Review:71012 by Dorek

BS01 Reviews

71012 LEGO Minfigures: The Disney Series

Disclaimer: This set (or box of sets) was provided to BS01 by LEGO, but the opinions of the set are those of the reviewer.

Review:71012 The Disney Series

As a fan of Disney (and more importantly, Kingdom Hearts, but I'll get to that) I was excited when LEGO announced that one of their latest Collectible MiniFigure (CMF) series was going to be based on Disney and Pixar properties. I was even more excited when they offered me a box for reviews and giveaways! (You'll find a link to our giveaway contest [ here]). LEGO has licensed various properties from the House of Mouse in the past, but here they offer their take on a number of classic characters, including the iconic Mouse himself.

Since the way these "sets" are set up are notably different from a standard box of LEGO, we'll forgo the traditional review structure in favor of a more freeform look at the figs. And, full disclaimer, it's been years since I've bought anything resembling a System set (back in my day, minifigs were yellow... except the robots) so if I say anything outdated or curmudgeonly, it probably is!

The First Impressions

Didn't I just say I wasn't going the normal review route? Oh well. I needed to rant about this somewhere: the bags. LEGO's collectible minifig series have all, thus far, utilized the traditional "blind bag" process to emphasize collecting; you don't know what you're going to get until you get it. In theory. In practice, however, the intense desirability of these items has led to an unfortunate trend amongst buyers and AFOLs: feeling the bag in order to acquire a particular character.

Look, I get it; we're all terrified of the unknown. Not to mention that it's incredibly easy to waste your money only to wind up with something you already have. But that's the game; this is the 21st century. If you want to know exactly what you're getting without having to spend a lot of money in the process, well, there's this little thing called the internet that has made that incredibly easy. Groping blind bags in the store not only defeats the inherent purpose of the process - the thrill of getting something you like unexpectedly - but also ruins it for other people who are playing the game fairly. They might not know what they're getting, but the cruel irony of the universe is that it would never actually be what they wanted, since other people have broken the odds. The saddest part is that, from my experience, it seems to be a commonplace behavior; posters on message boards gladly talk about how they "felt" to get the character that they wanted. I'm trying my best not to be too judgmental - I fully understand that we can't all get these provided by LEGO - but as a newcomer to this part of the fandom, it's something I just can't personally condone. It's also sad that LEGO will likely never switch methods of distribution, since this is probably way cheaper and more efficient than, say, boxes.

But, diatribe over the actual collection process aside, the bag is a simple affair, with a partial group shot on the front and legal info on the back. Given how many there are to collect I hope there's some sort of recycling process for these bags!

The Figures

Now, onto the figs themselves! 18 in total to collect from, with a strong emphasis on classic properties; I think the "newest" straight Disney one would be Stitch. Even including the Pixar characters, there's nothing from the past decade, though these characters are all well known thanks to Disney's knack for ubiquity and capitalization on media.

Of course, they can't include all of your favorite characters; there's simply too many! Given how popular these seem to be, though, I imagine a sequel series is at least on the table. If it wasn't obvious, I'm a big Kingdom Hearts fan, so seeing half the Council of Villains from the first game in LEGO form is an exciting combination of my various pasttimes.

Mickey Mouse

"You sure have lotsa friends to help. So, I guess we better all pull together and finish this battle for good!"

The big M himself, Mickey. An iconic symbol of a brand emblazoned in our childhoods. Does a LEGO form do him justice? Well, yes and no. Given the fairly fixed proportions of minfigs, there's bound to be some stretches in terms of how a character is depicted. For Mickey, there's just something slightly off in terms of his body shape. I think it's the torso; given how they intend for this to be a depiction of his usual shirtless self, his body ends up being slightly too big, making him look more like a guy at Disneyland wearing a Mickey costume than the character himself.

The head sculpt, though, is absolutely wonderful, and captures the joy and innocence of Disney. If they ever do another fig with an actual outfit, that'll just be tops. Sorcerer Mickey, LEGO, make it happen.

Minnie Mouse

"What really makes someone a hero isn't what they wear or what they say - it's the things they do and how they treat everyone."

Minnie suffers less from Mickey's proportional issues by including a skirt. This is my first time seeing a minifig skirt piece, so I'm not super used to just losing half the clutch power on the legs, but it works in terms of aesthetics.

Also present on Minnie is a bow, which attaches by a small pin hole on the top of her head; I'm not used to this, either, but it adds some customizable options (I think?) that are nice.

Donald Duck

"Get lost, will ya?"

Ah, the Royal Magician himself. Donald looks pretty happy for someone I'm used to seeing with a very short temper. Maybe that's because he's not wearing pants. Donald definitely looks like his standard Disney self, and even has his classic hat! Adorable.

Daisy Duck

"Donald, you forgot about our date again! You'd better have a good excuse this time!"

Of course, every Duck needs his gal, and Daisy's there to help him out... although similarly not wearing pants. An amusing reversal from Mickey Mouse, who is basically just all pants. Both ducks have a cute little tailfeather piece too, which completes the ensemble, and her clothing is a nice shade of purple.

Buzz Lightyear

"You see the hat? I'm MRS NEZBIT."

Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! Buzz has seen release before as a minifig, although a more specialized one with a unique headsculpt. His looks transitioned well enough to regular minfig, and his jetpack with multiple pieces is nice. However, the helmet doesn't fully cover the head (attaches to the back half) which is a shame. He's no spaceman in it, that's for sure.

Little Green Alien

"You have saved our lives. We are eternally grateful."

From everything I've seen, the martian is a reprint of ones seen in previous Toy Story sets. The short minifig legs work well on him, but I would have left him in the crane game and picked Woody instead.

Alice

"You may be queen, but I’m afraid that doesn’t give you the right to be so... so mean!"

Our first Princess of Heart! This is kind of a big deal you guys. I mean, there was the LEGO Disney Princess line, but the less said about that the better. Alice's skirt helps round out the look, and she comes complete with both growing and shrinking food items.

Cheshire Cat

"If you can't remember something, it's like it never happened. Likewise, if something never happened, you can't remember it."

A natural accompaniment to Alice, but the Cheshire Cat is also, well... a cat. That doesn't necessarily translate to person proportions. They tried to compensate by giving him the short legs, but standard legs would have allowed him to bend over and be on all fours, so it seems like the designers weren't thinking too far ahead. Still, the headsculpt is admirable.

Captain Hook

"SMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The notorious pirate ship captain sports an appropriately large pirate hat. I couldn't help but wish that it would attach to the hairpiece like Minnie's bow or Donald's hat, but I might not be understanding LEGO physics, so it's okay. A nice gold rapier too, which is cool. Definitely one of my favorites from the line.

Peter Pan

"Instead of fillin' it up with jewels and gold and stuff, we'll put in what's truly special to us. The real riches!"

The Boy Who Never Grew Up is actually quite tall, but I guess that's sort of the thematic point; poised on the edge of adulthood, Peter flees responsibility. But that's neither here nor there.

Peter sports two daggers, which is a nice inclusion; I was half thinking LEGO wouldn't want to condone arming children, but it's a good throwback to the movies.

Aladdin

"Better throw my hand in, wish me a happy landing, all I gotta do its juuuuuuuuuuuuuump!"

That said, they didn't see fit to arm Aladdin, so he gets the magic lamp. Which is okay, I guess, but I would rather he have been armed with a scimitar instead (or a magic carpet instead of the obligatory stands they come with, but alas). Nice flesh tones, though, considering where he comes from and especially compared to the others in the wave. Too bad his hat is molded to the hair.

Genie

"You ain't never had a friend like me!"

They could have easily given Genie legs, but instead they opted for his wispy lamp form, which is cool since he can sit on the lamp! Seeing a second lamp is a little redundant, but it works better with Genie than Aladdin. His face shape might turn some off (given his iconic, square-jawed appearance from the movies) but I think it works overall, and they even gave him his little beard, which is a nice touch. Another one of the standouts.

Mr. Incredible

"The building was on fire, structurally unsound! It was coming down anyway."

This is probably one of the stranger figs of the wave. I don't think it looks much like Mr. Incredible; actually, give it the shorter legs, and it could probably pass better as Dash. Mr. Incredible just had such a distinct figure (emphasizing his middle age, with the paunch) that it's just hard to reconcile the difference. The 2x2 tile of Hero propaganda was a pretty nice inclusion, though.

Syndrome

"I am Syndrome! Your nemesis and a- oh, brilliant..."

Syndrome, on the other hand, is much better. The crisp hair piece sort of makes up for the lack of chin, and he has a cape! It's been ages since I've seen a minifig cape. The S on his chest stands out nicely, and he too has a 2x2 tile, this time of his Omnidroid plans... which we now totally need to see a set of.

Ursula

"Poor, unfortunate souls!"

The big bad sea witch makes a showing. Probably the most divergent fig, with a whole lower half devoted to her tentacles. It might have been interesting to see what a more custom lower half could have been like, but the piece is cool, translating the voluptuous figure well, and even being able to attach to a row of studs. Plus, she's got Triton's trident, which is a sweet accessory and cool nod to the movies.

Ariel

"What would I give... to live where you are..."

Still a princess, if not a Princess of Heart. Ariel also has a fish-based lower body, which can also connect to stud bases. Her hair piece, though, while nicely sculpted is definitely not big on the whole "moving" thing, so it's hard to pose. A clam and jewel accessory for... what, I'm not really sure, but it's there. Should have had a watchamacallit instead.

Stitch

"*unintelligible gibberish*"

Stitch is one of two figs in the line without companions; for him, it makes a certain amount of sense, given the way the original Lilo and Stitch movie riffed on Disney's legacy by interposing the character in classic moments. Stitch is pretty basic, all things considered; short legs and an ordinary looking torso. But the head sculpt it awesome, and adequately adorable. I'd love to see him in his space uniform getup with a blaster, though.

Maleficent

"You poor, simple fools! You think you can defeat me?! ME, the mistress of all evil!?"

The other standalone fig is the dark queen herself, Maleficent. From a marketing standpoint, it's a bit odd, since she would have paired nicely with princess Aurora. But these days, I'm now used to her as a powerful witch who can travel dimensions, so it works for me.

Maleficent is easily the highlight of the wave, and has the most pieces. She uses the sloped block typically reserved for gowns for queens, and has not one but TWO cloth pieces; one a cape, the other a cowl (which can be a bit tricky to combine, but that's okay). Her staff comes in multiple pieces, and to cap it all off her horns are in an interestingly texturized helmet piece; rubber, rather than the traditional plastic.

The Final Verdict

It's obviously very hard to say anything definitive about a minifig series, not the least of which being the collection aspect. But LEGO has done a wonderful job here of taking iconic characters and transforming them into distinct plastic form. Even when the results aren't quite perfect, there's always a key aspect that's made the transition intact perfectly. If you like Disney and you like LEGO, you'll definitely like these.

My personal favorites from the wave are (naturally) the villains; Hook is the most ordinary, but still such a great interpretation. Maleficent and Ursula both have cool specialized pieces on them, and the former has this amazing level of jam-packed detail for such a small fig. Some strong showings from Team Blue (Stitch and Genie) as well.

Ultimately, I think I could have done without the Pixar figures; most of them didn't make the journey over to minfig form super well, and we totally needed Goofy in this line more than anything else. All the same, the diversity is appreciated, and there's certainly some Pixar properties I'd like to see them try in the future.

Given how universally beloved both LEGO and Disney are, it's not hard to imagine a sequel series at some point, and it's one I would gladly continue collecting. If you're a fan of Disney and LEGO, there's a lot of fun in trying to find these figures, and if you're just one of the many who rabidly devour the minfig series regardless, the detail and variety of these figs is likely a draw anyway. I'm thoroughly content with what we have, and eager to see if there's more; how much better could it get?

(also, psst, LEGO, do Kingdom Hearts next. DO IT.)

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