Before the LEGO® Disney sets became more varied and plentiful they mostly focused on the Disney Princess characters. These offered similar sets to the LEGO Friends theme, including transforming many of the Disney Princesses into mini-dolls. They were obviously focused on many of the classic Disney fairytales and some of the more recent animated adventures such as Frozen and Encanto. This latest Disney 100 set takes inspiration from almost all of the Disney Princesses, who have gathered together in an Enchanted Treehouse. For the latest of my Disney 100 set reviews here’s a closer look at the LEGO Disney Princess Battle Pack or The Enchanted Treehouse to give it, its official name.
Product Details
Set Name: The Enchanted Treehouse | Set Number: 43215 | Pieces: 1016 | Theme: Disney
RRP: £149.99/$159.99/169.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 8 + loose elements | Instructions: 2 x Paper booklets + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 2 | Characters: Mulan, Raya, Elsa, Moana, Tinker Bell, Alice, Wendy, Belle, Tiana, Anna, Pocahontas, Princess Jasmine & Mirabel
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
Whereas many of the other Disney 100 sets are inspired by certain movies or characters. This particular set differs in that it hasn’t been featured in any previous Disney media. It’s also less a celebration of Disney’s royalty and more a focus on the female role models who have been featured across Walt Disney Animation’s various films. For reasons unknown, they have gathered together at an enchanted treehouse. Despite the seemingly eclectic mix of characters in an equally odd location, it’s actually something the Disney Princess sets have done before, just not on this scale.
I guess it’s only fitting to begin with the mini-dolls. The set features a whopping 13 Disney characters, the largest amount of mini-dolls to ever feature in a Disney-themed set. You’d be forgiven in assuming this includes the entire Disney Princess line-up, however, it’s more a focus on Disney female characters. That’s not to say some of the regal ladies aren’t featured. From earlier Disney animated classics there’s Alice from Alice in Wonderland who makes her mini-doll debut alongside Wendy Darling and Tinker Bell from Peter Pan.
From the golden era of Disney animation comes Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Princess Jasmin from Aladdin, Pocahontas, Mulan and Tiana from The Princess and the Frog. These have all appeared in other mini-doll sets apart from Pocahontas, who has made both her mini-doll and minifigure debut this year.
Finally, there are characters from modern-day CGI animated movies. These include Elsa and Anna from Frozen, both featured in their Frozen II outfits, with Anna sporting an updated version created with new legs and a torso. They are joined by Moana, Raya and Mirabell, who have all featured in past sets, Some of the previous characters have had some of their parts tweaked making them unique but look very similar to previous versions. Together they make the most diverse line-up of Disney characters, touching upon various eras and animation styles. Like many, I prefer minifigures over mini-dolls, but I must say many of the characters, some of which have appeared as minifigures before, look much better in mini-doll form.
The Treehouse is made up of two separate sections, which are linked by an extremely long tube element. The smaller section is a sort of cave-like structure, this features a hidden chest and a couple of other play features. These include a slide, and a rotating floor, which can be moved via a splat gear. It also features a small waterfall which is surrounded by some interesting elements. These include a pair of rock-like plates featured in glittery transparent purple. In fact, the entire set is filled with plenty of great elements. Due to the colours used to create parts of the set, many are appearing in certain colours for the very first time. This fills the set with some pretty rare pieces.
The second section is much bigger and features little nods to some of the Disney characters, these are overly obvious and fit with the overall style of the build. Many of these are found on the stickers used to create shelves on some of the wall spaces. Some of the best parts of this larger section are once again the elements used to create it.
Admittedly, the colour scheme doesn’t feel very ‘Disney’ but it certainly ticks the ‘enchanted’ box. This is thanks to the various transparent elements, I particularly like the little crystal flowers with make use of the new leaf elements first featured in the Lord of the Rings Rivendell set and the large 6×6 plates which were introduced in the Mario sets as an icy plain, here they are used to roof panels. The mix or colours and transparent elements make the set feel more like a LEGO Elves set than a Disney one.
With both sections being built separately from each other, they are only linked by a long tube element. This connects to both sections and becomes a sort of ‘zip wire’ with an ‘elephant trunk’ element and a butterfly combined to allow mini-dolls to slide down it. Overall, play features are a little limited, apart from a couple of rotating plates, interesting stairs and a rock climbing wall, there isn’t much else.
Overall
One of the most surprising things about the set is how many characters it actually doesn’t include. Of course, there are many of the Princesses but there are also some missing such as Snow White, Aurora and Cinderella. But this leaves room to include some different faces such as Wendy Darling from Peter Pan and Alice from Alice in Wonderland. I’ve not seen anyone lament the fact that the line-up only includes female mini-dolls. But I’m glad it does and it’s a fitting celebration of those characters and gives the set a unique feature. I would say the set feels very disconnected from the mini-dolls. Obviously, it tries to include nods to characters or their films but these are minimal. It’s not a set with the same universal appeals as most of the other Disney 100 sets but it’s still a very interesting build with an impressive line-up of mini-dolls.
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