Blink and You Will Miss Them

The latest range of LEGO Collectable Minifigures (CMFs) hit the shelves last weekend around the world. People have been honing their packet feeling skills and doing their best to get a full set before the box runs out of Mickey Mouse and Buzz Lightyear. And they are vanishing fast.

Unlike previous sets of CMFs, there are 18 rather than 16 different figures to collect. Each box of 60 contains 3 full sets with 6 ‘extras’.  There is a good mix of classic and modern characters, Pixar and Disney, hero(ine) and villain.  But there are plainly of gaps in the collection. Enough to say ‘here are my favorites for series 2’… So we can only hope that this may be an actual thing, rather than just a fantastical imagining…

Plenty of sites are offering reviews of all the CMFs – I have decided to present them in chronological order of their first appearance:

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse (Steam boat Willie, 1928)

Donald Duck (Wise Little Hen, 1934), Daisy Duck (Mr Duck Steps Out, 1940)

Maleficent (Sleeping beauty, 1959)

Alice, Cheshire Cat  (Alice in Wonderland, 1951)

Peter Pan, Captain Hook (Peter Pan, 1953)

Ariel, Ursula (The Little Mermaid, 1989)

Aladdin, Genie(Aladdin, 1992)

Buzz Lightyear, Alien (Toy Story, 1995)

Stitch (Lilo and Stitch, 2002)

Mister Incredible, Syndrome (The Incredibles, 2004)

So many great characters, and so many great movies.

I would like to quickly comment on the figs themselves: they are fantastic. They have great features, ensuring none is particularly dull or mundane.  Eight figures with 2 tone moulded legs; 3 moulded ‘leg/fin/ gaseous genie’ pieces and 3 sets of short legs. Eight new hats/hair pieces; Five new head moulds (7 characters). Five pearl gold accessories; two hairbows, duck tales and 2 different skirts, one set of blueprints and a propaganda poster!

 

I would have perhaps have liked Mickey mouse to have a tail, fitting between the torso and leg pieces.  However, the preponderance of pieces fitting between these 2 main pieces of a minifig makes me excited for the LEGO Batman move, whose trailer came out last month.  in this screen shot: animated batman has a 3-D rather than printed utility belt.  Could this be the ultimate evolution in this piece of LEGO minifig technology?

Only the Toy Story Characters feel a little ‘redone’, if only because their original sets came out within living memory, and the differences are subtle: Buzz’s head is now a normal mini figure head, and the alien has  an updated color scheme.

But no characters debuting between 1953 and 1989? For 30 years, nothing happened? There was a run of animal-centric movies in this time (Lady and the Tramp, the Aristocats, the Rescuers, Fox and the Hound, Oliver and Co.) and indeed many of the characters couldn’t be readily translated into minifigure format.  But certainly there were others from this time that would have been worthy: Merlin and Art from Sword in the stone, Mowgli and Baloo from Jungle book, Cruella de Ville from 101 Dalmatians.

There are so many films not touched on in this series.  As well as those mentioned above, there are some great classics such as Snow White and the Seven Dwarves,  Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella,  Robin Hood, Winnie the Pooh, the Black Cauldron, Beauty and the Beast, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, Mulan, Atlantis: the Lost Empire, Wreck It Ralph, Treasure Planet, Big Hero 6… And I have left many out.

Now, some of these films were a bit forgettable, and some of the characters are too much like an animal to be done justice as a minifigure (such as Pluto, any Dalmation). But whatever happened to Goofy?  As much a stalwart of classic Disney as Mickey and Donald, his omission could almost be taken as proof of plans for another series in planning. And there are more: Scrooge McDuck? Clarence the Cow? Huey, Dewey and Louis? Beagle Boys? Pistol/Pegleg/ Black Pete?

Or is it a conspiracy? Millennials and baby boomers are well served with characters of their child hood.  But I feel a little ripped off.  Sure, Animated Disney Movies were not a big part of my childhood: no VCR, no DVD, no Blu-Ray, no Digital Downloads.  Occasionally Bambi or Snow White would show at the Cinema for a day or two in the school holidays, but otherwise we were limited to picture books and read-a-long records, with Tinkerbell playing a distorted Xylophone to cue turning the page of the reader, who was imagining the warm, dark movie house with the moving pictures, just by listening to the flutter and pop of a vinyl record while reading an abridged version of our favourite movie story.  Perhaps it was a mercy killing.  Memorable characters from this time were not as prevalent but seriously, a 30 year slump?

Or is it just to ensure that LEGO has something for everyone who didn’t get the joy of seeing Star Wars (A New Hope) as a child in its original theatrical run? You be the Judge.

But I digress.

Who would be your picks for Series Two?

Would you build on the films we already have, and add some characters (for example Sleeping beauty, Prince Phillip; Mad Hatter, March Hare and Queen of hearts; Jasmine and Jafar) or would you go back to the classics (Snow White, wicked Queen and Dwarfs; Cinderella and Fairy Godmother; Pinocchio, Jiminy Cricket and Gepetto), Some of the ‘Lost Era’ ( Cruella de Ville; Robin Hood and Little John; Sword in the Stone, Jungle Book) or the ‘rebirth phase’: Tarzan; Mulan; Belle and the Beast; Pocahontas, Frozen and so forth? Or Pixar? Monsters Inc; Inside Out; More Incredibles Characters?

I have actively left out animal centric films such as ‘Lady and the Tramp’ and ‘Lion King’, because while those films had great stories and characters, they wouldn’t translate into mini figures terribly well.  It is also worth recognising that many of the Princesses have already appeared as minidolls in the Disney Princess range, and while Arial received the makeover, it would be a bit of a cop out if LEGO were to continue with this plan for the other princesses.  That said, perhaps Mulan, Pocahontas and Snow White would work better as minifigs rather than minidolls.

Who would you put into Series 2 of Disney Collectable LEGO Minifigures?

 

Play well