Question about early Harry Potter sets

[Lego Otaku]

While I was sorting out LEGO from a mixed tub I got at yard sale a few months ago, I noticed it had lots of pink and orange parts. At first I thought it was an early girls themed sets like Belville or Scala but it turns out to be from one of the 3 early Harry Potter sets

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=4721-1

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=4722-1

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=4723-1

So my question: what possessed LEGO to release these sets in eye melting orange and pink combination??? I have never seen those colors in the Sorcerer's Stone (or Philosopher's Stone outside USA) movie.

[BrickG]

My eyes! The Goggles do nothing!

It's funny to see that Harry Potter is so old now. So old they didn't use Fleshies at first.

[just2good]

I always believed those sets in particular were aimed toward a female target audience by LEGO. Like, they have light colors and are based on interior areas. I don't agree completely with all that gender relating stereotyping or whatever, but LEGO probably wanted to make them intended for a female target audience.

[Oky]

Yeah, I think TLG might have tried to create HP sets that would appeal more to girls, but nobody knows for sure, unless there is an answer to this in the HP visual dictionary which I don't have. If anybody owns that book, can you shed some light on this?

[RaincloudDustbin]

I have the book. I'll look tomorrow- It's mid night here.

[Elrond]

Maybe they're based on the books rather than the movies.

I remember Mattel did something similar when they released their toylines for the first movies. Some of the toys and figures looked more cartoonish. Same with the first video game adaptations.

[TheLegoDr]

Bright colors are more whimsical, just like the early books/movies and they got darker as time went on?

Edited November 18, 2013 by TheLegoDr

[The Real Walkers]

Bright colors are more whimsical, just like the early books/movies and they got darker as time went on?

That's deep man...

[jindianajonz]

From what I recall, those early sets included a cardboard piece to make up the background of the scene. I don't think they were meant to be for girls; i think the colors were merely to make them interesting- the "sets" were really just a few pieces with some interesting accessories; if they had been done in more typical colors, they would have been quite dull. I think the brightness really goes a long way towards making their world seem more "magical"

Another question, since we are asking about early Harry Potter sets- one of the Hogwarts Castles (I think either the one with the clock or the one with Umbridge) featured a bed that had a blue... thing... underneath it. Does anybody know what this was supposed to represent?

EDIT: It is indeed the one with Umbridge, and can be seen sticking out of the foot of the bed in the pictures from Matn's review

Edited November 18, 2013 by jindianajonz

[montgocloud]

I think it's important to keep in mind that those three sets were released at the same time or a few months before the ones based on the first film, which featured a more appropriate color scheme of tans, grays, and blacks.

So the bizarre colors weren't because "these sets are old," this was very deliberate on LEGO's part. I'm personally in the camp that thinks LEGO was marketing those to girls and the others to boys since Harry Potter largely appeals to both. They probably didn't sell very well (I still have them though!) causing LEGO to stop any production on future waves.

[Aanchir]

The LEGO Harry Potter theme has always been aimed towards both boys and girls, much more than some other licensed themes like Star Wars. Even in the 2010 reboot, the theme retained a lot of "dollhouse-style play" in addition to its numerous action scenes. And that balance of slice-of-life play and adventure play is built right into the source material. It has this in common with the LEGO Spongebob Squarepants theme to a certain extent, and both of those themes have appeared in the "Girls" category on the LEGO Shop website.

I figure the target audience of these particular sets skewed female. I don't believe they were aimed at ONLY a female audience by any means, but even in what many regard as a dark age of LEGO design, the designers were not idiots and would surely recognize that these sorts of pastel colors would be off-putting to many boys and enticing to many girls. These are rarer colors for LEGO sets and they would certainly not have been used without this understanding.

It should also note that the page for these sets was grouped with the pages for Belville and Scala in some LEGO catalogs, NOT with the pages for the other Harry Potter sets. So there's that indication as well.

In any case, it certainly didn't stop me from picking up those sets when they were new.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Aanchir

[Elrond]

Another question, since we are asking about early Harry Potter sets- one of the Hogwarts Castles (I think either the one with the clock or the one with Umbridge) featured a bed that had a blue... thing... underneath it. Does anybody know what this was supposed to represent?

EDIT: It is indeed the one with Umbridge, and can be seen sticking out of the foot of the bed in the pictures from Matn's review

It's just a piece you can push to reveal a book hidden under the bed. I guess they chose to make it blue so that kids will be able to easily spot the play feature.

[Lord Vladivus]

To be honest, when you see the actual movie sets in real life, they're quite orange, especially the Gryffindor common room. And the fortune telling classroom is fairly colourful. So there's a vague precedent. I figure that it also stems from not having more muted versions of the colours available in Lego, as we have now. Still, they're pretty bright!

[Clone OPatra]

Those sets might have been zany, but they were also terrific! Lots of wonderful parts in cool colors, and for a low price at the time. What's not to like? I honestly liked those better than a lot of the drab sets of the first couple HP waves, but then again my LEGO preferences always skew towards bright colors.

[Faefrost]

weren't those sets from shortly before they overhauled the color pallet and simplified the offerings? Stripping out many of the more exotic colors? Part of it might have been using up stock of odd colored bricks?

[Clone OPatra]

weren't those sets from shortly before they overhauled the color pallet and simplified the offerings? Stripping out many of the more exotic colors? Part of it might have been using up stock of odd colored bricks?

The fact that many of the pieces appear in these particular colors ONLY in these sets debunks that theory. I don't think LEGO makes sets to use up old stocks.

Also, the simplification came around the middle of the 2000s decade, not 2001, as I recall.

[montgocloud]

Those sets might have been zany, but they were also terrific! Lots of wonderful parts in cool colors, and for a low price at the time. What's not to like? I honestly liked those better than a lot of the drab sets of the first couple HP waves, but then again my LEGO preferences always skew towards bright colors.

I agree with that! Though I do love the build-your-own-connecting Hogwarts offered in the 2001 and 2002 lines, these sets were memorable in their own right. The main trio, diverse selection of parts, this small wave had it all!