New Licensed Theme Rumor Mill

[rriggs]

And the Simpsons is a TV-PG show...

Serenity not being made was Lego just being cowardly (Star Wars is just as violent). The Winchester never had a chance just because it came from an R-rated movie (From a marketing standpoint why make a child's product for a movie that has no child audience). Lego ultimately likes to pick and choose what they find acceptable or not, in all of the movie themes Lego does censor elements from the PG-13 movies. They ignore outright violence and sexual content, they strip the movie down into it's most innocent form so they can sell it to kids.

The current seasons of the Simpsons is no more inappropriate than any other movie they've adapted into Lego.

Well said! People that are citing violence and even homosexuality as reasons why this can't be done are barking up the wrong tree. LEGO wouldn't be supplying actual blood and gore any more than they do in any other licensed theme. Violence and sex (straight or not) is inferred through what people have seen in the films and on TV not through the toys themselves.

Cheers

Rog

[dyntar]

Sorry if this is just my slightly modified repost from the other site.

"Won't someone please think of the children!" Mrs Lovejoy.

The Simpsons is a better choice than Family guy or Southpark.

The sets that they make won't be from any specific episode or be from any specific scene. Its just going to be a building with a few characters. Its not like Lego will make Moe's with beer swilling action or golf course with Homer and Marge figure inside the windmill. Just like they didn't do a decapitation of Count Dooku set or Boromir surrounded by Uruk hai with bows.

If they can make such violent or adult franchises such as:-

Pirates of the Carribean, rum drinking, undead pirates stabbing each other and getting blown up.

Lord of the Rings?? way to many adult moments to count

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Samurai weapons and fighting in every episode

Star Wars - multiple Limbs hacked off in the movies, The clone wars is all about death and war.

Spongebob- Has anyone actually watched how many times Squidward gets blown up or Spongebob gets the top of his head ripped off or his brain pulled out.

Prince of Persia, Indiana Jones - guns, swords multiple deaths..

Harry Potter - how many characters got killed off?

Even the Castle sets had taverns

The Simpsons is pretty tame compared to some of the other franchises. The Simpsons is basically a multi-cultural neighbourhood with brightly coloured houses. A family living in a nice house in a town with some interesting characters. Maybe it needs more Death, weapons and violence.

Lego is not going to show anything that is going to upset anyone. Its just a depiction of characters made in a Lego form! No story line just bricks. Shouldn't we be happy?

[RaincloudDustbin]

LEGO would be homophobic not to produce sets just because characters are gay. The Simpsons just contain parts of life. Kids surely realise that everyone is different and people ARE religious and people ARE gay. LEGO can't avoid real life forever.

[Yatkuu]

Lego ultimately likes to pick and choose what they find acceptable or not

This - I completely agree. Their products, their rules.

On a side note, when I submitted the Winchester on CUUSOO I never intended to make a kid's toy out of it, I thought LEGO was willing to give adult themed sets a go. It turns out they were not and in the rejection rationale they clearly stated that any product they do must be suitable for their core audience - the 6-11 years old kids - a rule which I seriously doubt is compatible with this theme.

I honestly have not seen the Simpsons in a very long while so I can't comment on the current tone of the show... but even if they brought it back to an "acceptable" level it does not change any of what they have done in the past and what made them famous in the first place.

[strangely]

On a side note, when I submitted the Winchester on CUUSOO I never intended to make a kid's toy out of it, I thought LEGO was willing to give adult themed sets a go. It turns out they were not and in the rejection rationale they clearly stated that any product they do must be suitable for their core audience - the 6-11 years old kids - a rule which I seriously doubt is compatible with this theme.

Perhaps this is Lego testing to see if they can make a more adult theme. The Simpsons has a wide audience consisting of adults and children. I think Lego recognizes the number of adults who like Lego, but are unsure if they could support purely adult themes which is why they choose themes that work on both levels.

I honestly have not seen the Simpsons in a very long while so I can't comment on the current tone of the show... but even if they brought it back to an "acceptable" level it does not change any of what they have done in the past and what made them famous in the first place.

The Iron Man franchise features sex, alcoholism, violence (Including murder and torture) and swearing. Fact is that most of the licensed themes are based around things which feature content that is not family friendly. The Simpsons at it's worst hasn't featured anything that these PG-13 films haven't. If Lego does do a Simpsons theme they'll handle it the same way they handle any of the PG-13 films, they'll ignore what's unacceptable about it and create child friendly sets that tone down the adult elements.

[BrickG]

I wouldn't agree. Simpsons gets pretty bold sometimes and at it's worst is worse. I mean they freakin' showed Bart's penis in the movie.

But I agree they can easily separate this stuff and make some sets out of it. I'm not sure how much kids are into the Simpsons anymore. I think the show has "grown up" with people more or less and most of the fans are older at this point.

[iamste]

Kids love the Simpsons, you can walk into most clothing shops and find a child size t-shirt with Bart on the front of it. It's supposed to be a family show, and while it's kind of lost that touch as it's gotten older, some of the earlier seasons are great family fun.

[Sam892]

I'm kind off on the fence with this theme.

I don't know if I'll buy any off the sets, but they could give us some very cool parts ( saxophone, Doughnuts, ect). I just suprised there is still a market for The Simpsons. I'm hoping that its part of a bigger deal with Fox. Something like 'We will allow you to make sets on X-men and Fantastic four movies, but you need to make LEGO Simpsons'.

[Hinckley]

Has anyone considered about how Lego will handle........?

Has anyone considered about how Lego will handle........?

:hmpf:

It's not even necessarily blatant in the episodes. I'm sure they'll not even need to address it.

[SorinO]

I had an interesting thought. Considering the very large number of characters on the Simpsons, and the success LEGO has had with the collectible minifigures, could LEGO possibly be considering doing a series or two (or five or ten - there's a lot of characters on that show!) of collectible Simpsons minifigs, rather than making Simpsons sets?

[BrickG]

I think we can move beyond having to "handle" gay characters. Just make a minifigure of them!

It's not like they'll freakin' make a set based on this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmQizGqNB-g

If they made a smithers minifigure it doesn't have to scream "LOOK AT THIS GAY MINIFIGURE!"... He can just be hanging out at the plant.

[Joebot]

I just suprised there is still a market for The Simpsons.

In my opinoin, this is much a bigger issue than whether the content of the show is appropriate or not. This seems like a marketing deal that's at least 10 years too late.

As for the content -- that seems like an overblown concern to me. When the show does tackle more grown-up issues like sex or religion, it's usually done in the service of characterization, story, or satire. Compare that to something like Family Guy, which is all about shock value.

[Oky]

I agree, it doesn't seem like Simpsons is very popular anymore, not for adults and certainly not for Lego's target audience, and I don't see its popularity rising anytime soon. Sure, it's the longest running sitcom, critically acclaimed, and a pop culture icon, but I don't see anyone clamoring for Simpsons Lego sets.

As for the content, yes, it's a bit controversial, but at the same time I can see Lego making it quite innocent.I imagine it very similar to the Spongebob theme with colorful sets based around locations with wacky play features and a yellow title character in every set. As long as they don't depict the characters doing anything adult on the box, I think it could work. Besides, kids don't need to watch the show to play with toys based on it. However, the question whether they would even want a toy based on a show they don't watch, as opposed to sets based on shows they do watch like Spongebob, still remains. And this is where I think this license would fail.

I personally have no interest in a Simpsons theme and hope this is a hoax, but if this is true and leads to Futurama Lego sets, I'm all for it!

[strangely]

I agree, it doesn't seem like Simpsons is very popular anymore, not for adults and certainly not for Lego's target audience, and I don't see its popularity rising anytime soon. Sure, it's the longest running sitcom, critically acclaimed, and a pop culture icon, but I don't see anyone clamoring for Simpsons Lego sets.

Perhaps this is an attempt by Fox to generate interest in the show again. Or perhaps there's a new movie coming out at some point in the future and the sets are to tie in with that.

[spzero]

Please lets have futurama sets oh yeah baby !!

[Jargo]

Oh good lord. Dumbledore in the Harry potter range is a minifigure of a gay character. So there, Lego have and will make gay characters in a way where their sexuality has ZERO bearing on the theme or play value therein. It's a non-issue.

[Kez]

If there's a chief wiggum fig they might use the series 9 police hat. Old mans head piece from series 10 for homer. They might make a new donut piece aswell. (hopefully lego will make the Simpsons, but that would be very bad for the wallet).

[erined5]

I am not a fan of the Simpsons. But, if this is true, the ONLY upside is having a licensed theme that is true to the yellow minifig and not fleshy.

[Omicron]

Sorry if this is just my slightly modified repost from the other site.

"Won't someone please think of the children!" Mrs Lovejoy.

The Simpsons is a better choice than Family guy or Southpark.

The sets that they make won't be from any specific episode or be from any specific scene. Its just going to be a building with a few characters. Its not like Lego will make Moe's with beer swilling action or golf course with Homer and Marge figure inside the windmill. Just like they didn't do a decapitation of Count Dooku set or Boromir surrounded by Uruk hai with bows.

If they can make such violent or adult franchises such as:-

Pirates of the Carribean, rum drinking, undead pirates stabbing each other and getting blown up.

Lord of the Rings?? way to many adult moments to count

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Samurai weapons and fighting in every episode

Star Wars - multiple Limbs hacked off in the movies, The clone wars is all about death and war.

Spongebob- Has anyone actually watched how many times Squidward gets blown up or Spongebob gets the top of his head ripped off or his brain pulled out.

Prince of Persia, Indiana Jones - guns, swords multiple deaths..

Harry Potter - how many characters got killed off?

Even the Castle sets had taverns

The Simpsons is pretty tame compared to some of the other franchises. The Simpsons is basically a multi-cultural neighbourhood with brightly coloured houses. A family living in a nice house in a town with some interesting characters. Maybe it needs more Death, weapons and violence.

Lego is not going to show anything that is going to upset anyone. Its just a depiction of characters made in a Lego form! No story line just bricks. Shouldn't we be happy?

This guy right here.

-Omi

[Str0ngbad]

This sounds absurd to me. I mean, I know the show has a cult following but that's it anymore and with the added issue of targeting a market very different from that of the show this doesn't sound like something LEGO would give any thought to. Also, to argue that movies like LOTR and SW are violent and that therefore means shows that are socially controversial are on the table is to misunderstand the culture of much of LEGO's market. I know in parts of Europe, violence and gore is more offensive to people than it is here in the States and that the opposite is true for sexual content/themes but it's not just 'six of one, half a dozen of another'. Just comparing how much of the toy dept. at your local store is filled with SW, TMNT, and Super Heroes and how much is filled with The Simpsons and Family Guy should be enough to see why LEGO wouldn't be interested in this theme. I wouldn't mind if it came to be but I'd sure be surprised.

I am not a fan of the Simpsons. But, if this is true, the ONLY upside is having a licensed theme that is true to the yellow minifig and not fleshy.

Long live the fleshy!!!

[Omicron]

I mean, I know the show has a cult following but that's it anymore and with the added issue of targeting a market very different from that of the show this doesn't sound like something LEGO would give any thought to.

Well how is that different from something like say, the BTTF Time Machine? It's a non-active series that hasn't had much spark in the past decade with a cult following and most fans are clearly adults.

-Omi

[Str0ngbad]

Well how is that different from something like say, the BTTF Time Machine? It's a non-active series that hasn't had much spark in the past decade with a cult following and most fans are clearly adults.

-Omi

Fair point but that's CUUSOO right? I mean, I don't think Minecraft's main following is 6-11 either. Despite what LEGO has said I think they are willing to push the target market a little bit for CUUSOO as long as it is still kid-friendly.

[Omicron]

Fair point but that's CUUSOO right? I mean, I don't think Minecraft's main following is 6-11 either. Despite what LEGO has said I think they are willing to push the target market a little bit for CUUSOO as long as it is still kid-friendly.

CUUSOO yes, but the end result is still through Lego.

And lets not forget that lego does make sets for 12+. They been marketing those sets for as long as I remember.

-Omi

[lightningtiger]

Has anyone considered the reason behind this might be happening......say in 2014 it will have been on the air on it's own for 25 years.

It's up the parents and grandparents what they buy children....if they feel it's okay to buy then they will buy, if not.....then the sets stay on shelves for the adult fans of the show to buy them....a little like Star Wars right ?

[TheLegoDr]

I love(d) the Simpsons and would be interested to see how they handle the subject matter. But I don't find the show offensive or vulgar in any way shape or form. My 3 year old daughter loves the show. She has seen other questionable cartoons in passing (of which I don't watch anymore anyway) and she didn't find them nearly as entertaining as The Simpsons, even without context (her being 3).

They can easily water it down for the "target audience" if they do indeed need it to be, but I agree with others above me how the material is nothing different than most licensed themes that aren't in the target audience.

I doubt I will buy any sets unless they knock it out of the park, but it would be interesting to see how they would turn out (if made).