It all started with a mouse, now 100 years on Disney has become synonymous with magical stories and characters. These include those created by Pixar. Which began as a department of Lucasfilm, since then Pixar has helped changed the face of animation. Now part of Disney, Pixar’s iconic stories have become an important part of that Disney magic. One of their most endearing stories was released in 2009 and acts as inspiration for the first of the Disney 100 sets I’ll be taking a look at. Get ready for a balloon-filled adventure to Paradise Falls, with Carl, Russell, Dug and Carl’s ‘Up’ House.
Product Details
Set Name: ‘Up’ House | Set Number: 43217 | Pieces: 187 | Theme: Disney
RRP: £49.99/$59.99/54.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 4 | Instructions: Paper + Builder App | Minifigures: Carl, Russell & Doug | Stickers: Sheet x 1
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
Up has become a true Disney classic, thanks to its beautiful animation, charming characters and emotional story. The heartbreak shown in the film’s opening soon gives way to plenty of laughs and a truly joyous journey of friendship. The story opens on a quaint little house surrounded by a mass of construction equipment and new buildings. The house belongs to the cantankerous old fellow called Carl, who refuses to move from his beloved home. After being forced to move into a retirement village, Carl puts his plan into action and fixes hundreds of balloons to his house in the hope of floating it to Paradise Fall and fulfilling a promise he made to his late wife Ellie. Along the way, he’s joined by the overeager Junior Wilderness Explorer, Russell and a talking dog called Dug. All of these are featured in the wonderful little set.
Like many of the small-scale buildings featured across a number of LEGO themes, Carl’s house recreates the front of it and part of the interior, which can be accessed from the open back. The exterior of the house is quite iconic, it’s almost a character in its own right. It may be a small house but it’s very colourful and this has been recreated quite nicely in LEGO form. The various panels of the outside of the house lend themselves nicely to how the house is built. Different sections use different coloured bricks to create each part.
The curved section of the right-hand side of the house is probably the most tricky to construct along with the roof section and the balloons. These are only challenging because the instructions keep changing the angle of the building in the illustrated steps so just be aware of exactly where each balloon is clipped. Of course, the set lacks the mass of balloons featured in the film but if it has more I think it could make the set far too unstable, plus it would need longer rods between the connection point and balloons to make sure it gives achieves the same balloon-shapes collection of balloons. So although more would have been nice, I think the amount it includes is just about right.
The inside of the house is quite cramped but this is mainly due to the set only being a cross-section of the house. Despite the small rooms, an effort has been made to add as much detail as possible. Stickers are used to create some of them including photos of Carl and Ellie along with the painted mural of Paradise Falls. Even stickers are used in the door, to add Carl’s multitude of locks and bolts. But some of the most charming details are little built-brick pieces of furniture. The best of these is a little record player which uses a black miner helmet as a speaker. Another charming detail is a printed clear minifigure head to represent the Paradise Falls fund jar. It’s also the set’s only printed piece.
Along with the house, the set also includes a small patch of Carl’s yard, which features his box of balloons and the tank to fill them. It also features the mailbox, which features in an important moment in the film. Unfortunately, it is rather underserved here. It needed a sticker or something to make it feel a little more meaningful. Although it’s understandably difficult to do much with the mailbox due to its size. Even something as simple as using blue elements instead of white would have been nice. This small area also includes a squirrel.
Translating some characters into minifigures can sometimes be tricky and that’s certainly the case with those created by Pixar. Carl and Russell are certainly unique-looking characters but the essence of their appearance is captured in the set’s minifigures. Both characters use short legs, with Carl using the bendable version and Carl having the fixed short legs but they are dual-moulded. Both torsos are nicely detailed with Russell’s covered in his collection of Wilderness patches. Carl’s is a lot simpler but I love that it features the little grape soda badge given to him by Ellie. Of course, the different body shapes are tricky to pull off with the unique shape of a minifigure, this is most evident with the heads. Russell especially feels unlike the character’s appearance from the film. Carl’s grumpy expression is a little better. Both characters have alternate expressions. Russell’s minifigure also wears his explorer’s backpack and although it’s nearly as big as the minifigure, it doesn’t cause the figure to topple over. Finally, the set introduces a new animal figure to represent squirrel-loving, chatterbox Dug. It’s a great element and even includes his special collar.
Overall
As soon as this set was revealed it seemed to excite everyone and rightly so it’s an amazing film. The idea of taking a house for a ride high into the sky with nothing but a mass of balloons is quite magical. I agree it would have been nice if there were more balloons, but it would probably make this part of the set a little unstable. Plus I don’t think there would the necessary elements need to spread the balloons out the higher they got. The minifigures do a decent job of capturing the unique style of Pixar’s characters. I especially like the details on their outfits and the added accessories. It’s just a charming little set based on a charming film, a bigger, more detailed set would have been great but the set we got is perfectly fine and is instantly recognizable as being the house for Up, even without the balloons.
Shop Now: UKIrelandUSCanadaGermanyDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
