Disney's Future with Lego

[Falconfan1414]

5 hours ago, BenderBrau said:

So according to a recent leak, Dipper and Mabel (from Gravity Falls) Brickheadz are coming. If this is true, that would be the first time BH are using a newly acquired licence - previous ones were based on licences Lego already had, as far as I know. Which gets me thinking: would lego buy the rights just for the BH? Or are we about to get more sets based on the show?

Honestly I wouldn’t be surprised if we got sets based on gravity falls because of the following it still has even after the show ended. But it also wouldn’t surprise me if we didn’t get any sets because Lego wants to keep some licenses exclusive to brickheadz 

56 minutes ago, Digger of Bricks said:

You know, upon reading that leaked information as shared by @Falconfan1414 over on the 2018 BrickHeadz topic, I just had a random thought pop into my head...

What if Lego may be quickly utilizing these random licenses for the BrickHeadz theme for one-off purposes, just so they can quickly get them off the table so LEGO Ideas users therefore can't utilize them for project submissions after the fact? It is, after all, easy for them to utilize any franchise for the BrickHeadz theme, as there's most likely less development that goes into each set compared to your typical minifigure-based playset. 

I don’t think Lego is thinking like that with the brickheadz. Honestly brickheadz, similar to how dimesions was, are a way for lego to explore different licenses and expanded on them to sell to a wider audience. Think about it like this look at the pop figures they are constantly expanding to different licenses to try and appeal to more and more people. That’s what I think is going on with the brickheadz

Edited July 13, 2018 by Falconfan1414

[BlueberryWaffles]

14 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

What if Lego may be quickly utilizing these random licenses for the BrickHeadz theme for one-off purposes, just so they can quickly get them off the table so LEGO Ideas users therefore can't utilize them for project submissions after the fact? It is, after all, easy for them to utilize any franchise for the BrickHeadz theme, as there's most likely less development that goes into each set compared to your typical minifigure-based playset. 

I don't think Lego really cares about Ideas that much. Why would they want to prevent submissions? They can always deny a project if it really becomes an issue.

This and Nightmare Before Christmas lead me to believe that Lego is looking further into the collectibles market with Brickheadz. Both NBC and Gravity Falls aren't super popular with their main target audience, but have huge cult followings online in an older demographic. It's very reminiscent of Funko's style to me. (Now, if only they'd take the Funko route of making con exclusives available at Barnes and Noble for a limited time...) 

[Digger of Bricks]

7 hours ago, BlueberryWaffles said:

I don't think Lego really cares about Ideas that much. Why would they want to prevent submissions? They can always deny a project if it really becomes an issue.

Perhaps this may not be the case, but I sort of feel that TLG may be trying to passive-aggressively increase the number of submissions based upon original ideas by eventually narrowing down the number of available options for permissible licenses/third-party IPs. 

[Robert8]

Agree.

IDEAS was flooded with Star Wars and Superheroes stuff and LEGO was just not feeling it

I think they created that rule for those licenses, and any other license affected by it is just collateral damage. 

[Digger of Bricks]

It may perhaps be nothing more than a Duplo set, but this was taken from over on Instagram from some leaker, likely for January of next year:

• 1089(?) LEGO Toy Story Train *
• MSRP $19.99
• DPCI 204-00-0220

* The final digit of the set number was cut off in the post's image, hence the question mark.

[Fenghuang0296]

I'd love to see even one Gravity Falls set. 

As for the Toy Story Train, I assume it would be a tie-in to Toy Story 4 . . but man, that would be a small train. I predict it'll follow Incredibles and be a Juniors-only line. Maybe they'll introduce some new Juniors train carriage part? I could see that happening. 

. . . Actually, I have zero interest in Toy Story, but if they do make a new train carriage part, either four or six studs wide, I might get it just for the MOC potential . . 

[Digger of Bricks]

Though we have yet to see Lego even touch upon any of Disney's live-action adaptations/remakes directly (if ever), I still thought this might be of interest to readers of this topic, perhaps as some food for thought:

Screen Rant - Disney's Live-Action Mulan Starts Production; First Look Released 

Quote

Mulan is the epic adventure of a fearless young woman who masquerades as a man in order to fight Northern Invaders attacking China. The eldest daughter of an honored warrior, Hua Mulan is spirited, determined and quick on her feet. When the Emperor issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army, she steps in to take the place of her ailing father as Hua Jun, becoming one of China’s greatest warriors ever.

 

[Digger of Bricks]

So, does anyone see any future potential with any of Disney+'s upcoming streaming exclusives for Lego? 

TV Guide - New Disney+ Details on Star Wars, Marvel, High School Musical, Classic Movies, and More

 

Edited April 12, 2019 by Digger of Bricks

[MatthewRC]

1 hour ago, Digger of Bricks said:

So, does anyone see any future potential with any of Disney+'s upcoming streaming exclusives for Lego? 

TV Guide - New Disney+ Details on Star Wars, Marvel, High School Musical, Classic Movies, and More

 

Even The Simpsons is included in the Disney+ streaming service! Hopefully, we'll eventually get more sets of The Simpsons one day!

[Digger of Bricks]

Does anyone here see any playset potential in Pixar's next film after Toy Story 4, or will Lego perhaps wait to see if it's "merchandisable" enough after the fact?

 

[Oky]

10 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Does anyone here see any playset potential in Pixar's next film after Toy Story 4, or will Lego perhaps wait to see if it's "merchandisable" enough after the fact?

I definitely see potential (just think of all the fantasy creatures we could get!), but I don't think Lego will go for it. So far we've only ever gotten sets based on Pixar sequels, i.e. franchises that have already proven themselves to be popular/profitable (not counting the Lego Ideas Wall-E or the Disney Princess Merida set). And even if they made sets based on it, they'd probably relegate them to a small number of Juniors sets (or whatever that theme is called now) just like the last few Pixar themes we've gotten.

It's sad to see TLG having so little faith in Disney/Pixar sets. I think they severely underestimate the popularity of the films and the demand for regular Lego sets based on them. I wish they would invest more of their money and effort into them instead of wasting it on much less popular animated feature licenses like Angry Birds or Trolls 2.

On 4/12/2019 at 1:46 PM, Digger of Bricks said:

So, does anyone see any future potential with any of Disney+'s upcoming streaming exclusives for Lego? 

TV Guide - New Disney+ Details on Star Wars, Marvel, High School Musical, Classic Movies, and More

I could definitely see them doing some Marvel and Star Wars sets based on these shows as part of their respective evergreen themes, but not much beyond that.

[TeriXeri]

11 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Does anyone here see any playset potential in Pixar's next film after Toy Story 4, or will Lego perhaps wait to see if it's "merchandisable" enough after the fact?

Looks like an interesting theme to get some interestingly colored characters and fantasy elements.

Mushroom house could be a fun set.

LEGO Garden Gnomes could be amazing, especially because like over 30 years ago a family member won a local LEGO building contest with a 2-D brick-built garden gnome in the same color scheme (red hat, blue vest, black boots, yellow skin), like "David the Gnome" 

Especially because such gnomes are known from a widely sold book by a dutch writer and illustrator

I know I had toys, and there were cartoons based off them, and they even had icecream shaped to it , so its nostalgia for me.

It's one of the Dutch Folklores :

The Kabouter was the Dutch name for the kobold (gnome), a household spirit and earth spirit who usually lived underground.

Kabouter - (Dutch for gnome) short, strong workers. They build the first carillons (groups of bells) of the Netherlands - from The Kabouters and the Bells^[12]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mythology_in_the_Low_Countries#Other_beings

The Dutch illustrator Rien Poortvliet played an important part in modern Kabouter lore with his publication of Leven en werken van de Kabouter (English title "Life and works of the Gnome"), later translated into English and published as "Gnomes".^[5]

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gnomes_(book)

  

 

Edited June 3, 2019 by TeriXeri

[Brick Cucumber]

The Gravity Falls set hit 10k recently and the show's creator tweeted his support. I feel like its a definite pick now tbh.

https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/1133922676618039296?s=20

Edited June 6, 2019 by Brick Cucumber
*Gravity Falls, not Stranger Things

[Digger of Bricks]

On 6/2/2019 at 6:47 PM, Oky said:

I definitely see potential (just think of all the fantasy creatures we could get!), but I don't think Lego will go for it. So far we've only ever gotten sets based on Pixar sequels, i.e. franchises that have already proven themselves to be popular/profitable (not counting the Lego Ideas Wall-E or the Disney Princess Merida set). And even if they made sets based on it, they'd probably relegate them to a small number of Juniors sets (or whatever that theme is called now) just like the last few Pixar themes we've gotten.

It's sad to see TLG having so little faith in Disney/Pixar sets. I think they severely underestimate the popularity of the films and the demand for regular Lego sets based on them. I wish they would invest more of their money and effort into them instead of wasting it on much less popular animated feature licenses like Angry Birds or Trolls 2.

With the news of Lego's latest IP partnership with Illumination for the Minions sequel (  ), I'm starting to think Lego's becoming even less interested in giving representation to licensed franchises' legacies by seemingly focusing exclusively on their latest installments with little to no representation for their forebearers leading up to the theatrical release of their latest sequels, something that's starting to perturb me even more than their never-ending accumulation of licenses. I mean, if they were to happen nowadays, I almost think themes such as POTC, Indiana Jones, LOTR/The Hobbit, and Toy Story would've never had sets based upon their earlier movies. 

[saysonder]

On 6/3/2019 at 9:43 AM, Brick Cucumber said:

The Stranger things set hit 10k recently and the show's creator tweeted his support. I feel like its a definite pick now tbh.

https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/1133922676618039296?s=20

I want this show made into Lego more than anything in the world.

[Tariq j]

19 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I'm starting to think Lego's becoming even less interested in giving representation to licensed franchises' legacies by seemingly focusing exclusively on their latest installments with little to no representation for their forebearers leading up to the theatrical release of their latest sequels, something that's starting to perturb me

That's what I'm thinking. And if they are going through that approach. They could at LEAST give us some regular sets rather than this "all 4+ sets" wave we've been getting for all the Pixar films so far. 

I would much rather a general Pixar theme. That encompasses all the licences. This way we could revisit existing films and base sets off upcoming ones.

[MAB]

31 minutes ago, Tariq j said:

That's what I'm thinking. And if they are going through that approach. They could at LEAST give us some regular sets rather than this "all 4+ sets" wave we've been getting for all the Pixar films so far. 

I would much rather a general Pixar theme. That encompasses all the licences. This way we could revisit existing films and base sets off upcoming ones.

Sets based on current movie already have advertising by default due to the movies, so it makes sense to concentrate on them. Also the Studios like LEGO to do current movies, as it helps to co-promote the movie.

If a kid sees toys based on the new Minions movie, or stuff based on Despicable Me (1), what is likely to be popular? The DM stuff will appear like old stock, years out of date. 

[tafkatb]

22 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I'm starting to think Lego's becoming even less interested in giving representation to licensed franchises' legacies by seemingly focusing exclusively on their latest installments with little to no representation for their forebearers leading up to the theatrical release of their latest sequels

I'm curious what makes you think that has anything to do with LEGO's interests. It's not like they have carte blanche with any license they acquire; the studios still have the final say over what gets produced, and if they want the focus on current material, then that's what the toy companies make. Not to mention the fact that there is exactly zero evidence that the Trolls and Minions themes won't include anything from previous entries. (Not saying they definitely will, but why bother jumping to those conclusions now, with nothing revealed aside from a couple teaser images?)

[Digger of Bricks]

3 hours ago, Tariq j said:

23 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I'm starting to think Lego's becoming even less interested in giving representation to licensed franchises' legacies by seemingly focusing exclusively on their latest installments with little to no representation for their forebearers leading up to the theatrical release of their latest sequels, something that's starting to perturb me

I would much rather a general Pixar theme. That encompasses all the licences. This way we could revisit existing films and base sets off upcoming ones.

That's what I feel the minidoll-based Disney Princesses line should be, if you were to go by its umbrella Disney branding currently from 2017 onwards. 

2 hours ago, MAB said:

If a kid sees toys based on the new Minions movie, or stuff based on Despicable Me (1), what is likely to be popular? The DM stuff will appear like old stock, years out of date. 

Yet that logic didn't seem to apply to the original Toy Story theme, Indiana Jones, POTC, LOTR/The Hobbit... 

51 minutes ago, tafkatb said:

I'm curious what makes you think that has anything to do with LEGO's interests. It's not like they have carte blanche with any license they acquire; the studios still have the final say over what gets produced, and if they want the focus on current material, then that's what the toy companies make. Not to mention the fact that there is exactly zero evidence that the Trolls and Minions themes won't include anything from previous entries. (Not saying they definitely will, but why bother jumping to those conclusions now, with nothing revealed aside from a couple teaser images?)

Even though I have no attachments to either the Despicable Me/Minions and Trolls franchises, I do hope to see them extend beyond their initial launch waves for a prolonged duration of time, as I'm quite tired of seeing so many dead-end themes as of late (Powerpuff Girls, anyone?).

[Mattallica]

On 6/3/2019 at 6:43 AM, Brick Cucumber said:

The Stranger things set hit 10k recently and the show's creator tweeted his support. I feel like its a definite pick now tbh.

https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/1133922676618039296?s=20

I think you mean Gravity Falls not stranger things.

[Aanchir]

23 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

With the news of Lego's latest IP partnership with Illumination for the Minions sequel (  ), I'm starting to think Lego's becoming even less interested in giving representation to licensed franchises' legacies by seemingly focusing exclusively on their latest installments with little to no representation for their forebearers leading up to the theatrical release of their latest sequels, something that's starting to perturb me even more than their never-ending accumulation of licenses. I mean, if they were to happen nowadays, I almost think themes such as POTC, Indiana Jones, LOTR/The Hobbit, and Toy Story would've never had sets based upon their earlier movies. 

No reason to worry about that just yet, when we still have no specific info on ANY of the Minions or Trolls sets. After all, this year's Toy Story 4 sets include one that could be based on just about any of the movies (https://brickset.com/sets/10766-1/Woody-RC). Likewise with the 2017 Cars 3 sets. These upcoming sequel-based licenses could easily be the same way.

[MatthewRC]

9 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Even though I have no attachments to either the Despicable Me/Minions and Trolls franchises, I do hope to see them extend beyond their initial launch waves for a prolonged duration of time, as I'm quite tired of seeing so many dead-end themes as of late (Powerpuff Girls, anyone?).

Speaking of The Powerpuff Girls, I would really like to see sets based on the classic 1998 TV series with Classic variants of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup minifigures! I just hope LEGO plans to use the PPG license again.

[Digger of Bricks]

4 minutes ago, MatthewRC said:

9 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Even though I have no attachments to either the Despicable Me/Minions and Trolls franchises, I do hope to see them extend beyond their initial launch waves for a prolonged duration of time, as I'm quite tired of seeing so many dead-end themes as of late (Powerpuff Girls, anyone?).

Speaking of The Powerpuff Girls, I would really like to see sets based on the classic 1998 TV series with Classic variants of Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup minifigures! I just hope LEGO plans to use the PPG license again.

Well, did it even seem like they had plans for further sets beyond those two last year? With nothing heard for such since then, I believe that may be the first licensed theme since Avatar: The Last Airbender to receive no more than two sets. 

[MatthewRC]

1 hour ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Well, did it even seem like they had plans for further sets beyond those two last year? With nothing heard for such since then, I believe that may be the first licensed theme since Avatar: The Last Airbender to receive no more than two sets. 

Okay, I might as well expect PPG BrickHeadz sets in 2020.

[MAB]

20 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

 

Yet that logic didn't seem to apply to the original Toy Story theme, Indiana Jones, POTC, LOTR/The Hobbit... 

 

 

It did with the Hobbit - the sets came out at similar times to the movies. And presumably the studios or LEGO thought that it would be a good idea to do LOTR as well - there were loads of LOTR MOCs at the time and I imagine LEGO was aware of this.

IJ and POTC (at least for me) have much more longevity as a series than, for example, Despicable Me. In the same way as Star Wars is THE classic Space Opera, they are essentially THE historical action man and THE pirate franchise. People still buy merchandise for both franchises, and it is aimed at slightly older audiences. LEGO went all in to do them. Whereas with Trolls and Minions, I imagine they are just going for the short-lived movie tie-in and that's it. A lot of minions products got treated as essentially line clearance after the movies. If they do Gru and half a dozen minions connected with the new movie, I'm not sure what of the back catalogue they'd really want to do to make even more sales.