LEGO Elves 2018

[Kristel]

21 hours ago, BenA said:

Us too, on both counts. Like others we love the colours and would even go as far as to say it was the Elves theme and associated minidolls that got my daughter into Lego. We'll be happy if the Elves theme lives on here, and in that spirit, here's a sneak peek of our current work-in-progress...

 

Taken us ages to get to this point and it'll be a while before it's finished 

This is already stunning! 

[panagliamp]

BenA

• that's the most amazing moc i've ever seen!Thank you to share this with us!I really love it!I also have the most of the 3rd seaon sets and the 4 season as well!

[Digger of Bricks]

I know this has been brought up here many times before as it became more and more apparent that Elves was winding down, but, does anyone here have some great ideas for what Lego's next minidoll-based Action/Adventure theme will be as a successor to Elves? 

[Aanchir]

10 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I know this has been brought up here many times before as it became more and more apparent that Elves was winding down, but, does anyone here have some great ideas for what Lego's next minidoll-based Action/Adventure theme will be as a successor to Elves? 

I'm a little out of touch with many of the toy/media trends among kids these days since it's been a while since I've watched TV on a channel that has a lot of ads for that type of stuff. And from what I've seen that's one of the things LEGO looks at when planning new themes. That doesn't mean that it has that much predictive value, but other than random guesswork we don't really have too much else to go by.

• I do know that the series Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir (known as Miraculous Ladybug in many countries) is a pretty major global hit these days, but since the DC Super Hero Girls line didn't seem to make as big a splash as LEGO hoped, I'm not so confident they'd put any more faith in a girl-oriented superhero theme where they have to manage all the storytelling and marketing costs. If we did see another such theme, it'd probably be based on another license that they think shows promise — maybe Miraculous or Marvel Rising.
   
• Steven Universe is another popular and fairly feminine-coded animated series among kids, at least in the Americas, but I'm not sure how well that's translated to toy sales, nor whether it gives all that much insight into what more general genres/subjects are trending with kids. After all, Steven Universe blends genres like superheroes, "magical girls", sci-fi/space opera/planetary romance, mythic fantasy, and modern day slice-of-life in rather eclectic ways.
  
  Besides superheroes, which have been trendy for many years now (at least in the Americas), I'm not sure whether any of these genres are in the midst or on the verge of a significant boom right now. So while it definitely speaks to certain media trends that are on the upswing right now like gender-inclusive and LGBTQ-friendly media, none of that translates into anything that could become the core premise of a toy line.
   
• Depending on how the upcoming live action Dora the Explorer movie Dora and the Lost City of Gold does, it could bode well for an Adventurers-type globetrotting treasure hunter theme, and having a female protagonist might help give that genre a little better credibility with girls than previous more male-centric film franchises like The Mummy or Indiana Jones. The recent Carmen Sandiego reboot on Netflix can also be described as part of that genre and has a lot of major female cast members, though in its case it's blended with the "super spy" genre as represented by themes like Alpha Team, Agents, and Ultra Agents or non-LEGO media franchises like Spy Kids and James Bond.
  
  Again, though, I can't think of enough other examples for it to be obvious whether either of those genres or a fusion of the two is really a major trend with kids right now, or whether those brands' success or failure will depend on their indiviudal merits and not the strength of their genre/genres.
   
• There's an UglyDolls movie coming soon that I've seen quite a few ads for. I know that brand has been somewhat trendy in the past, particularly with girls. But it's not from a major/prestigious animation studio and I haven't heard much buzz about it besides what comes to me via ads, which doesn't bode so well for it influencing the larger media landscape.
   
• Later on, there's an Artemis Fowl movie coming out that I'm very much looking forward to. It was definitely a popular book series among kids when I was a kid, but the movie has been in development for a crazy amount of time, so chances are it'll have to work harder to build up hype for the brand than if the film had come out when the book series was still fairly new, like the Harry Potter movies. It has a lot of fangirls to this day, but those who I know are well outside their peak toy-buying years at this point.
  
  As far as genre is concerned, Artemis Fowl is pretty intense science-fantasy, with lots of fairy characters living in a futuristic, high-tech society but still using magical powers fairly extensively. Other kids' animated TV series with similarities in genre that have been really popular lately and caught my attention include Voltron: Legendary Defender and She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (both Netflix exclusives).
  
  The closest theme LEGO has really had to Artemis Fowl's genre would be Nexo Knights, due to its medieval futurist aesthetic and blend between European fantasy tropes and digital tech. But that was pulling more from Arthurian, Tolkien-inspired, and D&D fantasy tropes than fairy tale and classical mythology tropes like Artemis Fowl pulls from with its various elf, dwarf, sprite, pixie, goblin, troll and centaur characters (and which LEGO Elves previously drew on to a considerable extent without the high-tech twist).
   
• Frozen 2 is almost certainly going to be one of the big trendsetters this year, but as a sequel it's hard to tell how it might change the media landscape vs. how it might simply reinforce the already well established popularity of magic and princesses among kids in general and girls in particular.
   
• A not-yet-released kids' TV programs with a female protagonist and a strongly qualified showrunner is Disney Channel's Amphibia. It's an otherworldly fantasy series set in a very tiny world (kind of reminiscent of Don Bluth's Thumbelina or Ferngully: The Last Rainforest which came out early in my childhood, but without a totally obvious "fairy tale" element or obvious clues to whether full-size humans exist in this show's frog-centric world). I'm not sure if there's a specific term for this genre.
  
  Previously, the closest we've seen to this "tiny world" genre (no clue if there's an actual name for it) in LEGO has actually been in the Little Forest Friends subtheme of Duplo, as well as some Belville fairy garden sets back in the 90s. It is also a portal fantasy similar to LEGO Elves, since it involves a human girl from our world gets trapped in the world of Amphibia — so if that story element played well before LEGO might be willing to explore it again, or they might prefer a premise that stands out more obviously from something they already did so recently.
   
• Another female-directed cartoon with a female protagonist called The Owl House is in the works for next year, again on Disney Channel. Drawing on fantasy, horror, and comedy genres, it has a strong emphasis on demons and witches, and is likely to appeal strongly to kids who enjoyed previous Disney shows like Gravity Falls, on which the showrunner contributed as an animator. Again, it is also a portal fantasy. So that, at least, is beginning to stand out as a really promising genre these days.

So… after all that, still rather stumped as to whether any of that gives us any clues what to expect in the future. None of it stands out as an obvious toy industry wide trend like alternative fantasy fashion dolls (such as Mattel's Monster High/Ever After High, Disney's Descendants, or Hasbro's Equestria Girls) were a few years back. Even on that note, what I hear the fantasy doll industry hasn't been doing that great in the grand scheme of things and has been eating a lot out of Mattel's bottom line, so as much as I'd love to see some kind of girl-targeted buildable figure theme, I can't say that it's looking like the optimal time for LEGO to try jumping on that train.

Trends are a tricky thing to leverage because they can be either long-term or fleeting, and by the time you know which they are, it can be hard to really make the most of them. After a certain point, any new product or IP will invite comparisons to all those that came before it, for good or for ill. At the same time, retailers are really into stuff that cashes in on recent trends in some way, as those tend to be a pretty good indication of an existing, eager audience, and what kind of strategies will get that audience's attention.

[Digger of Bricks]

9 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Depending on how the upcoming live action Dora the Explorer movie Dora and the Lost City of Gold does, it could bode well for an Adventurers-type globetrotting treasure hunter theme, and having a female protagonist might help give that genre a little better credibility with girls than previous more male-centric film franchises like The Mummy or Indiana Jones.

While I know such a theme could potentially deprive us of the chance for a minifigure-based theme in the same vein for a few years (depending how it'd be executed), yeah, I'd be very interested to see how Lego would do a minidoll-based Adventurers-type playtheme! *  

* Minidolls in brown leather aviator jackets sounds particularly enticing! 

9 hours ago, Aanchir said:

The recent Carmen Sandiego reboot on Netflix can also be described as part of that genre and has a lot of major female cast members, though in its case it's blended with the "super spy" genre as represented by themes like Alpha Team, Agents, and Ultra Agents or non-LEGO media franchises like Spy Kids and James Bond.

If such a theme took on a similar Neon Cyberpunk/Tron look as Ultra Agents had done, that I'd be potentially interested too!!! 

[Peppermint_M]

Maybe this discussion should go in another thread? Like, one of the many covering ideas for new themes, Action Themes and potential Future themes?

[panagliamp]

today i bought the set 41186 Azari & the goblin forest escape!!!It's a nice built and i love it!Now I'm going to order Rosalyn's healing hideout!!!Who's had the set 41186?

[Aanchir]

32 minutes ago, panagliamp said:

today i bought the set 41186 Azari & the goblin forest escape!!!It's a nice built and i love it!Now I'm going to order Rosalyn's healing hideout!!!Who's had the set 41186?

I had it and really enjoyed it! It's a really neat vehicle for Azari, and the proportions are nice — much better than the Fantasy Era Castle theme's King's Battle Chariot, which was a little ludicrously oversized to be pulled by one horse. Colors are also beautiful and I hope even with Elves wrapped up, we continue to see parts in that delightful blend of Tr. Medium Reddish Violet and Tr. Yellow!

Sometimes I wonder whether it would be cool if Farran had a vehicle of some kind since he's the only character who hasn't had any. Trouble is it's hard to think of vehicles suited to a medieval fantasy setting. Some kind of cart or wagon seems like it might be the most "earthy", but it's tricky to think of what type of animal should pull it that wouldn't feel either redundant or too "real world", or what kind of "magical" features it should have that would suit the Earth element.

Obviously, the fantasy aspect of the theme lets you branch out beyond vehicle types that would have actually existed in medieval or pre-medieval settings… after all, there were no airships in medieval times! But even so, it's tricky to make, say, a bicycle, tricycle, or quad fit a medieval fantasy aesthetic, unlike Aira's airship (which as far as shape is concerned is mostly just a boat with a balloon on top)

Additionally, what type of vehicle might suit him might be contingent on the setting. An adventure in the as-yet-unexplored Desertlands would be a great opportunity for an Earth-themed vehicle, but what form it might take I'm not so sure.

[panagliamp]

I'm thinking of making farran an earth mech but I don't know If gonna be good but i will try!

 

[BenA]

21 hours ago, Aanchir said:

 It's tricky to think of what type of animal should pull it that wouldn't feel either redundant or too "real world"

My first thought was the green kitsune that he rides in the Nocturas tower set, but I quite like the idea of some kind of cart being pulled by giant badgers. Possibly blue ones 

21 hours ago, Aanchir said:

Additionally, what type of vehicle might suit him might be contingent on the setting. An adventure in the as-yet-unexplored Desertlands would be a great opportunity for an Earth-themed vehicle, but what form it might take I'm not so sure.

I like that idea! I'm picturing a cart (again) but pulled by armadillos, with the rear covering able to close up like their shells to protect the travellers from sandstorms.

19 hours ago, panagliamp said:

I'm thinking of making farran an earth mech but I don't know If gonna be good but i will try!

 

I'd like to see this! 

[Digger of Bricks]

By the way, does anyone here see any likelihood of Lego paying homage to this theme in the near future through a Collectable Minifigure Series figure? Perhaps it could take form as a generically-named "Nature Elf" CMF, utilizing one of the theme's characters' hairpieces at least? 

[Lyichir]

27 minutes ago, Digger of Bricks said:

By the way, does anyone here see any likelihood of Lego paying homage to this theme in the near future through a Collectable Minifigure Series figure? Perhaps it could take form as a generically-named "Nature Elf" CMF, utilizing one of the theme's characters' hairpieces at least? 

Maybe? I don't think it'd be all that likely, though. And as far as hairpieces you could use with the actual Elves theme, a CMF would be unlikely to suffice since non-licensed CMF series use yellow-skinned figs and Elves used fleshies.

[Digger of Bricks]

6 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

Maybe? I don't think it'd be all that likely, though. And as far as hairpieces you could use with the actual Elves theme, a CMF would be unlikely to suffice since non-licensed CMF series use yellow-skinned figs and Elves used fleshies.

Well that's the thing: A homage CMF would offer a yellow-eared recolor of one of their hairpieces. 

[panagliamp]

And finally...Today i got rosalyn's healing hideout!I'm sooo impresed!Rosalyn and Saphhire are gorgerous!I love that set!Now i have to get the summer wave of 2018 sets!I can't wait!

[panagliamp]

I made a earth meh for farran!What do you think?

[Digger of Bricks]

 

[panagliamp]

I love that they make elves mocs even now.This gives me little hope for a comeback!!!

[BenA]

On 4/29/2019 at 3:44 PM, panagliamp said:

I made a earth meh for farran!What do you think?

I think... I really like it! Great concept - I can easily imagine the elves using magic to create 'fantasy mech' armour out of natural/living elements and crystals to help them on their quests...

Hmm, might steal that idea if you don't mind?

[panagliamp]

I'd love to take my idea!I like when i give inspiration to other people!I look forward to see your creation!

 

Edited June 24, 2019 by panagliamp