Disney Princess 2014 Rumors & Discussion

[Itaria No Shintaku]

From the top of my head I can name four pirates, two of which are female: Blackbeard, Calico-Jack, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. That's not a list a typical kid would utter, of course, but Bonny and Read are famous (if not nearly as famous as the two males I mentioned), though much of it stems from the very fact of them being exceptions in the predominantly male world of pirates.

I am very well award of pirates, I can name dozens of them, and never heard of the two you named.

Even the fact that you liked female minifigures leads me to think that you are a very rare case, sorry, I can't count you on statitistics... I count boys and girls I usually sell or give lego to.

[Blakstone]

Even the fact that you liked female minifigures leads me to think that you are a very rare case, sorry, I can't count you on statitistics... I count boys and girls I usually sell or give lego to.

I liked the female minifigures in the Forestmen and peasant sets as a kid as well. I wonder if your experience is different as cultures are different.

I have some friends who attended law school at Oklahoma City University the year that they were forced to admit women. That was way back in 1980. So the drive to give women equality is still relatively new at least in the United States.

But the consideration in this thread is the LEGO Disney Princess line. There have been a sexist bent in the earlier Disney movies but that was part of the culture back then. My opinion is that more recent Disney fare goes a long way to balance this. I am glad that Merdia will be in these sets as well Cinderella. If they were minifgures instead of minidolls, I might get the Merdia set.

Because to me and many other AFOLs the incompatibility of the minifigures and the minidolls is a real issue. To my kindergarten age niece, she has no issue with it. Her Star Wars, Castle, and Friends minis all play with each other.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

I liked the female minifigures in the Forestmen and peasant sets as a kid as well. I wonder if your experience is different as cultures are different.

Maybe or maybe not.

My story is even different: I was 10 so I didn't even recognize that the "female pirate" was a female. I didn't pay too much attention to the decoration of the torso and I thought he was a male with big lips. I have plaied for years with female players treating them as males. I wonder how many other people did the same stuff.

But also, I bought a lot of minifigures sets, the fabolous one they did in the past (6 pirates, 6 citizens, 6 castle, 6 space... THOSE were the sets...)... now I'm opening a thread for that ... by the way I had the use to part them and pickup pieces with my two brothers.

The ones that were left for last were always girls' hairs, girls decorated faces and girls torsoes.

Actually when I feel the CMF bags for little kids, if males, nobody wants female minifigures.

Here's another story you might want to find interesting. Some time ago, it was Series 6, a boy bought a random pack and it was a Flamenco Dancer. He was so sad that I bought him the pack and I felt a minotaur for him. That's it.

I am so full of examples like that that I am really convinced that, at least here, things work like that: boy don't like female minifigures or they have less use for them.

So you think it's culture, but I have some small evidence that it's not.

Let's take how many unsold sets among ninjago 2011 are still on bricklink.

Kai... 21

Zane...18

Sensei Wu... 57

Cole.. 93

Nya... 149

No surprise that Nya has sold less than her male counterparts.

That's because boys don't like female minifigs, or at least the majority of them doesn't.

[jimmynick]

No surprise that Nya has sold less than her male counterparts.

That's because boys don't like female minifigs, or at least the majority of them doesn't.

Is Bricklink really a market for parents to buy their children toys? I always thought it was an exchange for AFOLs to buy and sell the parts, sets and figures they needed for MOCs, completing collections, whatever.

[Gryphon Ink]

I am very well award of pirates, I can name dozens of them, and never heard of the two you named.

Translation: "I have no real knowledge of this subject, and since your historical evidence contradicts my strongly held opinion, I choose to ignore it." Also known as the No True Scotsman fallacy.

Even the fact that you liked female minifigures leads me to think that you are a very rare case, sorry, I can't count you on statitistics... I count boys and girls I usually sell or give lego to.

And another "No True Scotsman" in the very same post!

Actually when I feel the CMF bags for little kids, if males, nobody wants female minifigures.

...

Here's another story you might want to find interesting. Some time ago, it was Series 6, a boy bought a random pack and it was a Flamenco Dancer. He was so sad that I bought him the pack and I felt a minotaur for him. That's it.

...

I am so full of examples like that that I am really convinced that, at least here, things work like that: boy don't like female minifigures or they have less use for them.

...

That's because boys don't like female minifigs, or at least the majority of them doesn't.

You do know that this is a thread about a new Girls' Theme, right? And while that subject may very well mean nothing to you, it's kind of a big deal for those of us who have female children. So why don't you let the discussion be about girls and their toys, NOT about what boys want? There are plenty of other threads out there for discussing what boys want.

[Rick]

Not every thread about "girls" themes (or even CMFs) has to turn into a discussion about issues like gender stereotypes. Please get this thread back on the topic of the rumoured 2014 Disney Princess theme. Thanks.

[Itaria No Shintaku]

Translation: "I have no real knowledge of this subject, and since your historical evidence contradicts my strongly held opinion, I choose to ignore it." Also known as the No True Scotsman fallacy.

Er... no.

I just wanted to point out that they were far lesser pirates, as also the OP noted btw.

Yours is know as the straw man fallacy.

And since you seem to like fallacies, the OP was guilty of the Cherry Picking fallacy.

So seems like you weren't pay much attention.

Btw I'll value Rick's advice and stop this argument right now.

So back on topic: my 2p. I believe they will be in "Friends" scala, and I am really looking forward male characters in the mini doll style to see how they will come. I also think this license will rock and kick Megabloks a little more out, and that there will be re usable parts for mocs of great interest.

Edited September 11, 2013 by Itaria No Shintaku

[robuko]

Because to me and many other AFOLs the incompatibility of the minifigures and the minidolls is a real issue. To my kindergarten age niece, she has no issue with it. Her Star Wars, Castle, and Friends minis all play with each other.

My 3 year old son is happy to have the minidolls and minifigs play together too. I have no issue with it really, although I can understand why others do. I am looking forward to this line (daughter due in November). I am not really familiar with the Princess umbrella franchise but I expect the girls will be the hero characters of the sets. I hope the line will continue the good colour and parts selection we get in Friends sets. I would really love to see a Princess Jasmine castle in future, Aladdin had fabulous art and backdrops. And I want Mulan buildings and armour too!

Having said that, the inital setlist doesn't fill me with inspiration, apart from the Little Mermaid ones which will probably have cool parts like the Harry Potter underwater rescue set.

Edited September 10, 2013 by robuko

[Laura Beinbrech]

Yeah, I'd like to see some pics of the sets before passing judgement either way...

Personally I'm hoping that they do Cinderella's Castle Romance set so that it looks like the version seen in Orlando's Magic Kingdom/the intro to all Disney movies: It's one of THE most iconic buildings/emblems of Disney, and I'd like to have it in LEGO form.

I'm guessing, if this theme is launching in January, that we'll most likely get some pics no later than November.

[Oky]

Well, I for one hope that these rumors are true and am looking forward to this theme. Sure, I usually prefer minifigs too, but in this case I'm fine with it being minidolls as I don't think the spindly Disney princesses would translate into minifigs well. Thin characters just end up looking fat in minifig form as evidenced by the Ahsoka minifig and all the custom Disney minifigs out there. And after the success of Friends, I'm not surprised that TLG would go this route.

I just really hope that they put as much love and care into the design of these sets as they do with Friends. The Friends sets are always very well designed and have a good balance between realistic and girly colors, so I hope to see this in this theme too, although I would of course prefer it if they focused more on realistic colors. If they do a good job with the Cinderella Castle and make it look like the one in Disneyland parks, it will be a must-buy set for any Disney fan next year. I also hope that these sets will include more characters than just the titular princesses. Ariel’s Magical Kiss kind of requires Eric to be in it, so I hope the other sets will include the princesses' love interests and sidekicks too.

Ultimately, I hope that this line will be successful so that we may see sets based on all the other Disney classics in the future, even if they will be girl-oriented. Girly Disney sets are better than no Disney sets in my opinion. A clever way of selling this theme would be to have Sleeping Beauty based sets in the summer to tie in with the Maleficent movie.

[Mr Bill]

Because to me and many other AFOLs the incompatibility of the minifigures and the minidolls is a real issue.

I initially felt the same way, but had a change of heart once I realized the minidoll hair pieces fit on minfigures as well. That got me thinking, "Well, I have 'yellow-skinned' (regular) minifigs cohabitating with my 'fleshy-skinned' (licensed) minifigs, so why couldn't slimmer female mini-figs occupy my lego city? I admit it took some getting used to, but it seems perfectly acceptable now and my lego city denizens, minifig & minidoll, are happy living together!

(Some friends of mine suggested putting male minidolls and female minifigs in the more "socially progressive" part of my Lego town, but I disdain stereo-types, ).

--Mr Bill

Edited September 13, 2013 by Mr Bill

[DrLegostar]

I initially felt the same way, but had a change of heart once I realized the minidoll hair pieces fit on minfigures as well. That got me thinking, "Well, I have 'yellow-skinned' (regular) minifigs cohabitating with my 'fleshy-skinned' (licensed) minifigs, so why could slimmer female mini-figs occupy my lego city? I admit it took some getting used to, but it seems perfectly acceptable now and my lego city denizens are happy living together!

(Some friends of mine suggested putting male minidolls and female minifigs in the more "socially progressive" part of my Lego town, but I disdain stereo-types, ).

--Mr Bill

You could always have minidolls protesting for equal rights.

[McSmeag]

I wonder if the theme will focus solely on the "traditional" disney princesses or if it will have non-"princess" women characters as well (Megara, Esmerelda, et cetera)? Either way, having more mini-doll options would be wonderful. I love their design and the great creativity throughout the whole Friends line.

I'll tell you what I'd love to see the mini-dolls used for would be a Sailor Moon theme - the timing would be perfect with the rebooted cartoon series coming out later this year and the new translations of the comics that were recently released. Unfortunately it'd probably be too niche a market (and we'd have heard about it already it if were happening). I can only dream...

[Lyichir]

I don't know what to expect, or even what to hope for, with this new theme. On the one hand, the absolute best way to do a princess theme is to be accurate to each princess's respective movies. On the other, if it turns out pink and girly we may get a wider selection of new parts in some of the pastel colors that are still underused even in the Friends theme (such as standard Lavender, or Cool Yellow).

As a side note, I wonder what sort of figure parts the princesses themselves will use. Minidoll parts would probably be ideal, but they'd have to do something for the more extravagant dresses (such as Belle's dress from the ballroom scene in Beauty and the Beast). So would they use a cloth dress around the hips of an existing skirt, or would they introduce a new dress element, that might not be able to bend at the waist? I have to say this is the theme I'm most anticipating pictures of out of all Lego themes we know for next year.

[Lady K]

I hope for Disney Fairies. Just think of all the possibilities in specialty parts.

[Crackerjack]

I hope for Disney Fairies. Just think of all the possibilities in specialty parts.

That'd be awesome. Imagine a Tinkerbell fairy (like the Series 8 one) but in green with the Friends bodies and a cloth skirt piece.

[Mr Meleca]

I am very excited to see the pictures of this new collection.

I hope this sets disassemble my daughter´s will of hte terrible and ridiculous Monster high.

If we analyse the girls toys, even a very top commercial like this one will be better than BArbies, Pollys, Strawberries and Ponys...

I know that some of you are very angry with TLC, but, believe me as a parent, this is better than any other collection

[Blondie-Wan]

If we analyse the girls toys, even a very top commercial like this one will be better than BArbies, Pollys, Strawberries and Ponys...

(bolding added)

Well, let's not get crazy, here.

I must say, I'd actually truly love official LEGO My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic sets; it's too bad they just flat-out will... not... happen. But I'm sure LEGO Disney Princesses / "Classic" Disney sets will exhibit the same quality, cleverness and care as LEGO's other Disney sets (Toy Story, Cars, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Pirates of the Caribbean, etc., and of course the extant DUPLO Classic / Princesses and Winnie the Pooh sets) have done (or LEGO's other products in general, really).

[SirBlake]

I'm very excited for this theme. My 7 year old loves playing with Lego in all it's forms but she especially likes the Friends stuff. She's going to freak out on this if these rumors are true and we'll have some fun. Might be some cool parts too.

[Sisilisko]

I have been following this thread and have almost come to a change of heart. I don't like Princesses.

However: If this gets more girls building. I am ok with it. If this is what it takes: all right then!

It will be great 20 years from now when more girls get into education programs to become engineers. That I do belive. Having girls developers better sense of space will be rewarding. If it takes pink and Princesses. Ok.

However schooling for girls in developmental countries is of outmost importance. Yet that is another subject.

Love. /S

[just2good]

The smallest Ariel set is $13 and the Brave set is around $20 according to my estimations of Euro prices found on this site.

[Oky]

The rest of the sets have now been posted:

41050 Ariel’s Secret Treasures - $13

41051 Merida’s Highland Games - $20

41052 Ariel’s Magical Kiss - $30

41053 Cinderella’s Enchanted Carriage - $30

41054 Rapunzel’s Tower of Creativity - $40

41055 Cinderella’s Castle Romance - $70

I'm still a little surprised that the Brave set is bigger than the Ariel's Treasures set. I guess it must include part of the castle or Angus' horse stable, otherwise I just can't see how they could justify it being 20 bucks.

Also, it seems that this theme is pretty much confirmed now, so I think this thread should be renamed and moved to Licensed.

[Pandora]

As this seems to be very much based on Disney, I'm going to move it to Licensed.

[Oky]

As this seems to be very much based on Disney, I'm going to move it to Licensed.

Thanks Pandy! Could you please also rename it to Disney Princesses as that seems to be the name of the theme? Thanks.

[Dorayaki]

Well, I for one hope that these rumors are true and am looking forward to this theme. Sure, I usually prefer minifigs too, but in this case I'm fine with it being minidolls as I don't think the spindly Disney princesses would translate into minifigs well. Thin characters just end up looking fat in minifig form as evidenced by the Ahsoka minifig and all the custom Disney minifigs out there. And after the success of Friends, I'm not surprised that TLG would go this route.

Ultimately, I hope that this line will be successful so that we may see sets based on all the other Disney classics in the future, even if they will be girl-oriented. Girly Disney sets are better than no Disney sets in my opinion. A clever way of selling this theme would be to have Sleeping Beauty based sets in the summer to tie in with the Maleficent movie.

My question is, does it mean that TLC didn't have any plan for Disney classic series / girls-oriented themes before minidolls appear? It's not a positive reason to make Disney minidolls. I like mninidolls, but we can't deny that minifigures are still the major part of Lego System and most people ask for them. I hope that TLC would have plans like Cuusoo Disney minifigures.

The other question from me is, most products labelled "Disney Princess" we've seen seldom include characters besides princesses and princes (in other words, no antagonists, sidekicks, etc). At the same time, we usually use Lego to tell story, but these products are rarely based on scenes of fightings or actions. I hope that the series can continue with more stories or more scenes of the same story, so that we can see the diversity.

Edited October 9, 2013 by Dorayaki