LEGO Ideas - 123 Sesame Street

[The_Chosen_1]

Really, really excited for this set!! I (like so many others) grew up with Sesame Street and love each of these characters.

That said, there are some definite improvements that could be made to the overall build and minifigures. I really hope Lego is willing to do molded pieces for the minifigures.

[Blondie-Wan]

Conceivably, they could get around the new molds issue by simply not using any of the Muppet characters, and having figures only of humans like Gordon, Maria, Bob, Luis, etc.

However, I think most of us agree it wouldn’t be much of a Sesame Street scene without any of the notable nonhuman characters; without them, it might as well be just another modular building (not that the modulars aren’t wonderful, but they don’t need the license or the Ideas process to do them). Big Bird is probably the single most essential one, but really so many of them are important.

So... what characters do we think will show up? As noted, I suspect this will be aimed squarely at nostalgic adults; if so, would that mean it includes older characters who (for one reason or another) haven’t been seen in years, like Roosevelt Franklin or Mr. Hooper? And would it completely eschew newer characters like Abby Cadabby? Or will they go for a broad range of the show’s history, or will they include only current characters?

And for the Muppet characters (assuming they are indeed there), how do we think they’ll be realized? New molds for all? Some? None? Could Oscar (for example) be, say, a printed minifigure head atop a small brick body, stuck into a classic LEGO trash can, with 2x2 dish “lid” on top of his head? Or does he need a new mold in order to be done properly?

[Magnum]

I think it’s gonna be a very polarized set. Aimed at the American market cause I have never heard of any of the humans or the puppets named above. Sesame Street is very different in most other countries. So for me it would be just a nice new modular building. But let’s see what LEGO does with it. 

[Graupensuppe]

I wonder how well this will sell outside the US. I remember the German version of Sesame Street looking completely different for example, and I think other countries had their own versions as well.

[Blondie-Wan]

Yeah, there have been literally dozens of different local versions of the show produced, each with their own characters, for different countries and regions over the decades. That said, I fully expect this to represent the US original, because it’s a) the original, and b) the one represented in the product idea.

BTW, re: viewership age ranges: while looking stuff up on the show just now, I came across the tidbit that as of 2014, 49% of the viewers were over the age of 18. I knew it had a substantial adult viewership, but even I didn’t expect it to be that high. And yes, I’m sure that includes a lot of adults who watch it simply because they watch it with their own kids, but still.

[Boettner Builds]

I think if we get molded heads that would be a tell tell sign that a licensed theme would be coming. Like the hats with steamboat willie.

[Still Raindrop]

On 9/28/2019 at 12:51 PM, Blondie-Wan said:

So... what characters do we think will show up? As noted, I suspect this will be aimed squarely at nostalgic adults; if so, would that mean it includes older characters who (for one reason or another) haven’t been seen in years, like Roosevelt Franklin or Mr. Hooper? And would it completely eschew newer characters like Abby Cadabby? Or will they go for a broad range of the show’s history, or will they include only current characters?

And for the Muppet characters (assuming they are indeed there), how do we think they’ll be realized? New molds for all? Some? None? Could Oscar (for example) be, say, a printed minifigure head atop a small brick body, stuck into a classic LEGO trash can, with 2x2 dish “lid” on top of his head? Or does he need a new mold in order to be done properly?

Though I imagine it will be aimed mainly at nostalgic adults, I'd also bet that it might come with one or two newer characters--if only to get the gender ratios a little better. As far as Muppets go, I can't see them making a set without Big Bird Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Grover, Oscar, and possibly the Count (though they could get away with leaving him out, since he lives in a castle and not at 123 Sesame Street). I imagine they'd include Prairie Dawn for nostalgic adults and maybe Abby for some kid appeal. I doubt that they'll make more 70s/80s-specific characters like Biff and Sully, Mumford, Rodeo Rosie, Roosevelt Franklin, Hoots the Owl, etc., but I also doubt that they'd include too many new characters like Gonger or Murray. Zoe and Rosita are possibilities, while Snuffy and Barkley are unlikely due to the number of pieces each one would require. Most of these characters, I think, could be done pretty well with minifigure parts. Big Bird would be tricky; a solution like the one in the submission could certainly work, but I'm not sure that Sesame Workshop would be cool with that. Hopefully that would mean a new mold instead of simply excluding him, as I still see Big Bird as sort of the heart and soul of Sesame Street. As for Oscar, I was thinking he could be a minifigure head with a dish on top, placed on a couple of these pieces: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=92947#T=C

I do hope it won't be all Muppets, though. Ideally, I'd like to get at Gordon, Susan, Luis, Maria, and Bob. I'm not sure how likely that is, though, since there will presumably already be lots of minifigures. Fortunately, it's much easier to replicate these characters with existing parts than it would be to make new Muppet characters without custom printing.

[Gomek]

On 9/28/2019 at 2:20 PM, The_Chosen_1 said:

 I really hope Lego is willing to do molded pieces for the minifigures.

Molded heads will be the difference between buying and not buying this. I can't imagine shelling out that type of cash for a set and having the figures look like the first generation Squidward figure with the non-molded head (i.e. so craptastic that I have one just to remind myself how crappy minifigures can look... Which is funny for a novelty figure that was given to me, not so funny in something I pay for.)

[Lord Insanity]

I am surprised and quite happy this actually passed Ideas.  123 Sesame Street and Pirate Bay were by far and away my favorites from this round.  I didn't expect either to make it and am quite happy both did. That almost makes up for last round's Chemical Plant being rejected.

1 hour ago, Gomek said:

Molded heads will be the difference between buying and not buying this. I can't imagine shelling out that type of cash for a set and having the figures look like the first generation Squidward figure with the non-molded head (i.e. so craptastic that I have one just to remind myself how crappy minifigures can look... Which is funny for a novelty figure that was given to me, not so funny in something I pay for.)

Funny I feel exactly the opposite.  Lego is a building toy. That first generation Squidward head was everything a licensed figure should be. Then they made that useless molded head.  The Simpsons figures had  those useless molded heads when the actual show makers used regular mini-fig heads in their own "Lego" episode.  We got to see how awesome the Simpsons figures could have been.  See I don't want Lego made licensed figures, I want licensed Lego figures.  The entire point of mini-figures to me is the interchangeable parts.  Any character that absolutely must have a molded head should be done in the awesome Chima style with a regular printed head underneath.  If I can't use different hats, helmets, or hair it is a crappy fig.  For characters like Homer Simpson or Grover (or any Muppet) from Sesame Street the lack of those options when the characters routinely use different hats is a complete fail.

I also can't figure out why people want this Idea to be down sized.  The modular-style scale with all the regular mini-fig head characters is exactly what I wanted and why I voted for this in the first place.  123 Sesame Street exactly as it is would be a day one purchase for me.

[Blondie-Wan]

12 hours ago, Still Raindrop said:

Though I imagine it will be aimed mainly at nostalgic adults, I'd also bet that it might come with one or two newer characters--if only to get the gender ratios a little better.

Good point.

12 hours ago, Still Raindrop said:

As far as Muppets go, I can't see them making a set without Big Bird Ernie, Bert, Cookie Monster, Elmo, Grover, Oscar, and possibly the Count (though they could get away with leaving him out, since he lives in a castle and not at 123 Sesame Street). I imagine they'd include Prairie Dawn for nostalgic adults and maybe Abby for some kid appeal. I doubt that they'll make more 70s/80s-specific characters like Biff and Sully, Mumford, Rodeo Rosie, Roosevelt Franklin, Hoots the Owl, etc., but I also doubt that they'd include too many new characters like Gonger or Murray. Zoe and Rosita are possibilities, while Snuffy and Barkley are unlikely due to the number of pieces each one would require.

I was actually thinking Snuffy and Barkley were good candidates, since they’re two significant Muppet characters who could be accomplished effectively with brick builds and still look good next to minifigures.

Quote

Most of these characters, I think, could be done pretty well with minifigure parts. Big Bird would be tricky; a solution like the one in the submission could certainly work, but I'm not sure that Sesame Workshop would be cool with that. Hopefully that would mean a new mold instead of simply excluding him, as I still see Big Bird as sort of the heart and soul of Sesame Street. As for Oscar, I was thinking he could be a minifigure head with a dish on top, placed on a couple of these pieces: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?P=92947#T=C

Agreed about Big Bird. He’s the #1 Muppet character who absolutely has to be there.

And I think we can expect some sort of representation of Oscar since his trash can is an essential part of the Sesame Street environment, and if you have his can, you can get away without having his full body; he really just needs a head that can pop out of the can from under the lid.

Your idea about the column bricks is a good one. I think it would come closer to recreating the denser fluting seen on the sides of the “real” Oscar’s trash can than that on the classic LEGO trash / recycling can. But I really like the potential of the classic LEGO can to have some sort of figure that can not only be placed inside the can, but actually go up and down inside it. Alas, I think having a hinged lid is a bit much to hope for, but I think simply sticking a 2x2 dish on top of Oscar’s head would be an effective next-best solution.

Quote

I do hope it won't be all Muppets, though. Ideally, I'd like to get at Gordon, Susan, Luis, Maria, and Bob. I'm not sure how likely that is, though, since there will presumably already be lots of minifigures.

Well, assuming the Muppet characters use minifigures. I think it’s safe to say Big Bird will be a minifigure if he’s there at all (or at the very least, a minifigure torso with brick legs and/or head), but I wonder whether some of the other characters might be smaller. While I expect a Sesame Street set (even one aimed at adults) to play even faster and looser with scale than most LEGO things already do, the LEGO Games-style microfigures used in the project would be remarkably close to the right size next to minifigures, proportionately to the actual Muppets next to average adult humans. But I don’t know that they’d look good for all the characters.

Quote

Fortunately, it's much easier to replicate these characters with existing parts than it would be to make new Muppet characters without custom printing.

Yeah, and like you I do want to see some of the classic Sesame Street non-Muppet people, too.

[Another Brick In The Wall]

Brick-built Mr Snuffleupagus or no sale!

[Still Raindrop]

4 hours ago, Blondie-Wan said:

I was actually thinking Snuffy and Barkley were good candidates, since they’re two significant Muppet characters who could be accomplished effectively with brick builds and still look good next to minifigures.

I guess I could see it going either way. They are great candidates for brick-built figures; however, that would also mean extra parts that could raise the price. What's more, I assume they'd use ball joints. Since those have only shown up in light and dark grey, it might make the color schemes a bit odd. I'd be excited if they did include them, though! I seem to remember the original submission having a Barkley at one point.

Quote

Agreed about Big Bird. He’s the #1 Muppet character who absolutely has to be there.

And I think we can expect some sort of representation of Oscar since his trash can is an essential part of the Sesame Street environment, and if you have his can, you can get away without having his full body; he really just needs a head that can pop out of the can from under the lid.

Your idea about the column bricks is a good one. I think it would come closer to recreating the denser fluting seen on the sides of the “real” Oscar’s trash can than that on the classic LEGO trash / recycling can. But I really like the potential of the classic LEGO can to have some sort of figure that can not only be placed inside the can, but actually go up and down inside it. Alas, I think having a hinged lid is a bit much to hope for, but I think simply sticking a 2x2 dish on top of Oscar’s head would be an effective next-best solution.

Yeah, Big Bird really is the heart and soul of Sesame Street. And, as you said, Oscar has to be there. I like your idea about Oscar, as well. If there were a way to get him to go up and down inside the classic can, that would be better than my idea. My kids have an old hand-me-down Sesame Street playset that used to belong to my wife; pushing a button would raise the lid of the trash can up, and Oscar himself would pop out (well, before the sticker fell off). Something automated like that would be great, since popping up unexpectedly is sort of his trademark way of appearing.

Quote

Well, assuming the Muppet characters use minifigures. I think it’s safe to say Big Bird will be a minifigure if he’s there at all (or at the very least, a minifigure torso with brick legs and/or head), but I wonder whether some of the other characters might be smaller. While I expect a Sesame Street set (even one aimed at adults) to play even faster and looser with scale than most LEGO things already do, the LEGO Games-style microfigures used in the project would be remarkably close to the right size next to minifigures, proportionately to the actual Muppets next to average adult humans. But I don’t know that they’d look good for all the characters.

I had thought of that, as well. Honestly, it's not a bad idea in some respects. As you mentioned, the scale would be good. Furthermore, I think that most of the key monsters would look good this way. However, the lack of arms would be a problem, I think. Maybe using the Lego baby piece would be a better solution. The arms aren't able to move or grasp anything, but at least they're present. Plus, you'd get head articulation, which is a plus. 

However, I kind of doubt they'd go that way. Scale is already way off when it comes to smaller folks, with nothing in between the baby and the standard short-legged children (who are well over half the height of an adult). It seems like they'd probably want to take advantage of the improved detail you could get from an actual minifigure. Though I do think most of them would have short legs.

[Gomek]

On 9/30/2019 at 10:55 PM, Lord Insanity said:

Funny I feel exactly the opposite.  Lego is a building toy. That first generation Squidward head was everything a licensed figure should be. Then they made that useless molded head. 

To me the non-molded heads completely lack the likeness of the character. Molded head Woody looks like Woody. Non molded head Woody just looks like a kid in a woody costume. I get what you're saying about hats, but I guess I never felt that Squidward needed a hat. You can still swap the heads. Perhaps they just need to do with molded heads what they do with certain hair pieces and leave a pin hole for special hats.

If you want something we can both agree upon though, I definitely feel like a little more thought needs to go into the design of the printed torsos and printed leg assemblies. There is no reason they can't be designed in a way that the printed lines on multiple torsos can fit with different printed legs.

Edited March 2, 2020 by Gomek

[The Brick Boss]

Who in the world of bricks suggested a Sesame Street without Big Bird??? If anything, Big Bird should be one of the main muppets involved in this set. Big Bird was one of the fellas that helped sunny days to stay sunny on Sesame Street. Also, where is Oscar's trashcan?

Sidenote: I wonder if they're going to make Hooper's Store and the Fix-It Shop. 

Edited October 1, 2019 by pooda

[The_Chosen_1]

Big Bird is included in the approved model...and he's the signature Sesame Street character. He'll be in the final set.

Edited October 2, 2019 by The_Chosen_1

[Roebuck]

On 9/26/2019 at 6:27 PM, Borex said:

It needs new moulds though. And the seagulls need to be pigeons. That would be so awesome

I have not much interest in this set and do not know much about the show, but seems like pigeons is a important part of the show and are included in the ideas submission (as seagulls).. I wonder if they wound finely include a new pigeons mould in a city set so they could use it in this set later It is about time we get some pigeons in our Lego city's and if sesame street indirectly makes that happen it would make me very happy

[Borex]

1 hour ago, Roebuck said:

I have not much interest in this set and do not know much about the show, but seems like pigeons is a important part of the show and are included in the ideas submission (as seagulls).. I wonder if they wound finely include a new pigeons mould in a city set so they could use it in this set later It is about time we get some pigeons in our Lego city's and if sesame street indirectly makes that happen it would make me very happy

What is a Lego city without pigeons?! We need them!

[Blondie-Wan]

9 hours ago, The_Chosen_1 said:

Big Bird is included in the approved model...and he's the signature Sesame Street character. He'll be in the final set.

Probably, but Ideas sets don’t always feature exactly the same characters as the product ideas (I still want to say “projects”) they’re based on. Sometimes the number changes - for example, the final Exo Suit actually added a second space person who wasn’t in the original proposal, while the Pop-Up Book similarly added the Giant (along with nanofigure Jack, along with the whole second story of Jack and the Beanstalk), and “Steamboat Willie” added Minnie, where the original product idea had had only Mickey (as the titular Steamboat Willie). The final Women of NASA, on the other hand, had four minifigures to the project’s five, omitting Katherine Johnson.

And sometimes they just change - the original “Doctor Who and Companions” project recommended one “modern” Doctor and one “classic”, with a companion for each, suggesting David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor (with companion Rose Tyler; Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth with companion Clara Oswald was also a suggested option, but a secondary one and not shown) and Tom Baker’s Fourth (with companion Sarah Jane), along with K-9 and a Cyberman. The latter two characters were saved for LEGO Dimensions packs, while in the final Ideas set the two incarnations of the Doctor were both “modern” ones, Eleven and Twelve, and Clara was the single companion present.

With such a large project and set as Sesame Street, with so many characters (particularly so many of whom would benefit from new molds), there’s no telling how many of the characters represented in the project might be present or which ones they might be. I think the only thing we can be sure of is that some of the “outside” characters who made guest appearances on the show over the years, as the project creator represented in updates and social media posts and such, obviously won’t be present (i.e., Batman and the Joker, the Wicked Witch of the West, R2-D2 & C-3PO, etc. - though I fully expect many of us will add those characters from our existing LEGO collections to the scene in this set).

[BrickG]

Even though I grew up on Sesame Street I have no memory of the HUMAN characters. I didn't ever care about them. Just give me Kermit, Big Bird, Bert, Ernie, Snuffleupigus(sp?), Oscar, and The Count. I wouldn't mind if they didn't have any humans come with it but you know they probably will.

[sunhuntin]

Likewise, I don't remember any of the humans from the show. I would love them to include figs of Jim Henson Frank Oz and other important "behind the Muppets" people.

As to the Muppets themselves, Big Bird, Oscar, Bert and Ernie plus Kermit are essentials. Snuffleupagus would be nice, Miss Piggy, Animal, Rowlf and, and, and... So many fond memories, so few fig spaces!

[The Brick Boss]

I remember a lot of the humans. I remember Allen, Bob, Gordon, Luis, Maria and Susan. I also remember Miles and Gabby. 

[Karalora]

8 hours ago, pooda said:

I remember a lot of the humans. I remember Allen, Bob, Gordon, Luis, Maria and Susan. I also remember Miles and Gabby. 

I remember Gordon and Susan, Bob and his girlfriend Linda, and Luis and Maria. I am even barely old enough to remember Mr. Hooper.

They've always been an important part of the show. They helped normalize, in the minds of viewers, the idea of people of different races living in the same place and socializing with each other. That was a really controversial facet of Sesame Street back in the day.

[The Brick Boss]

59 minutes ago, Karalora said:

I remember Gordon and Susan, Bob and his girlfriend Linda, and Luis and Maria. I am even barely old enough to remember Mr. Hooper.

They've always been an important part of the show. They helped normalize, in the minds of viewers, the idea of people of different races living in the same place and socializing with each other. That was a really controversial facet of Sesame Street back in the day.

Very true. I'm not old enough to remember Mr. Hooper. Actually back when I first saw Allen, I thought his last name was Hooper until I found out that Hooper's Store was actually named after Mr. Hooper from the old days. 

[Blondie-Wan]

On 10/3/2019 at 3:49 AM, BrickG said:

Just give me Kermit

 

On 10/3/2019 at 5:10 AM, sunhuntin said:

As to the Muppets themselves, Big Bird, Oscar, Bert and Ernie plus Kermit are essentials.

I’d dearly love to have Kermit as well, but I kind of doubt he’ll be there (though I guess it’s possible, and would certainly be a pleasant surprise). Though he’s certainly an important part of the show’s history, he hasn’t been on it since a brief appearance about a decade ago, it's been since decades before that that he was a regular character, and he’s actually under different ownership (Disney, specifically) from the Sesame-specific characters like Big Bird and Oscar.

On 10/3/2019 at 5:10 AM, sunhuntin said:

Snuffleupagus would be nice, Miss Piggy, Animal, Rowlf and, and, and... So many fond memories, so few fig spaces!

The latter three would all be Muppets characters, but not Sesame Street ones. I’d love them too, though, but if we ever got them they’d surely be in a The Muppets set, not a Sesame Street one.

As I noted above, Kermit is similarly more a Muppets character than a Sesame Street one, but he does at least have an extensive history with the latter show.

[TheGlynreaper]

I think they should include some of the human characters too like maybe Gordon or maria when I think of sesame street I think of the old school originals

I fear they may include the newer characters in the set though like zoe and I am hoping the set doesn't get too expensive and the price will be around £130