image that you see.

But whatever... I'm of the mindset that boys can play with girls toys and vice versa.    With that outta the way,  let's look at the characters that do come with the set.


Mini Dolls



Just gonna make this quick but like I mentioned this is a Lego set that is aimed at girls per se and unlike regular Lego sets or those that are based on quote-unquote Boy's properties,  they don't have the traditional Minifigures but rather what Lego refers to as Mini Dolls.    The reception to them has warmed over time, I mean you see one in The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part.  And I more care about if they capture the essence of the character they're based on.  Take, for example, this really cute classic DC Superhero Girls Supergirl.

Where do, Rapunzel and Cassandra stand?  Let's find out.



Rapunzel & Cassandra

I admittedly have mixed reactions towards the Mini Dolls.   Cass is spot-on and as soon as you look at her,  you know it's Cassandra.

Cassandra isn't just a perfect Mini Doll, she's one of the best Lego translations of a character I have ever seen. As soon as I put her together, I knew it was Cass and the sword is a nice touch as it both hints at Cass being a tough fighter that will protect her best friend at any cost and her desire to take up her father's mantle of Captain of the Royal Guard. It also doesn't hurt that it makes me think of one of my favorite songs, Ready as I'll Ever Be and her appearance in it.

So, Cassandra is great and I'd put her alongside the likes of the Ariel minifigure as being one of the best Disney Lego figures ever.



But Rapunzel...  I dunno.   She's not bad and when looking at her, I think I see what the designers were going for as they were trying to give her a more distinct look that ties into the show as she doesn't look like the movie Rapunzel mini doll that much.

While  I do think that the Rapunzel that comes with this set is good but some might have to squint to see Rapunzel,  she is an improvement over the original Rapunzel Mini Doll from the sets based on the movie.   I have to wonder if there's a difference between translating characters into Mini Dolls/Minifigures considering that the movie was CGI and the show is 2D animation.   Now, I will give props for Rapunzel's outfit.

As they didn't just put her in her princess dress.   They actually used her season two outfit.  (Well, the first one as she has multiple outfits throughout the season)  I have to wonder if the designers were given an early screening of the first episode of season two.  As her outfit is spot-on.

Now, there is one other odd thing that I should mention.  For some reason, Rapunzel's weapon is a bow-and-arrow.  And I've been trying to rack my brain but I can't think of a single episode where Rapunzel used a bow-an-arrow.   Weirder still, that isn't the first time I've seen a Rapunzel bow-and-arrow related toy as there's an official Tangled: The Series themed bow-and-arrow toyset.

No matter, being a Tangled fan, there's an easy fix.

Yeah, the set comes with a frying pan.  So, when I first put this together, I took the bow out of her hand and put the frying pan there.  Just having a little fun there but I don't really care one way or the other if people decide to let Rapunzel use the bow.   Now, there is one other accessory that comes with Rapunzel but I typically don't have her wear it.

Now technically,  Rapunzel doesn't have to wear the tiara as it's part of a chest that comes with the set but you can put it on her if you want.   Personally, I don't think it looks good because it stands out too much but that also seems to be the case for minifigure queens.

Again, something about this just seems off.  And really, the only time I can think of Rapunzel wearing a tiara isn't even from the show.   Yeah, she put one won during the climax of her movie.  But as we've established this is a set based on the TV show and she doesn't wear a tiara often throughout the show.

The only TV appearance that comes to mind of her wearing a tiara is when she guest-starred on Sofia The First.

Ah well, not a biggie and one can chalk the tiara's presence up to being there if Rapunzel needs to use her princess title in a severe situation.   I'm sorry if it appears that I'm coming across negative as I really do like this set.  And I guess I should talk about Rapunzel's hair as that is a key feature of my favorite princess.   In short, it's adorable.

The designers had to find a simple solution to represent Rapunzel's hair being held and using bows is genius in my opinion.  It's simple and conveys the idea of her strand of 70ft of hair being held in place.   It makes me think of how she sometimes wears flowers in her hair on the show.

So, her hair is the best aspect of the Rapunzel Mini Doll and while I was harsher on the Rapunzel Mini Doll, I do like her.   Maybe, I was harder on her because as I've noted in the past, she's my favorite Disney character of all time.   So, I was probably gonna be more critical of her.





Ah well, moving on.




Accessories



Yeah, before I look at the vehicle I want to look at the accessories that come with this set as there quite a lot.   Let's begin.

You've got some food and a bucket of water.   It's cute.    and the carrot for "Max" is a nice touch.

And here's where the frying pan came from. Makes sense to have a cook station as our characters are traveling quite a bit.

And here's where Rapunzel can practice to take on Merida in an archery duel.   Still, don't get it but whatever. 

This chest is where that tiara is stored.  As seen here alongside a brush and a hard-to-make-out jewel.

Now, we come to my two favorite accessories. 

 



These two are my favorites as they feel like the accessories that most tie into the show.   Let's start with the journal.   Rapunzel's journal is one of the most important things in the show and it makes me happy to see Lego include it.  And even more that you can open it and see her writing.

This reminds me of the replica of the Journal that came with the DVD of Before Ever After.

I just love that.  And now the rocks,  that was one of the most fun building realizations.  Because it clicked what they were in my head as soon as I saw it put together.

And while it made be hard to make out, that sticker is the Sun Drop from the season one finale, Secret of the Sun Drop.   As you see according to the show's lore and mythology, a sun drop is what gave the flower it's powers and the kingdom cutting the flower and using it to save Ariana is what caused the black rocks to appear.

And yeah, those sharp pointy things are the black rocks from the show.

That is once again, some of that attention to detail that I admire of good Lego sets.  But we aren't even done as you turn the handle to reveal this jewel.

So yeah, the accessories are awesome.  But how does the vehicle stack up as that is the main draw of the set.   Let's find out.


The Caravan



Put simply, this caravan is gorgeous.    It might be the bright colors, which again is something I've noticed in the "girls" sets but it makes sense for Tangled as it's a very bright show.  Now, let's look at it.

The most important thing is that Rapunzel has a place to sit.  Which I think just adds to the adorableness of the set.   Now, let's take a side view.

This... this is why I wanted this set.  As soon as I saw this view,  I knew that I was looking at this caravan from the tv show.   

Again, it's not a perfect translation but for what the designers were able to do with Lego, they capture the look and feel of the caravan perfectly.  Even down to the storage area.   I just love how good the caravan looks when you compare it to its animated counterpart.  You can even open up the side and get an inside view of the caravan that way.

Also,  I don't know what it's called but that chimneypiece is a nice touch as is the lantern on the other side. And the same goes for the flowers.

And we can even see that the door opens. 

Putting Cassandra just seemed right as I used Rapunzel already.    Now, if you want a really good view of the inside of the caravan,  you can take the top off.   And there you can see a bed that Rapunzel can rest and next to it is a sport for her journal. 

It's a bit hard to make out but down there is a cute little blanket.  And oh,  I had to get a picture of this. 

As you can see, my sticker placement isn't the greatest but that doesn't take away from the fact that there is a picture of Frederic and Ariana in the caravan.   After the episode that started the way too long hiatus,  this picture is nice as it reinforces how important Rapunzel's family is.



My Final Thoughts


I love this set.   I know that it seems I was harder on it than others might be but I think that comes from how much Tangled means to me.   You'd be surprised to learn that I actually don't own a lot of Disney themed Lego sets  (Though, I am getting that Steamboat Willie Lego) set.   My Lego & Disney series is something like a commercial special, where I just go through the catalogs and the Lego website and look at the various releases.   Honestly,  the only other Disney Lego set I own is a Cars 2 Mater.

Which I probably won't review as I don't have a whole lot to say.   Sure,  I have the minifigures that I've discussed in the past and a couple of Lego Toy Story magnets but that is one is more special than those because of how much I love Tangled. Both the movie and the tv show.   Which ties into something else that you should know a lot of my favorite sets are what I call pop culture vehicles.  Such as I have Lego sets of the DeLorean, the Ecto-1 (both original and reboot), and the Mystery Machine.   And while the caravan may not have that status as it debuted in 2018.   It still means a lot to me because  even as an adult, there is that thrill of wning a vehicle from a franchise you love and it being Tangled just happens to make it extra speical for me. Piece!