When the first teaser trailer was released for the LEGO Movie 2 a few months ago, it depicted a post apocalyptic wasteland: Bricksburg was in ruins following the invasion of the DUPLO creatures at the end of the first movie. These creatures may have moved on, but the effect that they had on the landscape was remarkable. If not a little disturbing. All was bleak, dark, dirty and dusty.
Except for Emmett’s ongoing endless optimism.
From what we have seen, life continues with many of the same characters from the first LEGO Movie maintaining a presence in the second: Emmett, Lucy, Lego Batman, Dave the Surfer, Larry the Barista, Where Are My Pants Guy, Green Lantern, and others. I’m sure we will see more as further sets are revealed. But certainly they have changed. As has Bricksburg.
Today, we see the official images from ‘Welcome to Apocalypseburg’ – a Direct to Consumer set due to be released on January 16th, 2019. (Australian S@H lists 1st Feb, at $AUD499.99 at present). With over three thousand one hundred parts, this set looks amazing, and helps to give a feeling of what life is now like after the collapse of civilisation, following the events of Tako Tuesday.
499.99 at present). With over three thousand one hundred parts, this set looks amazing, and helps to give a feeling of what life is now like after the collapse of civilisation, following the events of Tako Tuesday.
Once a bright thriving metropolis, where (almost) everyone followed the instructions, the once colourful city has fallen into ruin. Buildings and vehicles have collapsed and been repurposed. The people bear the scars of the legacy of the DUPLO invasion and the decay of society.
In a brilliant callback to the closing scene of the 1968 film, Planet of the Apes, the town is built around a collapsed Statue of Liberty. Attributed to Rod Serling (of the Twilight Zone), this scene played on the Cold War fears of a nuclear war. Now a sign of a ruined society, floundering in decay and robbed of hope, the destruction of Lady Liberty has been adopted by a number of disaster/ end of the world movies since this time as cinematic shorthand of the End Of The World As We Know It.
Beyond repurposing the torch of Lady Liberty as a look out post, further modifications can be found as different parts of the once happy town have been repurposed in unexpected ways: a railway carriage is now the gymnasium; A spa and pool built into a truck; a deep fryer built out of an engine for the rooftop diner. To say nothing of the whole “Ready player one” vibe of stacked shipping containers.
A few things in this set have caught me off guard, including the tattoo parlour incorporated in the barbers, as well as using a ring of barbed wire as a basketball hoop and improvised hand held melee weapons. And then there is Scribble cop’s Office: complete with chair kicking function. All sprinkled throughout with the sense of humour that we anticipate from a LEGO Movie, and just a bit crazy. Of course, they still find a way to bring us coffee. Unfortunately, the ‘Sewer Babies’ seen in the initial trailer do not seem to get a mention in this set. Perhaps in the next wave?
And this is not the only LEGO Movie 2 Sets to reflect this dystopic future, with other sets in the theme building <ahem> on the theme.
And not only do we have these sets, but certainly many of the most recent Ninjago sets (Based on the Hunted Storyline) also depict this post apocalyptic landscape, and many of the introduced characters appearing to have come straight from Mad Max – from either Beyond the ThunderDome, or somewhere along Fury Road.
I think that some of these recently released sets released make an interesting statement about where contemporary storytelling is taking us: a darker, grittier place, where the realism of daily life is reflected and exaggerated by by our toys, rather than having everything made to look happier and brighter than they might really be.
Of course, I might be reading a little bit much into it. It looks as thought the designers have had a bit of fun with this set. Like Ninjago city, and the Lego Batman Movie Joker Mansion, this set raises the bar for the overall creative cornucopia that might now be depicted in a larger LEGO set.
Fun fact: all of the figures have double sided faces too… as well as possibly Mohawks being employed in an unironic fashion that previously seen in a LEGO Set!
Here is the official press release:
70842 Welcome to ApocalyseburgAges 16+. 3,178 pieces
US $299.99 – CA $399.99 – DE €299.99 – UK £279.99 – FR €299.99 – DK 2,499DKK
*Euro pricing varies by country. Please visit shop.LEGO.com for regional pricing.
Build and role-play with this huge THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ Apocalypseburg model!
Enjoy an epic 360-degree play experience—and prepare for an alien invasion—with THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg! construction toy. An advanced building set, it has over 3,000 pieces and presents an awesome challenge even for master builders. This THE LEGO MOVIE 2 set features a section of the Statue of Liberty with a chill-out room in the head, café, Scribble Cop’s office with a chair-kicking function, armory, barber’s/tattoo parlor, Lucy’s hideout, Fuse’s workshop, rooftop diner, gym, spa, lookout platforms and loads more! This action-packed toy also comes with 12 THE LEGO MOVIE 2 minifigures to role-play and reimagine your favorite scenes from the blockbuster film.
- This creative toy includes 12 new-for-January-2019 THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ minifigures: Emmet, Lucy, Batman™, Scribble Cop, Harley Quinn™, Green Lantern™, ’Where are my pants?’ Guy, Larry the Barista, Chainsaw Dave, Mo-Hawk, Roxxi and Fuse, plus a rat figure.
- This huge Apocalypseburg construction toy has removable modules for easy play and features a section of the Statue of Liberty, café, Scribble Cop’s office, armory, barber’s/tattoo parlor, Lucy’s hideout, Fuse’s workshop, rooftop diner, gym, spa and more!
The Statue of Liberty section of this THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ playset features a buildable torch, opening Lady Liberty head with a chill-out room including a buildable telescope, and 3 lookout platforms.
- The Coffee Unchained café features a service counter, cash register, buildable coffee machine with 2 coffee pumps, table and seat, and an outdoor table with a parasol and 2 seats.
Scribble Cop’s office features an opening jail door and chair-kicking function.- Armory features a mannequin, goggles, 3 minifigure helmet elements and 2 buildable weapons.
- Barber’s/tattoo parlor features a barber’s chair, buildable tattoo machine and hair-cutting tool elements.
- Lucy’s hideout features a buildable bed with a secret compartment containing various fun elements including a love letter from Batman™. The room also features weapon storage and assorted elements including new-for-January-2019 barbed wire.
- The removable roof of Lucy’s hideout has a buildable seat, engine truck front and water tower.
- Fuse’s rooftop workshop features a buildable tool chest with a buildable fire extinguisher.
Rooftop diner features a buildable V8 engine deep-fat fryer, table, oven, ketchup and mustard dispensers, plus frying pan and food elements.
- Train-carriage-shaped gym features a buildable punching bag with alien invader decoration and a weightlifting bench.
- Truck-shaped spa features a buildable hot tub and shower.
- This THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ toy building set also includes Chainsaw Dave’s surfboard rack with 2 surfboards, lookout area with a buildable telescope, an opening sewer and various ladders.
Weapons for THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ characters include Lucy’s crossbow.
- Accessory elements include Emmet’s 2 coffee mugs, Lucy’s quiver, plus 6 new-for-January-2019 Skeletron head elements (1 as a basketball; 1 on a signpost; 1 as engine decoration; 2 as hair mannequins; and 1 on the armory mannequin).
- Recreate fun-packed scenes from THE LEGO® MOVIE 2™ with this awesome Statue of Liberty toy.
This new-for-January-2019 toy measures over 20” (52cm) high, 19” (49cm) wide and 12” (33cm) deep.Available directly from LEGO Stores & shop.LEGO.com from Wednesday 16th January, 2019
What do you think of this latest offering from the LEGO Movie 2? I think it is interesting that the LEGO Group have been happy to visit some different subject matter this year between Overwatch, and the post apocalyptic world of the TLMs. I love the realisation of the collapsed statue, and the incorporation of the darker elements of the story in to this set. Why not leave your thoughts below, and until next time,
Play Well.
