Karalora

I wasn't thinking of a revival of the 90s Western theme so much as a new Western theme updated for current sensibilities regarding that time period.

Without attempting to speak for @FinlayTheFaithful, maybe this means a Western setting as they tend to be depicted now in the 2020s, vs. how they were depicted in the 1990s when the Western sets were a thing?

Albino animals have red/pink noses. It's actually accurate.

A rock monster of some sort would make a cool CMF. I was envisioning something gnomish to fit in with the little forest sprite creatures.

I endorse this! We could have: Flower Fairy Water Sprite Rock/Crystal Gnome Bird Fairy Neighbor Mouse (basically a "civilized mouse" a la Beatrix Potter) Dryad Lots of possibilities there!

If you assume the eyes are literally red-colored or literally glowing red, yeah, that pretty much ensures you're dealing with a villainous monster-rat of some kind. But you could also read it as eye-shine, which any ordinary rat in a dark place with light shining on it would display.

I was referring more to unlicensed themed CMFs like the recent Space, rather than licensed ones.

Another thing to consider is that a themed series is going to "use up" a lot of ideas for its theme at once, making them less viable for future series. So anyone who is a fan of the theme but misses that series for whatever reason, is likely to have much less to interest them for a long time afterward.

People have positive experiences with healthcare providers every day too. And traditionally, LEGO hospitals and clinics have had that "accentuate the positive" vibe--the patient is undergoing a routine checkup, or has suffered a non-life-threatening accident (a broken leg is favorite) and is getting treatment. I don't think we've had a LEGO oncology center, ICU, or morgue. I'm not saying they wouldn't or shouldn't do a medieval plague doctor--which is after all so far removed from everyday life as to be nearly a fantasy figure--but just pointing out that not all depictions of healthcare workers or facilities would be received the same way. And yeah, the world's recent (and ongoing!) experience of COVID might be a reason for a cute colorful toy brand to steer clear of "plague" references.

I could see the croissant being the "official" accessory for the teddy bear...it's the closest thing we've got to a bearclaw...

The thrust of my speculation has been that Nintendo, in particular, charges more for its licenses than many other IP-holders. The LEGO Store employee I spoke to had the same idea.

I'm sure license pricing isn't the only reason--the number of unique molds and prints in the set, none of which can really be re-used in other themes, has to be a contributing factor as well--but based on what I know of Nintendo, and knowing how long this has probably been in negotiations, it seems likely that it's a contributing factor.

So last weekend, I went to the local friendly LEGO Store and happened to be wearing a Legend of Zelda tee-shirt which the employees commented on, so naturally we got to talking about the Deku Tree set and how expensive it is, and one of the employees said she thinks Nintendo charges extra for licenses. Which is a speculation I have also had. I know a frontline hourly employee isn't going to have much more (if any) insight into the nuts and bolts of licensing agreements than I do, but the more of us say it, the more I feel like we're onto something. And it is in character for Nintendo because of how finicky they are with third parties touching their stuff.

A simple hot-air balloon being 1,400 parts? Not likely. A hot-air balloon being the centerpiece in a set with multiple small-medium models totaling 1,400 parts? Much more plausible. If the leaker is reliable, that is what I would assume is going on here--either that, or it is a very large balloon with intricate patterning on the envelope, a decorated basket, etc.

Some of the BAM assemblies have gone on BL with names, which makes them pretty close to official since TLG owns the site.

This is really charming! It reminds me of something you'd find on Disneyland's Main Street.

Of course there are people who buy licensed LEGO sets just because they are fans of the licensed IP. Some of these people will go on to discover a love of LEGO building and become LEGO fans. I am one of them. I would not be here, 18 years (and however many thousands of dollars) later, if not for the two ATLA sets from the Nickelodeon partnership. But apparently, some people are so opposed to licenses that they would rather that whole side of the community were shut out. More likely, if you pick up a licensed set, it's because you're a fan of both LEGO and the licensed IP. Not many people are going to buy merch that they have to put together unless they get enjoyment from the act of putting it together.

Welcome aboard!

And I think you're wrong. I think if LEGO ditched all their licenses and went back to in-house themes only--especially just the ones from that time period--their market share would shrink so drastically that they would struggle to stay in business, production would drop off sharply, and it would be harder for you to find what you like than it is now. Hence why I framed the question the way I did. The genie of licensing is out of the bottle and there's no going back.

I didn't ask what you thought the ideal situation would be--I asked between these two options, which do you prefer? We can't blithely assume that in the year 2024, 30-40 years past what you think was LEGO's peak era, a return to that business model would work with current consumer tastes.

Me too! Besides the delight of LEGO D&D on its own, it promises to provide interesting parts for other fantasy-themed minifigures and scenarios.

This. All of this. The digi-fig may not be the most charming thing on its own (and it's extremely gimmicky), but dang if it doesn't make playing with a Mario LEGO set feel about as close to playing a Mario game as could reasonably be achieved. Conversely, for Animal Crossing, just playing with them as LEGO is pretty close to the game experience already. For Zelda, we only have the one display set so far, but I hope if they continue, they bring in puzzle elements as play features.

The CMF Judge sure doesn't look like someone people would want conducting their wedding. Couldn't he at least try to smile? The City Hall set has a just-wedded (or about-to-be-wedded) couple, but does not appear to directly depict the ceremony. No other member of the wedding party seems to be present. That set isn't about the wedding; the couple is included as an example of something you might see at City Hall on a given day. I think in a set or CMF wave focusing on depicting an actual wedding ceremony, with all the participants, it would be weird to leave out the officiant. And there's no way TLG is going to create a minifig who is obviously a member of the clergy, so they would make it a secular official--a judge, or maybe a city clerk with some picturesque stole or badge of office they can wear while conducting ceremonies. And some people would inevitably grumble about it. It's not an absolute barrier, but it's probably a factor whenever the company considers a product that depicts a wedding of any sort.

@Robert8 had a Ring Bearer in one of his proposed CMF series...a little boy with two rings on a pillow. I think besides the bouquet/basket, a Flower Girl would have to come with round 1 x 1 tiles to represent the petals she scatters as she goes. Of course, any "wedding party" theme is going to get a wee bit sticky when it comes to one of the central players: the officiator. TLG just isn't going to make a minifigure of any real-world religious official. Of course many, many weddings are conducted by civic officials instead, but that's going to be dissatisfying for anyone who would want a religious officiator.

I'm not even talking about damaging the brand when it comes to "mature" or R-rated themes. I'm just mind-boggled by people who can look at the extreme cartoony stylization of a minifigure and think "I need a hardcore realistic serious IP translated into THIS!" But then I'm similarly boggled by people who use them as wargaming miniatures to recreate actual historical wars. I just don't live in the same world as them, I guess. This is an interesting idea! I don't know if I'm entirely on board for two reasons. First, the lower posability of minidolls doesn't quite gel with the Gerudo as extremely active warrior women. Second, even with the best of intentions, I can guarantee it would read as a statement to the effect that the Gerudo are all women, so they need to be represented with figures from the Girl!LEGO theme. I'm also not certain we need to go all the way to big figs for Gorons. They're hefty fellas, but they're not that much taller than the more humanlike races. Maybe a unique body mold, a la Hagrid? With articulation points allowing them to curl up and roll around? The Gorons are going to be an engineering challenge for sure if this theme keeps going!