Disney Princess 2014 Rumors & Discussion

[Faefrost]

I think those are not prelims, well the giant stamp says so, but I belive it'f final images simply watermarked so people wont share them.

The new molds and the printing are in the pictures so no reason to belive they're not final.

The Prince in the Ariel set is using a placeholder bearded face from a Friends minidoll. So I don't think these are completely final.

I kinda like them. I was expecting lots of panels and big pieces. So that doesn't bother me. The Castle and Rapunzel's Tower look great. The Carriage... Not so much. I hate to say it but both the Duplo version of this one, and the Kingdoms Kings Carriage one look so much better.

[Dorayaki]

As expected, Merida used Andrea's hair. Elsa Schneider's hair doesn't really look good on minidolls because it leaves too much forehead, and Olivia's hair looks better for Ariel. Anakin and Dastan's hairs are okay. Rapunzel's hair isn't clear for now, but she should use an exclusive long hair element.

For the castle, it's alittle dissapointing in its size, because it doesn't look as big as other "castles" in Lego lines (e.g. the Casle theme ones, Vampyre Castle), which looks more real and magnificent, and it's definitely not a "dream-come-true" to Disney castle lovers. And I think there should be more characters in such a set, like Lady Tremaine, Mary or Godmother.

Speaking of characters, the animals from the castle also look weird. The cat just looks like the one from Friends, neither Pom-Pom or Lucifer. The dog doesn't look like Bruno too. I don't think TLC would make a stupid mistake since they remember to put Pascal.

Well, the tower doesn't look like a "tower" too but as a product it's okay to me. My biggest concern is not that princess sets look girly, but girly shouldn't mean "simpler than boys' or regular sets."

Edited October 29, 2013 by Dorayaki

[CorneliusMurdock]

I don't think that they're simple because they're girl sets but rather because they appeal to a slightly younger audience than even the Friends line would. TLG has tried themes that bridge the gap between Duplo and regular system with varying degrees of success.

This may be a perfect fit between the Princess Duplo sets and the Friends line. My daughter is five and I think she might be able to put some of these together entirely on her own.

[lemaskdemasque]

The first in this youtube video shows a set with an Ariel with a tail! This wasn't shown with the other gallery i dont think.

Edited October 29, 2013 by CorneliusMurdock
Do not embed confidential pics or videos, please.

[Aanchir]

Well, I have mixed feelings about these sets. Aesthetically, they're great. But the pinks and purples deviate greatly from the source material, which is a bit disappointing.

Still hoping to get an Agrabah Palace in a future wave. Though with this theme's emphasis on magic and romance (and lack of villains or anything similarly scary) I'm afraid Jasmine might get relegated to a Magic Carpet scene. To be fair, though, that IS one of her most iconic scenes, but I love me some exotic architecture.

Overall, I just feel like these have the same sanitized marketing strategy as other Disney Princess merchandise. And while that doesn't hurt the quality of the toys themselves, I feel like it reduces the well-roundedness of the franchises the characters were plucked from and replaces it with a much less meaningful context.

[Fives]

I haven't kept up with this thread, but those sets look awesome! I'm a sucker for classic Disney, and I may need to pick most of these up.

[Hinckley]

Considering one has a Flounder mold and another has Sebastian as just the standard red crab mold, I think these are in the early stages of development. I hope the Castle and the building in Ariel's Kiss get better. Right now they're a little...<insert that tiresome argument>?...which is disappointing since the rest of the Friends line has some very nice construction.

[Dr.Cogg]

I like Rapunzel's tower the most out of these sets. I was also thinking of a second way with Beast's Enchanted Castle.

[Blondie-Wan]

Oh, cool! These don't look half bad, I think.

Considering one has a Flounder mold and another has Sebastian as just the standard red crab mold, I think these are in the early stages of development. I hope the Castle and the building in Ariel's Kiss get better. Right now they're a little...<insert that tiresome argument>?...which is disappointing since the rest of the Friends line has some very nice construction.

These aren't part of the Friends line, though; they're a new line, Disney Princess. As noted by several previous posts in the thread, these are apparently aimed at a younger age range than Friends (or City, Star Wars, The Hobbit / The Lord of the Rings, etc.), and there's nothing wrong with that.

In fact, I imagine there'll be one very positive upside to these sets being intended for slightly younger builders. I wouldn't bet my life on it, but I suspect all those decorated elements will be actual printed bricks, not stickered ones.

[Hinckley]

These aren't part of the Friends line, though; they're a new line, Disney Princess. As noted by several previous posts in the thread, these are apparently aimed at a younger age range than Friends (or City, Star Wars, The Hobbit / The Lord of the Rings, etc.), and there's nothing wrong with that.

You do realize, though, that those are Friends elements. Why are they not using the normal minifig then? They are appealing to girls the same way the Friends line does. Yes, they can appeal to younger builders, yes, there's nothing wrong with that, but they don't need to look bad or poorly constructed to appeal to younger builders, in my opinion.

Why do people get so worked up over other people's opinions? Don't take it personally that I'm not crazy about them.

[Oky]

Picture of the Ariel's Secret Treasures set!

Ugh, I hope this is not the final version. It resembles neither Ariel's grotto nor any part of her palace; it's just a big, pink gate. I am usually fairly tolerant towards pink and lavender pieces in themes like this, but in this case they just seem out of place. They should have used light blue or green or white. Oh well, at least it seems like a good parts pack with that purple starfish, golden binoculars, and printed music sheet tile. And is that a new seaweed piece behind the illustrated Ariel's head?

For the castle, it's alittle dissapointing in its size, because it doesn't look as big as other "castles" in Lego lines (e.g. the Casle theme ones, Vampyre Castle), which looks more real and magnificent, and it's definitely not a "dream-come-true" to Disney castle lovers. (...) Well, the tower doesn't look like a "tower" too but as a product it's okay to me. My biggest concern is not that princess sets look girly, but girly shouldn't mean "simpler than boys' or regular sets."

Rapunzel's Tower is bigger than anything we have ever gotten in the modern Harry Potter theme, so I don't think there is any reason to complain that it is too small. As for the castle, I can see how it might seem small compared to other Lego castles, but I think it's still a decent enough size, and considering that this theme is aimed at younger children, I don't think we could expect much to begin with. At least these sets are much better in terms of juniorization than the Superheroes Juniors sets.

However, I can't argue with the fact that these sets seem like dumbed-down, kid-friendly versions of the scenes from the movies they're supposed to represent, which is disappointing to see, especially after they seemed to be doing a good job at trying to break away from the stereotypical girls toys with the Friends theme.

Still hoping to get an Agrabah Palace in a future wave. Though with this theme's emphasis on magic and romance (and lack of villains or anything similarly scary) I'm afraid Jasmine might get relegated to a Magic Carpet scene. To be fair, though, that IS one of her most iconic scenes, but I love me some exotic architecture.

I'm hoping for that too, especially since it's the second most iconic Disney castle and they already have all the molds they need for it from the Orient Expedition and PoP themes, but even if we do only get a Carpet ride scene, I don't see why we wouldn't at least get Jasmine's tower from where Aladdin picks her up. After all, the set can't just be them on a brick-built carpet.

You do realize, though, that those are Friends elements. Why are they not using the normal minifig then? They are appealing to girls the same way the Friends line does. Yes, they can appeal to younger builders, yes, there's nothing wrong with that, but they don't need to look bad or poorly constructed to appeal to younger builders, in my opinion.

I don't think it's about the look and more about making them easier to build. The fact that they end up looking poorly constructed to AFOLs as a result is just a side effect. That's my theory anyway.

By the way, could Cornelius or one of the other mods please update the thread title?

[Brickity]

I just noticed the new cinderella design. Why did they mess with her fringe and dress? Lol. I know I'll be surprised by the final versions, but I wonder if anything else can be done to that "castle"

[Blondie-Wan]

You do realize, though, that those are Friends elements. Why are they not using the normal minifig then? They are appealing to girls the same way the Friends line does. Yes, they can appeal to younger builders, yes, there's nothing wrong with that, but they don't need to look bad or poorly constructed to appeal to younger builders, in my opinion.

Why do people get so worked up over other people's opinions? Don't take it personally that I'm not crazy about them.

Erm... huh? You quoted me, but seem to be responding to someone else. I wasn't "worked up," if that's what you thought, and I certainly didn't take anything personally. I merely didn't share your view, and indicated as much.

I also agree that they don't need to look bad or poorly constructed (and indeed agree that the opposite is desirable); I simply don't think that they are bad or poorly constructed. Moreover, until you posted this, I didn't even know that you thought they looked bad or poorly constructed, since your earlier post used much softer language.

Regarding "using the normal minifig," I assumed it was obvious why they aren't. As we know from the various announcements and discussion surrounding the initial launch of Friends, the minidoll arose because TLG's best research (on which they spent four years and millions of dollars talking to thousands of girls and their mothers) that led to Friends indicated that young girls don't tend to be particularly enamored of minifigures, and wanted more realistic-looking figures. I'd therefore expect the minidoll to be the standard figure now for any major new theme aimed principally at girls.

[Leela]

Thanks for the pictures! I expected the dressed to be a little more puffy, but a least the minidolls should be able to sit in these flatter ones.

I'm not very crazy about these sets but I like them and will try to get most of them.

Ariel's Kiss set is so pink... pink dress, pink boat, pink roof, luckily the frog's not pink The Duplo version had better colors. But all the other princesses have the dresses shown on the box art so I hope Ariel will get a better dress. Love the Fabuland arch pieces in this set!

I love Rapunzel's Tower, don't really know why, there's nothing to build there but it's just sooo pretty.

This theme is going to be really popular with girls, the sets are sweet. The castle (even though my least favorite so far) makes a great dollhouse. I expect Snow White, Aurora and Belle to be next, but would really love to see Jasmine, Pocahontas and Mulan. I wonder if we'll get these other characters, there aren't many other scenes we could get with the most popular princesses (though Cinderella with step sisters at home would be great).

[CM4Sci]

Looking at the pictures I have (much more finalized-looking) Ariel has a new hairpiece. Either that or it's Olivia's in red.

-Sci

[JeagerEX]

Either that or it's Olivia's in red.

Maybe those are still prototypes.

[Hinckley]

Erm... huh? You quoted me, but seem to be responding to someone else. I wasn't "worked up," if that's what you thought, and I certainly didn't take anything personally. I merely didn't share your view, and indicated as much.

I also agree that they don't need to look bad or poorly constructed (and indeed agree that the opposite is desirable); I simply don't think that they are bad or poorly constructed. Moreover, until you posted this, I didn't even know that you thought they looked bad or poorly constructed, since your earlier post used much softer language.

Regarding "using the normal minifig," I assumed it was obvious why they aren't. As we know from the various announcements and discussion surrounding the initial launch of Friends, the minidoll arose because TLG's best research (on which they spent four years and millions of dollars talking to thousands of girls and their mothers) that led to Friends indicated that young girls don't tend to be particularly enamored of minifigures, and wanted more realistic-looking figures. I'd therefore expect the minidoll to be the standard figure now for any major new theme aimed principally at girls.

Words like "&lt;insert that tiresome argument&gt;" or "disappointing" usually indicate bad or poorly constructed. Either way, they're not positive. And I'm simply stating my opinion. They're Disney Friends. There's going to be cross-interest from people who like both lines. The Friends sets look great. These look...OK...I wish they looked better, like the Friends sets. I still hope they will since these seem like very early preliminaries. Now I'm just repeating myself.

Maybe those are still prototypes.

Considering the picture of Ariel on the box, I think we'll get a new dress and hairpiece. It's really hard to judge a set by a prelim pic, since...it's not the final set.

[CM4Sci]

Maybe those are still prototypes.

Just checked, new hairpiece.

-Sci

[Dorayaki]

I can see how it might seem small compared to other Lego castles, but I think it's still a decent enough size, and considering that this theme is aimed at younger children, I don't think we could expect much to begin with. At least these sets are much better in terms of juniorization than the Superheroes Juniors sets.

However, I can't argue with the fact that these sets seem like dumbed-down, kid-friendly versions of the scenes from the movies they're supposed to represent, which is disappointing to see, especially after they seemed to be doing a good job at trying to break away from the stereotypical girls toys with the Friends theme.

I don't think it's about the look and more about making them easier to build. The fact that they end up looking poorly constructed to AFOLs as a result is just a side effect. That's my theory anyway.

I don't think just beacuse most audience are children, it can mean that they have to be simplified while sets from other licenses don't. Kids have eyes and they can compare with either other Lego sets or the cartoon image. If there are needs to give young builders a try, just like you said, they should make starter sets and large sets together like what they did with Superheros.

It could be less controversial if it's a Sofia the First, which is a new story introduced in different media. For Disney Princesses, it looks more like a theme for a wider range of ages, not to aim at children only. After all, Lego Disney are AFOL's dream too. It's unwise to turn them down flat.

Regarding "using the normal minifig," I assumed it was obvious why they aren't. As we know from the various announcements and discussion surrounding the initial launch of Friends, the minidoll arose because TLG's best research (on which they spent four years and millions of dollars talking to thousands of girls and their mothers) that led to Friends indicated that young girls don't tend to be particularly enamored of minifigures, and wanted more realistic-looking figures. I'd therefore expect the minidoll to be the standard figure now for any major new theme aimed principally at girls.

I'm not against minidolls, but I think it would become a negative market segmentation that doesn't allow common consumers or AFOLs to touch these "girly" things, unless minifigures simply dissapear and minidolls invade all generic and licensed themes, but it's also wierd because they weren't meant to compete each other. In the long run, I think TLC should still consider to make minifigure versions of the Disney characters they've made (and the Friends characters, like my Cuusoo project suggested) in any occasion like licensed CMFs.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Dorayaki

[Brickity]

Just checked, new hairpiece.

-Sci

May I know where did you see that? Also, if you saw the other pictures.. is the Rapunzel tower a lot different? I also wonder if you could see Rapunzel's hairpiece, as I can't identify if she has a new mold in those prelims.

Sorry for the edit.

Edited October 30, 2013 by Otherworld

[CM4Sci]

May I know where did you see that?

I can't share any of my pics, sorry!

EDIT: The tower is the exact same. There's a clear head on the top, which is cool. Rapunzel's hair only goes down to her waist, from what I can see. Yeah, it's a new mold.

-Sci

Edited October 30, 2013 by CM4S

[TheLegoDr]

Thanks for sharing. These look great, as expected. I expect the bright colors for the target audience, but not for the source material. Needless to say, we will pick up the whole line for our daughter. I love that it shows all three bear brothers in the Brave set. I hope that is a new printed target, but it is probably a sticker. Plus, more cookies!

[Sandy]

Brickset has the final boxart of Merida's Highland Games.

The bear boys are just too cute.

[BrickG]

Her red hair looks nothing like what it's supposed to look like. In fact she probably least resembles her character out of all of them.

[DrLegostar]

Her red hair looks nothing like what it's supposed to look like. In fact she probably least resembles her character out of all of them.

I agree completely. The minidoll is the worst part of the set. I guess you can always swap her out for the Series 9 forest maiden.