Lego themes that we would like to happen

[Robert8]

On 8/11/2017 at 1:00 PM, Captain Dee said:

Secondly, Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow would be a fun historic theme. Again, it's a worldwide classic, with enough set possibilities for a good wave or two. And again, I think the copyright and other protections have long since expired.

I think this might work better as a single set rather than a whole theme

Maybe as a LEGO Ideas set

[x105Black]

 

5 hours ago, Agent Kallus said:

In-house: Misc (like I suggested on the castle thread with the long name about believing in new castle themes, and yes @x105Black Forgetting western was an oversight thought that was just an example) Grecian myth and legend, Romans Empire (esp Celts, Hadrian's wall etc), 1700's Europe based theme, Pride of nations (having a different cultural icon or landmark from a different nation bi-annually(no repeats till they got them all)), an afol targeted theme with different important historical scenes (e.g Lief Erickson discovering america, the building of the great wall of china, Napoleon's loss at Waterloo,The successful winter invasion of Russia ( by the Mongols),the battle of Hastings and I know that no one would expect the Spanish inquisition).

I was just pointing Western out in that thread.  I'm actually not all that interested in it, myself.

5 hours ago, Agent Kallus said:

This isn't an exhaustive list, I deiced not to go into much detail as then this post would be super long.

I think we are all like that.

56 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

I think this might work better as a single set rather than a whole theme

Maybe as a LEGO Ideas set

I agree on both of the themes he brought up, actually.

Treasure Island and Sleepy Hollow are both great ideas that could be explored.  Maybe a line based on those types of stories could work.

[MAB]

On 08/11/2017 at 7:00 PM, Captain Dee said:

Secondly, Washington Irving's Legend of Sleepy Hollow would be a fun historic theme. Again, it's a worldwide classic, with enough set possibilities for a good wave or two. And again, I think the copyright and other protections have long since expired.

 

As above, for one set maybe but not for an entire theme and definitely not two waves. Aside from the headless horseman, Ichabod, Katrina and Brom, I'm not sure what else would sell. They would also have to make sure the characters do not look anything like the Tim Burton movie version (probably the best known film adaption).

 

15 hours ago, Agent Kallus said:

In-house: ..... 1700's Europe based theme, Pride of nations (having a different cultural icon or landmark from a different nation bi-annually(no repeats till they got them all)), an afol targeted theme with different important historical scenes (e.g Lief Erickson discovering america, the building of the great wall of china, Napoleon's loss at Waterloo,The successful winter invasion of Russia ( by the Mongols),the battle of Hastings and I know that no one would expect the Spanish inquisition).

 

6

The early stuff (Greek, Roman, etc) is probably fine, although I'd prefer 1500s and 1600s to 1700s, covering Renaissance in Europe and Tudors in England. For some of the others, they would probably need to be a bit careful with balance and offending people if they are meant to be specific wars. For example, if they badged something as Napoleon's loss rather than Wellington's / von Blucher's victory, it may come across as anti-French, especially if they do another French loss such as Agincourt. But then that would be the problem with doing nationalistic sets. I think I'd prefer rather generic clothing that could be any nation (a bit like in the Castle theme). The other problem with battle style sets is that in many cases they really need to be just big armies. The Battle of Five Armies in the Hobbit range was not exactly a great set and did not live up to the name.

[Captain Dee]

2 hours ago, MAB said:

As above, for one set maybe but not for an entire theme and definitely not two waves. Aside from the headless horseman, Ichabod, Katrina and Brom, I'm not sure what else would sell. They would also have to make sure the characters do not look anything like the Tim Burton movie version (probably the best known film adaption).

Why couldn't it be a small theme? I'm talking about the original story. The book. Not some movie nonsense, and especially not Tim Burton's version. I think any set(s) would have to include the chase at the end of the story, and that includes 2 characters only. For sets, I was thinking the school where Ichabod taught, the van Tassel estate (where Katrina lived), the old church, and the chase to the bridge. I don't think it would be possible to represent the original story with a single set, unless it was the ball at the van Tassel estate and the midnight chase rolled into one. Lego showed it could do creative pirate-theme stuff with PotC (unlike the same-old Pirates sets of late), and a design ethic like that is what I'm imagining here.

[MAB]

13 minutes ago, Captain Dee said:

Why couldn't it be a small theme? I'm talking about the original story. The book. Not some movie nonsense, and especially not Tim Burton's version. I think any set(s) would have to include the chase at the end of the story, and that includes 2 characters only. For sets, I was thinking the school where Ichabod taught, the van Tassel estate (where Katrina lived), the old church, and the chase to the bridge. I don't think it would be possible to represent the original story with a single set, unless it was the ball at the van Tassel estate and the midnight chase rolled into one. Lego showed it could do creative pirate-theme stuff with PotC (unlike the same-old Pirates sets of late), and a design ethic like that is what I'm imagining here.

Would you need to cover every scene / the full story though? In my view, no. I'd prefer them to do, for example, a stereotypical historic town in a series of sets with no branding rather than tying it to a particular story.

As to movie vs book version, the problem with having a well known movie is that people will expect a set to look like the movie version, especially as lego focuses on popular movies rather than books.

 

[Captain Dee]

2 minutes ago, MAB said:

Would you need to cover every scene / the full story though? In my view, no. I'd prefer them to do, for example, a stereotypical historic town in a series of sets with no branding rather than tying it to a particular story.

Well... that's all a matter of opinion/personal interest. And this is about "wants," not "needs."

 

3 minutes ago, MAB said:

As to movie vs book version, the problem with having a well known movie is that people will expect a set to look like the movie version, especially as lego focuses on popular movies rather than books.

 

Regarding movies vs books, I understand if a licensed theme is based strictly on the movie. But both my ideas were for non-licensed material, to allow TLG to design without those constraints. Besides, many licensed sets look only vaguely like the movie scenes, for piece count/price reasons. (Some are faithful designs, yes. Many aren't.)

Treasure Island could be done very easily (in place of Pirates). Sleepy Hollow will never happen in specific "Legend of" form, so... I'll be quiet and go on.

[MAB]

44 minutes ago, Captain Dee said:

Regarding movies vs books, I understand if a licensed theme is based strictly on the movie. But both my ideas were for non-licensed material, to allow TLG to design without those constraints. Besides, many licensed sets look only vaguely like the movie scenes, for piece count/price reasons. (Some are faithful designs, yes. Many aren't.)

 

My point was that there are even less constraints on what they can do if they do their own old town than if they did a (Legend of) Sleepy Hollow one. And also it might help sales. If people see "Sleepy Hollow" on a box, they will think it is licensed. Whereas if it is unbranded, it will probably appeal to more people (whether or not there is a headless horseman). A bit like forestmen vs Robin Hood.

[x105Black]

That's why I think a "Legends" theme could work.  You could have a Sleepy Hollow set with the Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane.  You could have a Treasure Island set, maybe the Hispaniola with the main crew members like Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver.  There are other legends set around the same time frame (roughly speaking, the 1700s, but you could expand a little) that could also make for great sets.  But that's just my opinion.

[LEGO Historian]

There's more than just Sleepy Hollow to Washington Irvings credit.  There's also RIP VAN WINKLE... which granted consists of little more than him sleeping (with long beard) under a tree... but there's also the Catskill Mountains Dutch homestead as part of the Rip Van Winkle story.

Another interesting building is Washington Irving's SUNNYSIDE home in Tarrytown New York.  Granted this one would be more of a larger build... not as part of a Sleepy Hollow series.  But the house is an amazing Dutch Revival homestead dating to 1835....

http://www.irvingtonhistoricalsociety.org/nrhp/nrhp01.html

Edited November 11, 2017 by LEGO Historian

[Aanchir]

My feeling about sets based on books is that they're pretty risky for several reasons:

First of all, a lot of kids in LEGO's core audience might not be proficient readers. And how proficient a reader a kid is can play a big role in what kinds of books they care about. A classic book that might be enthralling to seven-year-olds reading it for the first time might feel boring to a nine-year-old who's already moved on to more complex books. That's very different from a lot of the movie-based themes LEGO picks up, which are properties engineered and proven to generate a lot of interest with a diverse age range.

Second, outside new books that generate a massive craze the way the Harry Potter books did, a lot of books might not be exciting to as big a slice of that core audience, because kids' tastes in books can be really varied. Some books might be massively successful in one country or region but fairly obscure anywhere else. Others, as mentioned, might appeal mostly to a specific age range. Unlike new or ongoing movie franchise, which are already inevitably getting a huge marketing push to help them reach as many people as possible, written stories (especially classic ones like Treasure Island or The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) rarely have as much money being poured in from various sources to create widespread and immediate interest in their stories and characters.

Third, unlike movies, TV shows, or comic books, a lot of times books (except picture books) don't convey as clear an idea of what the characters will look like. Very few books are so painstaking in their descriptions that everybody will have a clear and consistent idea what the people, places, and things in those books look like. A kid can look at an Indiana Jones, Luke Skywalker, or Batman minifigure and instantly recognize them from their adventures. But an Ichabod Crane minifigure not based on a specific visual portrayal probably won't be recognizable to anybody until you tell them that it's Ichabod Crane — and even then, it might conflict with how that person imagined the character, which might be enough to dissuade them from making a purchase.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not of the opinion that movies are better than books or anything like that. When I was a kid I built several MOCs and custom minifigures based on The Lord of the Rings, years before LEGO picked up the license. My interest in the Harry Potter theme was driven just as much by my love of the books as my love of the movies. And I've been dreaming of a Series of Unfortunate Events theme for well over a decade. But from a commercial standpoint, even with a book that's in the public domain, there are so many obstacles to making a globally successful book-based toy line.

[Captain Dee]

I've scrapped the ideas. Pirates can be another bland remake, and forget the other one altogether. I'd rather build than discuss anyway.

[Digger of Bricks]

Has anyone here ever suggested a Popeye theme before? 

[Gnac]

3 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Has anyone here ever suggested a Popeye theme before? 

Imagine the chicken drumstick shape as his forearms whoah

[MAB]

11 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Has anyone here ever suggested a Popeye theme before? 

There have been some suggestions on ideas, mainly for brick-built characters. There have been some custom minifigures every so often too.

Does it still have a following these days?

[Digger of Bricks]

2 hours ago, MAB said:

Does it still have a following these days?

I'm not so sure about its current relevancy, but I did learn recently that Sony Pictures Animation had an animated movie in the works awhile ago, but it was put on the back burner to make way for that Emoji Movie. 

The thing is, I don't think the license would do well as a line of sets; so, perhaps it could work better as a CMS instead. 

[Robert8]

A Star Wars theme with minidolls 

[x105Black]

5 hours ago, Robert8 said:

A Star Wars theme with minidolls 

Forces of Destiny?

[Lyichir]

On 11/25/2017 at 12:14 PM, x105Black said:

Forces of Destiny?

I'd love that, but I think the Forces of Destiny brand as a whole may be an exclusive Hasbro dealie (unlike DC Super Hero Girls). I'd love to be wrong about this, though!

[x105Black]

On 11/27/2017 at 3:18 PM, Lyichir said:

I'd love that, but I think the Forces of Destiny brand as a whole may be an exclusive Hasbro dealie (unlike DC Super Hero Girls). I'd love to be wrong about this, though!

It looks like they do have a deal with Hasbro to create products based on the series, but I'm not sure if that's exclusive or not.  It would be a perfect fit for a minidoll theme.  My nieces would both love it, and I'd love buying it for them.  I'd also probably enjoy much of the product line myself, even if most of my purchases would come through Bricks & Pieces or the secondary market.

[MandyNeko]

I'd like to see a folk tales/fairy tales theme that isn't drowning in pink panels and avoids the Disney stories. Stories that are well known but not "branded" by the Disney retelling. 

Hansel and Gretel: the witch's candy house that hinges open as a play set.

Little Red Riding Hood: a forest and cottage, or just the bedroom with the wolf in granny's clothes

Jack and the Beanstalk: maybe Jack in a macro-sized room with the golden goose

just a few thoughts. I know Lego has done fairy tale sets, but I'd like to see these with actual minifigures and More historical-looking builds. And less of the pink sparkles - maybe things that would blend into a Medieval village. I'm thinking Into the Woods style.

Edited December 8, 2017 by MandyNeko

[MAB]

I'd be up for a Brothers Grimm style fairytale set. I'm not sure if the kids would though!

 

[RacerRabbit]

https://www.cinemablend.com/television/Speed-Racer-Coming-Back-With-Series-72159.html

 

Thinking what i'm thinking? Hmmm.......

[Steamdemon]

The wild swans...THE WILD SWANS! I've got that book as an Kindle download! (Don't know how easy it would be to recreate that in lego)

What about....the famous five? That would be a cool theme! (provided Enid Blyton approves)

[Hart New Bob]

I'd love to see a new time travel theme.

Also, we need a theme with famous bands! 

[Digger of Bricks]

12 hours ago, Hart New Bob said:

I'd love to see a new time travel theme.

A time travel theme would be a good way to shoehorn historical archetypes that otherwise would not be seen outside of the Collectable Minifigure line, and such an action theme could be quite versatile with much room for evolution and change. 

I just wouldn't want it to resemble Time Cruisers/Time Twisters too much, maybe only with some throwbacks/callbacks to the theme for homage's sake. It was Lego's first and only time travel theme after all.