I
never expected to do another post
about toys this soon, but here we are.
So
this is happening:
Not
gonna lie, I'm pretty excited for these. If there's one hobby I enjoy
almost as much as Disneyland (and spend comparably on over the course
of a year), it's LEGO.
Disney
and LEGO have been partnered for several years now, with quite a few
licensed sets based on properties like Toy Story, Cars, Pirates of
the Caribbean (the movies, unfortunately, not the ride), and now an
ongoing Disney Princess line. But this is the first time the
partnership has been put to a purpose other than promoting a current
Disney film or franchise. It makes me excited for potential new
directions the team-up might take.
Because
really, are a few Disney Theme Park LEGO sets too much to ask?
I've
been wishing for such sets ever since I returned to my childhood
interest in LEGO as an adult, which was in...2005? Or so? And not
just because I love Disneyland so very much and think it needs more
merch of its own in general. The Disney parks are chock-full of
things that would make great LEGO builds, from ride vehicles to
iconic structures to interesting scenery. Many of LEGO's existing
themes, past and present, find ready counterparts in Disneyland area
and attraction themes—Castle, Space, Pirates, even an Old West line
some years back. And Disney resorts have been a good place to buy
LEGO sets for quite some time now; the Downtown Disney shopping
districts in both Anaheim and Orlando have supersized LEGO Stores in
prominent locations, decorated inside and out with famous animated
Disney scenes rendered in assemblages of bricks. Replicating bits of
the parks themselves in LEGO set form seems like the natural next
step.
Come
on, Disney, LEGO...do the right thing.
As
for which bits to
replicate? Wow, where to start? I guess I could start with the
obvious...
The
Castle
LEGO
has loads
of experience
creating castles and castle-adjuncts, both licensed and not, for us
to play with. If they do eventually start making sets based on the
parks, I can't imagine a Castle won't be included. Unfortunately,
this means that anything lessening the feasibility of this set
reduces the viability of the entire concept.
But
first the good news. Besides being iconic to the point of necessity,
this would be a really beautiful
set, and if portrayed properly, its size would leave plenty of room
for playable interior scenes. A set of this size usually includes
around a dozen minifigs—enough to have multiple guests, Cast
Members, and even characters all in one batch.
And
now for the downsides, the things that might make Disney reluctant to
license such a set (and hence scuttle the whole venture). One big one
is: Which
Castle? Sleeping
Beauty or Cinderella's?
The two look so different that they can't possibly substitute for one
another...but conceptually they are so similar that I can't see LEGO
or
Disney agreeing to produce/license both.*
Such
a set's size, while working in its favor, would also work against it
by making it expensive...like,
Death Star
expensive. Science-fiction geeks are used to ponying up hundreds
of dollars for toys and collectibles; it's a much tougher sell when
your most likely customers will already
have ponied up hundreds of dollars just to be in a position to take
an interest.
One
final point against it is that Disney already makes Castle playsets
and sells them in the parks. Here's this year's version:
A
LEGO set might be seen as direct competition for sales.
So
right off the bat, we've established that I'm probably
not going to get my wish for a whole line of Disneyland LEGO sets.
Sleeping Beauty Castle seems like too dicey a prospect, and we'll
never get anything else without it.
Or
will we...?
I'm not done dreaming yet...
Jungle
Cruise
Because
who doesn't want to build their own Jungle Cruise boat? My basic
concept here is more in keeping with standard LEGO fare and would
include a boat with a skipper and a family of passengers, and then a
section of riverbank with lots of foliage, a large animal such as an
elephant or rhino, and a jungle native. Sets of this size and
complexity are usually priced around $50, but it could easily be
adjusted by tweaking the size of the boat, including more or fewer
minifigs, etc.
And
if it did well enough, why they could just keep going, developing
sets based on more scenes from the ride. The Cambodian ruins would
make a nice build, as would the native village. It's usually harder
to get LEGO fans excited about building rock formations, and the lack
of any obvious vehicles other than the boat itself might be a
handicap, but the animals would be a major draw. Strange as it is,
LEGO has never produced any molded big cats, gorillas, or hippos, and
the last non-Duplo sets to have elephants were in 2003. So a Jungle Cruise
theme would have that in its favor, even for builders who don't
particularly care about Disneyland.
This
idea has another factor in its corner that might allow it to come
true, and that is the upcoming Jungle
Cruise
movie starring Dwayne Johnson. There have been LEGO sets based on a
movie franchise based on a ride before, so if the film is any
good with families, this is a distinct possibility. Now granted, the
sets would definitely be designed to reflect the
movie,
which will not be a carbon copy of the ride if
it is done right.**
But it's better than nothing, and we can at least expect the boat...
...right?
Haunted
Mansion
I'm
one of quite a few people who want to see one of these, judging by
the number of people who have suggested and voted for such sets on
LEGO
Ideas. I think we can safely say it would sell, even at a
presumably high price point—let's say $200. (The Haunted
House set from a few years ago rang up at $160.) When it comes to
gleefully dropping three figures in one go on trinkets relating to
their interests, Goths are almost as good as science-fiction geeks.
So
that's a major point in favor of a Haunted Mansion set. Among others,
it would be a very stylish architectural build, bound to be
appreciated by adult fans of LEGO even if they aren't interested in
the Disneyland connection. The difficulty would be in narrowing down
the cast of highly iconic ghosts in order to keep the minifigs to a
sensible number. It's also not a very intuitive ride to adapt for
playability rather than mere display.
“it's
a small world”
This
one, on the other hand, is basically pure self-indulgence on my part.
What can I say? I adore this ride and will always defend it against
those who think there's nothing more to it than “creepy” dolls
and an “annoying” song. There's that extraordinary façade,
for one... Say—how come, with all the “it's a small world”
merch that gets made, hardly any of it references the façade
or the Clock Tower? It's almost all dolls and animals from the
inside.
With
a lead-in like that, you won't be surprised to learn that I would
want a LEGO set for this ride to depict the exterior first and
foremost. Actually, my idea is more complex and hopefully cuter than
that. If there were only one set, I'd want to build the Clock Tower,
complete with mechanical workings to make the gears spin and doors
open and close. If it were an entire line, I'd back that up—more or
less literally—with a series of modular sections of the façade,
each with a little interior scene evoking one of the continents on
the back side. They would all snap together in a line, so that on one
side, you'd get the lovely white Rolly Crump designs, and on the
other, a series of colorful Mary Blair scenes, each featuring a boy
and a girl minifig in some sort of national costume.
Collect
them all!
This
one is admittedly the longest shot of all my ideas. Again, “it's a
small world” doesn't exactly have the most dedicated fan base, and
if the target market for these sets was children, the builds might be
a little too complex. But what's Beyond Blue Sky for if not just this
sort of fantasizing?
One
more? One more...brace yourselves...
Star
Tours
Come
on, Disney! Come on, LEGO! Do the right thing! If you're going to
continue to pollute my park with all this Galaxy Far Far Away crap,
the least you can do is give me the ability to make a Starspeeder out
of tiny plastic bricks.
Honestly,
this one is such a no-brainer that I keep forgettng it doesn't
already exist. Star
Wars
is LEGO's oldest licensed theme, going back to 1999 and remaining
constantly active ever since. They've had to dig deep into the
franchise's well of recognizable scenes, vehicles, and characters in
order to maintain the theme's relevance for so long, so why not
base a set on the ride? It would slot right into the existing lineup,
and like the Haunted Mansion would be a guaranteed seller.
Do
the right thing, you pair of global corporations! DO
THE RIGHT THING!
But
since we probably shouldn't hold our collective breath waiting for
them to do the right thing, here are some examples of Disneyland/LEGO
fans who have. Ordinarily I would swipe the photos and re-post them,
but that seems a bit crass here. Hence: links.
The
Jungle Cruise in plastic bricks. (This same builder has made
models of other attractions.)
“it's
a small world.” No further comment. (But follow the Next button
to see what else they built!)
*I'm
sorry to say that they would probably go with Cinderella's—Orlando
has just that much more oomph than Anaheim does with the Marketing
Department, plus they have the more prominent Princess's name
attached.
**
Pirates
of the Caribbean makes no attempt to be a carbon copy of the ride, and at least the first installment
is awesome fun. (Your mileage may vary on the sequels.) The
Haunted Mansion
tried too hard to be just like the ride, to the point of using the
same plot (or at least, the plot that everyone thinks
is present in the ride), and even those of us who love the ride (and
can overlook how irritating Eddie Murphy is) think it fell flat as a
result.
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