Across generations, the Muppets have maintained their popularity for over 40 years. Be it in the original The Muppet Show (1976 -1981) or The Muppets (2015) or any of the multitude of movies in between, these characters created by Jim Henson have a place in the hearts of people, transcending generations. And so, when the news arrived that the Muppets were going to get their own collection of Collectable Minifigures, the world seemed to become just a little bit more excitable.

Like recent CMF series, this series contains 12 of the series most endearing characters, although there are a couple of notable ommissions. Does this leave scope for a future series, or other projects? We can speculate on that I am grateful that the LEGO Group sent a box of these figures for review – there are some long anticipated characters, and we have been excited to see how they would translate to minifigure form.

The figures will be officially released on May the 1st, although they have already started to show up in some parts of the world.

However, I think one of the most exciting, unexpected aspects of this series is a dramatic change in the packaging compared with the previous sets of 12 figures, packed in boxes of 36.

Previously, boxes of minifigures have arrived in their own shipping boxes: a box in a box as it were. Starting with this series, the upper part of the box is shipping box, while the lower part makes up the retail display box. Here is a comparision with series 22 CMF:

Opening the new box is a little different to the previous boxes: we remove some adhesive tabs on the side, and the lid lifts off, revealing the figures inside. This new external packaging weighs 102 grams (compared with 138 for S22) and the internal package 88 grams compared with 128 g for the internal box on S22 – which featured a foldup lid. This represents a 30% reduction in the mass of cardboard used to pack these series for shipping – an overall reduction in materials, shipping weight and potentially reducing the carbon footprint involved in producing one of these collections of plastic toys.

The figures come in a white blind bag, with pictures of the potential contents on the cover. The figures in my box were labelled 05s2, suggesting they were packed in late Janury/early February in 2022, at the Kladno Factory in the Czech Republic.

In this series, there are 12 figures, and there are 36 figures in a box – I had 3 complete sets in my box, although the sets were (relatively) randomly arranged in the two columns of 18 figures.

Without any further ado, lets take a look at the figures.

Compared to previous minifigure series, all figures feature new head molds, and no figure has a removable hat. All figures come with an accessory of some sort.

Rowlf

The resident piano player comes with sheet music for Beethoven’s Pathetique Piano sonata, as well as a bust of Beethoven. Rowlf is predominantly reddish brown. His head is dual molded in reddish brown and the new medium brown shade. His fur is molded on the head and printed on the torso – front and back, and on the front and sides of the legs.

Bunsen Honeydew

Chief instigator of Scientific Mischief at Muppet Labs, Bunsen Honeydew has a round, eyeless face in spring yellowish green. He wears his labcoat over a waistcoat and red tie. there are more pens than may be considered reasonable in his lab coat’s pocket! The coat is buttoned up, and the printing continues down to the white, medium length legs.

Beaker

Honeydew’s assistant Beaker is carriying a geiger counter, measuring a few too many geigers. His head features multiple overmoulds – red, light nougat white and orange, He has a spring yellowish green lab coat, over a sand green shirt and dark green tie. Plainly Professor Honeydew has ‘borrowed’ his pen. His legs are dual molded with medium stone grey lower halves, with printed white and black shoes.

The Great Gonzo

Gonzo is one of my favorite figures in the series, with a polka dotted tie, his shirt is covered with chillis – front, back and sleeves. His dark tan, medium length trousers are spotted, and his shoes are printed on as well. I love the effect of his multiple molded head, particularly his hooked nose. Gonzo comes with Camilla, a chicken, which features a new print compared to previous LEGO poultry.

Kermit the Frog

Kermit is certainly one of the most dependable muppets. Despite being ‘naked’ most of the time, the torso print features his distinctive neck frill, and his head mold captures his shape, smile and eyes beautifully. Could Kermit’s frill have been achieved with an additional fabric element instead? Would it have been as robust? And if so, would the boxes be ransacked by people looking to create a lime green monochromatic minifigure? He comes with a 2×2 rainbow tile, previously seen with the bear suite costume in series 20. He comes with a banjo, which is also a new mold.

Miss Piggy

Miss Piggy is certainly glamorous, and comes with a poster of herself. she has long blond hair, has dual printed arms and legs, with a printed dress, along with a silver belt with a heart shaped clasp on the buckle. She is wearing medium lavendar coloured gloves, coming up to her mid arms.

Fozzie Bear

Wannabe comedian Fozzie Bear comes with a microphone, for his stand up act, as well as a banana. He is medium nougat in colour, with moulded fur on his head, and printed tufts on his body. His hat is not going anywhere, molded firmly onto the rest of his body.

Animal

Drummer for the house Band, the Electric Mayhem, Animal is another example of a figure that brings as much to a minifigure as can be brought! His head mold is perfect, while he has a short shirt on his torso, aslong with dual molded printed arms. His legs are reddish brown and bright orange, with a printed rope, to hold his shorts up. Animal’s drumsticks are repurposed wands from the Harry Potter Range. I was surprised that we did not get any spare wands included.

He alsop comes with a smal drum kit, including a large printed 2×2 mouth. This could be interesting to include into your own character builds.

Waldorf

One of the Muppets’ serial hecklers, Waldorf (along with Statler) were frequently seen in the box seats, providing commentary on the show unfolding around them. Waldorf is wearing a brown 3 piece suit, and has black printed shoes. He comes with a cup and saucer (and there are spares included) as well as a 2×2 tile labelled “ZZZ” . Again, I think the interpretation has been quite effective.

Statler

Statler is another serial heckler. Over the years, as well as being located in the box seat, these grumpy old men have also been seen watching muppet videos on their laptop, which is included here, complete with an online chat with Scooter in progress. Scooter was integral to the original Muppets series, and I think it is a little bit disappointing that his appearance here is limited to a literal on-screen cameo!

Statler has another detailed head mold, with bushy grey eyebrows, and a comically oversized chin. He is wearing a blue three piece suit, along with his printed black shoes.

The Swedish Chef

The Swedish Chef captures the form of the Chef, as well as his boundless enthusiasm. He wears an apron over his striped shirt, while the shirt itself has printed sleeves. His legs are dual molded, and he carries an egg whisk and a lively tomato, with a happy smile!. His hat and oversized eyebrows are all moulded onto the head, and his lips are pursed.

Janice

Janice contributed lead guitar and backup vocals to The Electric Mayhem. This minifigure really catches her likeness well. Wearing denim shorts and a pink crop top, she has an orange face, with blond hair and a beanie, while her full length legs have been printed to show her silver shoes. She carries a dark orange electric guitar.

Not only, but also…

While taking pictures of our figures, I also took pictures of the figures with their related characters.

In the series, we have 12 figures:5 with medium length legs, 3 with unremovable hats, 2 with dual molded arms; 6 with arm printing and 6 with dual molded legs.

Overall, I love this set, but there are a few characters you might consider to be missing…

I’m thinking or Dr Teeth, Flloyd and Zoot from the Electric Mayhem band. Disney have just greenlit an ongoing series,Muppets Mayhem, which will follow the exploits of the band. Perhaps they will get their own model related to the series? Sam the All American Eagle, as well as Stage Manager Scooter. We could also include the Mana-mana monster (and his collaborators).

Overall, however, this is a series full of nostalgic characters which will appear to Muppets Fans of all ages. I am also excited by the reduction in packaging material in use here.

Who else would you like to see included in a second series? Why not leave your comments below, and until next time.

Play Well.

This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes. All opinions are my own.