Elves 2015

[Aanchir]

I am nervous about the whole storyline being represented in these sets. I really want this theme to continue!

I don't think there's anything to worry about. You could say the same for LEGO Ninjago in 2011. The 44-minute special it got in the beginning of the year covered pretty much the entire story for that year. But at the end of the year, there were new episodes to accompany the new sets.

LEGO Ninjago's first TV special ended on a mega-cliffhanger, of course. Garmadon escaped the Underworld through a portal, and everybody watching knew he was bound to show up again. But the LEGO Elves special leaves things just as open for future stories. Emily may be able to get home once she brings the keys to the portal, but this definitely won't be her last visit to Elvendale.

By the way, I finally played through all five levels of the LEGO Elves app. Haven't unlocked everything yet (you have to play through each level five times in order to get all the secret items), but I've at least gotten to see all the settings. It's cool that Skyra is the "host" of the fifth level. This is the first time we get to see her character art. Next time I play I'll take a screenshot. It's a shame you don't unlock a profile of her after clearing the level, though — instead it just unlocks Emily's profile.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Aanchir

[Iria]

I am nervous about the whole storyline being represented in these sets. I really want this theme to continue!

How long this theme continues will depend on its success, but I don't think we have to worry that it will be ending with the summer sets -How many themes last only half a year? LEGO is investing quite a bit in the marketing of Elves with the episodes, app and books*. Hopefully Elves will be successful, because I'd love to see how far the story progresses in this fantasy world.

*It looks like Scholastic is coming out with Elves books. Amazon shows the first book coming out in late summer. The untitled first book is 128pages.Here's a description of the first book:

"Welcome to the magical world of LEGO: Elves. This enchanting chapter book series is based on the newest LEGO brand.

When a human girl enters a portal into the land of the elves, she's in for an journey full of action, magic, and friendship!

The chapter books in this series will have foil on the cover and offer enchanting adventures in a lush new world."

Scholastic/Amazon also lists an Elves activity book #1.

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Edit: Correction. Thanks for the info Aanchir!

Edited March 7, 2015 by Iria

[Aanchir]

How long this theme continues will depend on its success, but I don't think we have to worry that it will be ending with the summer sets -How many themes last only half a year? LEGO is investing quite a bit in the marketing of Elves with the episodes, app and books*. Hopefully Elves will be successful, because I'd love to see how far the story progresses in this fantasy world.

*It looks like Scholastic is coming out with Elves books. Amazon shows the first book coming out in late summer. The first book is 128pages and is titled "Big Bang", which is bit odd of a name. Maybe it's just a placeholder name. Here's a description of the first book:

"Welcome to the magical world of LEGO: Elves. This enchanting chapter book series is based on the newest LEGO brand.

When a human girl enters a portal into the land of the elves, she's in for an journey full of action, magic, and friendship!

The chapter books in this series will have foil on the cover and offer enchanting adventures in a lush new world."

Scholastic/Amazon also lists an Elves activity book #1.

"Big Bang" just means a brand-new theme that LEGO is devoting a considerable amount of their marketing budget for the year to. Atlantis, Ninjago, Friends, Legends of Chima, and I believe even The LEGO Movie were all "Big Bang" themes. And it's normal for it to be used in placeholder titles for books to avoid spoiling the identity of the new theme before it's announced publicly.

[BrickJagger]

I think that Elves might be discontinued after the summer sets. If the sets significantly surpass expectations, then the line will continue by focusing on the potential future storyline that Aanchir mentioned. I think the line has the potential to continue, but if the sets don't sell well, then the theme will end with Emily Jones going back home.

I've noticed this in many themes. Lego cleverly sets up a theme to have a simple storyline in it's first year to test it out, then progressively make it more detailed and complicated as the line continues. The first year will almost always an "ending" of sorts, where the good guys win and everyone is happy. That way, if the sets don't sell well, Lego can give off the impression the the theme was only supposed to last one year, and the line is technically complete.

Ninjago is a prime (and extreme) example of this. The first year storyline wasn't nearly as wacky as the years following, and the story was ended with Samukai being defeated. Of course there was a clifhanger, but almost all themes have one, even the ones that only last one wave. Ninjago was so successful that I feel that Lego was almost overwhelmed with the demand, thus why all of the sets are getting stranger and stranger. I doubt another theme can do what Ninjago did while it's still out.

So my answer is: It really does depend on the sales.

[Iria]

I think that Elves might be discontinued after the summer sets. If the sets significantly surpass expectations, then the line will continue by focusing on the potential future storyline that Aanchir mentioned. I think the line has the potential to continue, but if the sets don't sell well, then the theme will end with Emily Jones going back home.

I've noticed this in many themes. Lego cleverly sets up a theme to have a simple storyline in it's first year to test it out, then progressively make it more detailed and complicated as the line continues. The first year will almost always an "ending" of sorts, where the good guys win and everyone is happy. That way, if the sets don't sell well, Lego can give off the impression the the theme was only supposed to last one year, and the line is technically complete.

So my answer is: It really does depend on the sales.

Thanks for the background BrickJagger. I'm fairly new to buying Lego, so I haven't caught on to the trends yet. That makes sense to have a happy end to an early wave of sets, to avoid 'loose ends' in case it's unpopular.

Oh, also, the other day, they finally fixed the "Meet the Characters" and "Explore Elvendale" features on the LEGO Elves home page. "Meet the Characters" doesn't offer a whole lot of new information, though it does offer some great pictures and rhymes. "Explore Elvendale" gives us some more awesome pictures and information as well as some new place names. The parts of the Elvendale map that correspond to the summer sets are not yet clickable, so that's something to look forward to in the months to come. None of the sets focus on the Desertlands, Ivy Beach, or the Highland of Helyan, so I wonder if they might be explored in future years.

Hopefully the theme is a success. I really want to see what comes out of Desertlands. Are there desert elves living there or something sinister? The spelling of 'Helyan' reminds me of Hyrule.

[Sarah]

Who is Skyra? She seems to only be available in the Castle. She's different from Aira right? (SAme hair color though different styles)

The only two sets with emily seem to be the Treetop and the Castle. I may just have to get both to get Emily right away... Though in some ways the Treetop set is nicer looking than the castle

I took the Azati fire polybag to a playdate with my kids and a friend's kids (4.5 and 2) and the 4.5 was enthralled. She even followed the instructions (with some help) to put it together. Then the 4.5 and my 3.5 year old set it up next to their Duplo town and started playing.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Sarah

[Iria]

Who is Skyra? She seems to only be available in the Castle. She's different from Aira right? (SAme hair color though different styles)

Skyra and Aira are not the same person, but they are both wind elves. Both have pegasi and have bird friends (Skyra has an owl).

I'm assuming that Skyra is one of the five magical elven sisters and queen to the Sky Castle. Lego's character page on Emily mentions that Emily's grandmother was one of the magical sisters. It's likely the each of the magical elven sisters represent a different element (aside from the grandmother who actually wasn't magical). It's possible that the wind/water/fire magical sisters could be introduced in later sets.

The only two sets with emily seem to be the Treetop and the Castle. I may just have to get both to get Emily right away... Though in some ways the Treetop set is nicer looking than the castle

Yeah, despite being the protagonist, Emily is only in two sets. This probably helps keep set prices lower and avoids having an overabundance of a single character, especially when they are always wearing the same clothes it gets boring. Here is the current character count looking at both the current and summer wave sets:

Johnny Baker _1

Skyra _ 1

Emily _ 2

Farran _ 2

Aira _ 3

Naida _ 3

Azari _ 3 (4 if you count the polybag)

[Sarah]

So Skyra is related to Emily's grandmother? is Emily's grandmother an elf?

[Iria]

So Skyra is related to Emily's grandmother? is Emily's grandmother an elf?

Check out this Lego Club Magazine that Aanchir posted a few pages back. It gives more background on the story and Emily's grandmother. It sounds like her grandmother was an elf, but was sad that she had no powers and so decided to venture to the human world to better fit in. Then 'she grew mortal', presumably she became human (or hid her elven ears well).

[Lordofdragonss]

Just like you guys I'm very excited! There is a lot of great sounding places in this map.

Themost interesting thing I noticedaccording Webside our little girl has a power: Love.

Will they summon elemental elve? :D

I really can't wait for castle. As a Castle fan I really adore it's structure, colors(Tan- my favorite!) and the way it connects all elements toghether.

[LukeWarmTea]

Elves have just hit the shelves here in NZ - and I judging from the school room discussion already (My KFOL is 6 nearly 7) Elves will be a hit!

Story wise, I'm betting it'll continue. Emily's "powerless" grandmother will be revealed to have had a power all along - the same one Emily herself has, Love. This is why (according to the Lego Club mag posted above) the four elemental elven sisters drifted apart - when Emily the 1st stopped visiting, the love power she has stopped binding them together and the keys were lost, as it were. Now Emily 2.0 has returned, she'll reunite the keys to get home and (eventually) reunite the sisters too. Plus, she has to keep visiting!

This is just conjecture of course. If it plays out like this I guess there will be another 3 waves at least, with an elven sister (like Skyra) at the heart of each story. I think this would be a good length of time for a range like this as it will take girls from about 7-11ish, which is when they may be moving on from Lego (or at least on to Technic, Creator or Mindstorm type sets). What I really hope is that the story deepens and maybe darkens a bit - if I'm correct in my assumptions, then Emily's Love power will be needed to bring the sisters back together, but what could have torn them apart? What else could be going on that Love could help?

Basically, I want villains! I'd love to see an Evil Fire Elven Sister with dragons and all sorts of wicked red translucent sparkle bits. She could be ferociously angry with the water sister over some thing or another, and Emily is the only one who can save the day! Yay!

Also, the app is awesome. Oh and can anyone with build experience comment on the build of these? From looking at them I felt they were a bit more technical than Friends, and I'm excited to see moving/action parts. :)

[Dorayaki]

It's nice to see the content and the deepness of the story. The sequels could be more about the past of Elvendale and Emily's grandmother. The fifth element is also an interesting point to keep us wait.

Of course there are commercial factors to determine its future. The thing I'm probably worried about is whether Elves could enlarge it's range of plays and story content if a sequel is born. The ideas mentioned in previous discussion are magical fightings (original Elves weapons instead of collectible keys next time), trading cards, opponents and threats against Elvendale, etc.

Yeah, despite being the protagonist, Emily is only in two sets. This probably helps keep set prices lower and avoids having an overabundance of a single character, especially when they are always wearing the same clothes it gets boring.

My personal interpretation is, despite Emily has a whole new print design, the targeted girl FOLs already have tons of ordinary Friends characters and another ordinary modern girl could be less appealing. Elf characters with new parts and prints are more appealing in the current timing. Only after we had heard enough Emily's story and be interested in her character role could LEGO spend more time to promote her.

And still, it's always good to lower down the amount of a certain minifigure so that we don't have to pay for repetitive figures. The main issue could be that this theme need more sucharacters to enable us to build an Elf army town.

Thanks for the background BrickJagger. I'm fairly new to buying Lego, so I haven't caught on to the trends yet. That makes sense to have a happy end to an early wave of sets, to avoid 'loose ends' in case it's unpopular.

The previous Ninjago season was quite a loose end. Obviously its popularity has ensured its continuation and intended to leave everyone in short suspense. If the story permits, I'd like to see Elves go bigger with a longer chapter next time (not necessarily with more sets, but abit more storytelling).

the same one Emily herself has, Love.

Elves have just hit the shelves here in NZ - and I judging from the school room discussion already (My KFOL is 6 nearly 7) Elves will be a hit!

That pun sounds familiar...... or maybe Emily would have to learn to use the four elements instead. :p

Great, my local shelves are still empty today.

Edited March 7, 2015 by Dorayaki

[Hythonia]

I got my order from the LEGO shop today, and it included a cute little booklet which had the map on it (love that they've named so many parts of the world) and had a two-page comic summarizing the overall plot of the series. The end of the comic is pretty ominous. "But someone has been watching them. Their challenges are far from over..." I'm *really* hoping this is the antagonist we've all been hoping for.

The map also explained that Sky Castle is "Where the Sky Queen Skyra guards the portal to the human world..."

[Lordofdragonss]

So you got exactly same leafletI did. Does it have prototype sets pics in map? Does the end of the comic end: "And how it will end? Watch the Episodes on Lego.com/elves"?

[K4kitty]

Still can't find anything about it being on TV in the UK... :(

[K4kitty]

Ok I've caved and ordered all the sets

[Hythonia]

So you got exactly same leafletI did. Does it have prototype sets pics in map? Does the end of the comic end: "And how it will end? Watch the Episodes on Lego.com/elves"?

Yup, it's the same one. :)

The show just aired here... I'm so impressed with it. I thought it would be just to sell the toys, but the special had a lot of heart and creativity in it (which is rare, especially for a product aimed towards girls). I was surprised they dealt with death, as well. The main characters all had interesting personalities without relying too heavily on the tropes you'd expect them to (Farran and Azari were my faves). I hope we get more animated specials from this series.

Also, since mermaids exist in Elvendale, I hope we see some in future sets.

[DuckBricks]

Any way to watch the show online? Afraid I was out the time it aired...

[Lyichir]

Any way to watch the show online? Afraid I was out the time it aired...

Not yet, unfortunately. I imagine it will become available eventually, but I don't know how soon—frankly, I was surprised how little promotion even the two airings this weekend got.

[DuckBricks]

Not yet, unfortunately. I imagine it will become available eventually, but I don't know how soon—frankly, I was surprised how little promotion even the two airings this weekend got.

Ugh, too bad. I was expecting the normal sites like Animeflavor etc would have it (as they have Chima, Ninjago, Batman BeLeagured, Yoda Chronicles etc) but there's no sign. I guess you're right about little promotion...

[Lyichir]

Ugh, too bad. I was expecting the normal sites like Animeflavor etc would have it (as they have Chima, Ninjago, Batman BeLeagured, Yoda Chronicles etc) but there's no sign. I guess you're right about little promotion...

I mean, I'm sure it might be on sites like that eventually! Just like I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up on DVD at some point. But honestly I'm not even sure Disney Channel coordinated this airing with Lego very well—I don't recall the airing being so much as mentioned on Lego's social media accounts, and even the channel itself didn't grace us with so much as a press release (if anyone here watches Disney Channel regularly, I'd be interested to know if they even ran commercials for it beforehand).

[DuckBricks]

I mean, I'm sure it might be on sites like that eventually! Just like I wouldn't be surprised if it shows up on DVD at some point. But honestly I'm not even sure Disney Channel coordinated this airing with Lego very well—I don't recall the airing being so much as mentioned on Lego's social media accounts, and even the channel itself didn't grace us with so much as a press release (if anyone here watches Disney Channel regularly, I'd be interested to know if they even ran commercials for it beforehand).

Yeah, I definitely know at some point it will be on the LEGO.com Videos site (as that was the original leak), but was hoping for more instant gratification. ;) Oh well, guess I'll just have to wait.

[K4kitty]

I am really looking forward to the release of the summer sets - does anyone know when this is likely to be? (hopefully not as far away as August...)

[Iria]

I am really looking forward to the release of the summer sets - does anyone know when this is likely to be? (hopefully not as far away as August...)

I'm not sure if it's official, but I keep finding August as the release month in all my searches.

[Aanchir]

I am really looking forward to the release of the summer sets - does anyone know when this is likely to be? (hopefully not as far away as August...)

August is the official release date we heard at New York Toy Fair.