Disney franchises selective?

[Dorayaki]

After renting the Wreck-it Ralph video last week, I happened to notice that not all Disney major films have cooperation with Lego, who began their close business since 2010 The Sands of Time. I'm not a theater fan though I love movies, but most recent Disney sets we know are designed before release date of films, which is obviously aimed at theater fans who just watch them. And it means the latest Monsters University have almost no chance for Lego sets.

Excluding some other Disney media (eg, Jake Pirates from Disney Channel, though as DUPLO sets), according to Wikipedia, the films we have are:

Disney films from 2010 May to 2013 June:

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time ／ May 28, 2010　　（Achieved）　

Toy Story 3 ／ June 18, 2010 Pixar Animation Studios　　（Achieved）

The Sorcerer's Apprentice ／ July 14, 2010

Secretariat ／ October 8, 2010

Do Dooni Chaar ／ October 8, 2010

Tangled ／ November 24, 2010　　（Achieved）(Minidoll themed, one set so far)

Tron: Legacy ／ December 17, 2010

Anaganaga O Dheerudu ／ January 21, 2011

Mars Needs Moms ／ March 11, 2011

Zokkomon ／ April 22, 2011

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides ／ May 20, 2011　　（Achieved）

Cars 2 ／ June 24, 2011 Pixar Animation Studios　　（Achieved）

Winnie the Pooh ／ July 15, 2011 Walt Disney Animation Studios　　（Duplo）

The Muppets ／ November 23, 2011

John Carter ／ March 9, 2012

Brave ／ June 22, 2012 Pixar Animation Studios　　（Achieved）(Minidoll themed, one set so far)

The Odd Life of Timothy Green ／ August 15, 2012

Frankenweenie ／ October 5, 2012

Wreck-It Ralph ／ November 2, 2012 Walt Disney Animation Studios

Oz the Great and Powerful ／ March 8, 2013

Monsters University ／ June 21, 2013 Pixar Animation Studios

The Lone Ranger ／ July 3, 2013　　（Achieved）

Planes ／ DisneyToon Studios, Pixar's Cars franchise　　（Duplo）

Frozen ／ November 27, 2013 Walt Disney Animation Studios

Saving Mr. Banks ／ December 20, 2013

The Muppets 2 ／March 21, 2014

Million Dollar Arm ／ May 16, 2014

Maleficent ／ May 30, 2014

Disney films upcoming in 2014:

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day ／ October 10, 2014

Big Hero 6 ／ November 7, 2014 Walt Disney Animation Studios

McFarland ／ November 21, 2014

The first question is, is it possible the Lego give all future films sets, no matter many or few? I think we can still give one or two sets for each film under the theme of "Disney World". The only problem is Disney could monopolize Lego's production lines and leave few chances for other studios.

The alternative second question is, even that Lego can only choose some of these films, are those chosen films the real ones fans want the most? Since the production line is determined before the film actually release, Disney and Lego can't ensure fans fulfill all expectations.

But still the very major premise is, not all films give a theme fit in normal Lego sets. Hannah Montana and Secretariat look more like Mattel Barbie themes or Lego Friend themes.

We happen to have another Disney historical line, Princess series. Though we don't know if they can appear in System sets, I'd like to see them apply to more recent stories like Tangled, Frog and Frozen.

Edited August 28, 2014 by Dorayaki

[RaincloudDustbin]

Don't forget LEGO a ton of profit fromthe MARVEL films owned by Disney...

[Donut]

Disney does look like it has the lion's share of the liscensing pie - that is if you count SW among the liscenses it owns. I am sure TLC does not want 1 company to monopolize sales, but the success of the other liscenses rests in how well their media counterpart is received among kids. LOTR is a proven winner among AFOLs though I am not sure how well TMNT will do. In some ways TMNT is very similar to Ninjago (a theme TLC have invested a lot of $ in marketing) in their bulky vehicles, fantasy like characters, and the general ninja theme.

In regards to your second point, I am sure both Disney and TLC does extensive research on how appealing their products will be to their target audiences. And like you've said, they can't fulfill all expectations which is why we had PoP going on clearance at all major stores.

[just2good]

...who began their close business since 2010 The Sands of Time.

They began their 2010 business with the first wave of Toy Story sets. Don't forget they also had Cars Duplo in 2010.

[Faefrost]

I'm sure there is a whole host of marketing and technical research that goes into each individual decision whether or not to do a licensed theme for a given movie. What is the movies target audience? How well does it mesh with Lego's? What is the anticipated take of a movie at release? How much budget is the studio putting behind it? How have similar properties performed? Etc.

Lego seems to mostly go for the Disney Bruckheimer action adventure swashbucklers, as they are a good fit. But even then PotC and LR were perfect fits for them. PoP was so so. They skipped John Carter, either because the subject was a little to hard to approach for their target audience, or they sensed trouble brewing. They also skipped Oz. that decision seems weirder, although Oz is generally viewed as a "Girls Adventure Story" and isn't a good fit for TLG's primary system. Which is a shame. Some Oz sets would be fantastic.

I assume we didn't see any Wreck it Ralph stuff because it was an animated movie from a non Pixar branch of Disney, that no one expected to hit the numbers needed. Also the sets themselves would be a strange mix for Lego. While some of the characters are very much their normal "boy toy" target. Some would by nature stray over the line into violent FPS shooters (Hero's Duty) while others would float more towards Strawberry Shortcake'ish Sugar Rush vehicles. Not a lot of target audience cohesion to be found. Plus some of the sub licensing would have become a nightmare if hey wanted to use the classic game references like Qbert.

[Dorayaki]

Don't forget LEGO a ton of profit fromthe MARVEL films owned by Disney...

Uh, if you count SW together, there will be no more original Disney/Pixar sets. These franchises seem independent since they can go on their own lines without new Disney films.

Disney does look like it has the lion's share of the liscensing pie. I am sure TLC does not want 1 company to monopolize sales, but the success of the other liscenses rests in how well their media counterpart is received among kids.

In regards to your second point, I am sure both Disney and TLC does extensive research on how appealing their products will be to their target audiences. And like you've said, they can't fulfill all expectations which is why we had PoP going on clearance at all major stores.

Well yeah, still it depends on how an individual film works with Lego sets. We know that Disney have the advantages to target kids' market, which can easily bring success to toys. TMNT lies in how many consumers beside fans of the story would be, I personally think it's quite distinctive from Ninjago.

And honestly, they must make research and produce the toys first, because they can't make a toy right after fans went to the movie and ask for it. What I'm curious about is if those decisions about "skipping" is appropriate or not.

Edited May 28, 2013 by Dorayaki

[Sam892]

The problem with a film like Wreck it Ralph is that the sets wouldn't easily appeal to everyone.

When you look at the three main locations:

Ralph's game

Heroes Duty

and Sugar rush

They would sell better to different people. Sugar Rush would be very similar to The current Friends theme, while Heroes Duty is more like Galaxy conquest. You couldn't really aim a Sugar rush set at the same audience as the Heroes Duty set. The Girls would buy the Sugar Rush set and the Boys the Heroes Duty. This would create a spilt down the middle of the theme, which would damage sales.

When LEGO make a theme they need to aim the Theme at a selected demographic. When a Kids into a theme they will try to get as many sets as possible. However when someone's put off by half the theme they will stay away from the sets and LEGO will loose money.

[deskp]

Lego generally makes sets from the live action summer big budget things, with the exception of john carter (smart chosie Lego)

These gets massive marketing by diseny so its a good bet usually. Maybe they even have a deal involving Brockheimer stuff?

The animated/pixar films lego uses when it makes sense, toy story and particularly cars is huge selles with kids .

Obviously they are selective in what they make sets from. And you can generally see before it's annoucnced what will end up as sets.

[Dorayaki]

Lego seems to mostly go for the Disney Bruckheimer action adventure swashbucklers, as they are a good fit. But even then PotC and LR were perfect fits for them. PoP was so so. They skipped John Carter, either because the subject was a little to hard to approach for their target audience, or they sensed trouble brewing. They also skipped Oz. that decision seems weirder, although Oz is generally viewed as a "Girls Adventure Story" and isn't a good fit for TLG's primary system. Which is a shame. Some Oz sets would be fantastic.

I personally focus on how distinctive and original the theme of film is. In real-action films, I'm alittle concerned about PotC and LR since both are similar with Lego's past generic themes. I might agree with PotC since it already had three prequels before Disney's cooperation with TLC, but not LR which is a new film.

I agree that John Carter can hardly give a theme that is visible and identifiable enough. Oz and Sorcerer's problem might be that the magical theme would cover HP and LOTR, but I'd like to see both especially that witches and heroines from Oz series give a totally different breath from LOTR.

I assume we didn't see any Wreck it Ralph stuff because it was an animated movie from a non Pixar branch of Disney.

Merida :

Well, I guess it wouldn't be the major point. 3D animated films is getting to be a new mainstream, and some of the films belong to Princess branch like I said.

Edited May 30, 2013 by Dorayaki

[Dorayaki]

Well, there was a thread like this a while ago, but that one has been dead for some time, so I think it's a good idea to revive this topic.

[BlueberryWaffles]

Does anyone else want system Planes?

[Jargo]

Do Dooni Chaar, Anaganaga O Dheerudu and Zokkomon were made for a specific audience and don't have global appeal. Most people won't have heard of the movies or seen them so there's no surprise that they wouldn't be picked up by Lego.

[BlueberryWaffles]

Do Dooni Chaar, Anaganaga O Dheerudu and Zokkomon

Megabluck what the.

[Dorayaki]

Do Dooni Chaar, Anaganaga O Dheerudu and Zokkomon were made for a specific audience and don't have global appeal. Most people won't have heard of the movies or seen them so there's no surprise that they wouldn't be picked up by Lego.

As mentioned, not only the worldwide notability cares, but not all of the films fit in Lego sets. This topic is surely for those who are possible pities.

Does anyone else want system Planes?

I don't know much about Planes, but I wonder if it means that Disney want to continue this series as a children-targeted theme.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Dorayaki

[paul_delahaye]

We have Disney pricess sets coming next year, with the minifigs being the same design and size of the friends minifigs.

[lightningtiger]

We have Disney pricess sets coming next year, with the minifigs being the same design and size of the friends minifigs.

Hello.....there's that new girl's theme for 2014 !

[Clone OPatra]

We have Disney pricess sets coming next year, with the minifigs being the same design and size of the friends minifigs.

If this is true I will go nuts! Aka buy things. What's your source for this?

[just2good]

Hello.....there's that new girl's theme for 2014 !

Bam!

If this is true I will go nuts! Aka buy things. What's your source for this?

He claims to have seen the catalog.

That's fantastic news! I thought the new girls' theme would be a new IP, but awesome!

[Faefrost]

We have Disney pricess sets coming next year, with the minifigs being the same design and size of the friends minifigs.

Woohoo! Called this one last year. It's just too perfect a fit for them not to make an attempt. Maybe we will get a huge D2C Cinderella's Castle in a modular style ala the Haunted House? We can dream.

[Dunjohn]

Wreck-It Ralph's multitude of themes wouldn't be a problem. Toy Story had the same thing, with Woody's western sets, Buzz's space sets and the various movie scenes in between.

I personally lump Lone Ranger and Prince of Persia in with Speed Racer. It doesn't matter who made it, it's just a big flashy summer movie that Lego backs as a one-off licensing tie-in.

I won't pretend to understand, or even try to speculate, what factors go into Lego's decisions on what Disney movies to tie into or not. I just see two categories - the blockbuster series mentioned above, which get one wave of half-a-dozen sets but are never seen again (like the movies, really), and the established, dead-cert movie licences like Toy Story and PotC that Lego know they can get more sets out of. Taken that way, maybe it's even a good sign we didn't get Wreck-It Ralph sets. Maybe Lego see some depth there and are waiting for it to mature.

[willybob]

We have Disney pricess sets coming next year, with the minifigs being the same design and size of the friends minifigs.

You can confirm you saw System sets ? not Duplo ones ?

[CM4Sci]

You can confirm you saw System sets ? not Duplo ones ?

Darth_tater told me we were getting a new Girl's IP next year.

-Sci

[Brickity]

" with the minifigs being the same design and size of the friends minifigs"

At least the sets will be great... I hope.

[Blondie-Wan]

We have Disney pricess sets coming next year, with the minifigs being the same design and size of the friends minifigs.

Assuming this is indeed the case, thanks for the news! I'd wondered whether they might do something like that.

I won't pretend to understand, or even try to speculate, what factors go into Lego's decisions on what Disney movies to tie into or not.

I'd note that Disney itself is also responsible for these decisions; they undoubtedly pick and choose their various licensing partners for each project, and undoubtedly have their own reasons for choosing a given partner for this project but not for that one (and like you, I don't pretend to know what the reasons are inside either company).

[Dorayaki]

We have Disney pricess sets coming next year, with the minifigs being the same design and size of the friends minifigs.

If you're giving only one sentence, I'm not really sure.

I personally lump Lone Ranger and Prince of Persia in with Speed Racer. It doesn't matter who made it, it's just a big flashy summer movie that Lego backs as a one-off licensing tie-in. I just see two categories - the blockbuster series mentioned above, which get one wave of half-a-dozen sets but are never seen again.

In my categories, the chosen ones might be those which is popular enough, or fit in brick toys very much. If the unsung movies do fit in Lego than the popular ones, I would still buy them. The major problem of Lone Ranger to me is, it's not far from a generic Western theme that TLC can give us. That's why I think the not-chosen ones with more Disney charms could have the chance instead.

Maybe it's also why there was no Cars 1 sets until Cars 2 appears, because Disney and TLC need a testing time to see its potential. But a sequel doesn't always necessarily mean that it's going to be a Lego set (eg, Moster Inc).

Edited August 26, 2013 by Dorayaki