It’s time to whistle while you build, as the latest set to be released under the LEGO® Disney banner celebrates the first-ever feature-length Walt Disney animated feature. In the early days of Disney animation, Walt Disney chose well-known stories as the basis of his animated features. One such story was a Brothers Grimm fairytale simply known as Snow White. In the story, a beautiful princess is forced to leave her home and stumbles upon a quaint cottage in the middle of the woods. It’s take cottage which acts as the inspiration for this new 18+ Disney set. Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, time for reviewing we go.
Product Details
Set Name: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage | Set Number: 43242 | Pieces: 2228 | Theme: Disney
RRP: £189.99/$219.99/219.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 14 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Characters: Snow White, the Prince, Doc, Dopey, Bashful, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy & the Evil Queen | Insiders QR: Yes
Availability: LEGO Online March 1st – 3rd (Insiders), March 4th at LEGO retail, General Release June 1st
Many of the LEGO Disney sets are aimed at younger fans but during the Disney 100 celebrations last year, a handful of 18+ Disney sets were introduced such as the Walt Disney Tribute Camera and Villain Icons. These sets manage to capture the attention of those outside the usual LEGO fanbase and include minifigures, which also appeal to a larger audience. Snow White has had a limited LEGO history, first appearing in DUPLO sets, before becoming a mini-doll and then a minifigure in the recent Disney 100 Castle. But this is the first time she is joined by the seven dwarfs.
As Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs begins, we first meet Snow White in the grounds of a castle, where she is dreaming of a better life. She’s soon singing her woes away to a group of curious white birds around a well. This moment is captured in the first part of the set’s build. The well is technically not connected to the Dwarfs’ cottage, but it’s a memorable moment which can be recreated thanks to the inclusion of the well in the set. Compared to today, the animation was fairly basic back in the late ’30s, but this LEGO version of the well does a nice job of being detailed whilst also staying true to its appearance on screen.
Another minibuild featured in the set ties into the latter moments of Snow White’s story. After being poisoned by the Evil Queen, Snow succumbs to the sleeping death. The Dwarfs find poor Snow and place her lifeless body in a glass coffin as she was ‘so beautiful, even in death, that the Dwarfs could not find it in their hearts to bury her’. It may appear a little morbid, but it’s a sweet moment which has been lovingly captured in LEGO form. The glass coffin is an amazing little build, it’s compact enough, whilst still offering the ability to place Snow in it. This alone would have made a great displayable Snow White set.
Although the cottage features heavily in Snow White’s story, its on-screen appearance is quite limited. Wide shots of the cottage in particular are not very detailed. So this LEGO version takes some artist licence with its design. Despite that, it features plenty of nods to moments within the film, which is the most delightful part of the build experience. I watched the film as I built the set, which enhanced the experience greatly.
The structure of the cottage is built in two sections. Meaning it can be split open to access the interior a little better. You can get to the inside of the cottage without opening it up as the back is fully open. You can also get to the Dwarfs’ bedroom by popping off one of the roof panels. Despite the different ways to gain access to the interior it’s still a little tricky to truly access it. But this is more of a display piece as opposed to a playset. This is why I admire that the interior is still very detailed. There’s the ornate organ, the sink full of dishes and even a cost fireplace, which can be illuminated thanks to a light brick. Upstairs you’ll find seven little beds, each of them different and featuring the Dwarfs’ names. A new element is used for the beds which is a 2×2 flat tile with a curved edge. Perfect for the ends of a bed.
The exterior of the cottage is packed with detail and requires a surprising amount of building, in particular the roof. As mentioned the outside of the cottage is only briefly shown during the film and when it does it’s not very detailed. So the designer has had to mostly ‘wing it’ and they have done an amazing job. Even without any of the characters around it, the cottage oozes fairytales. I like the way the wood beams have been clad to the walls and the printed 1×1 tiles featuring an owl head. But the star of the set is the roof.
The cottage is portrayed as having a thatched roof, which is an old method of topping a building with straw. Capturing this natural material with LEGO elements is no mean feat but the layering of small slopes and other curved elements has resulted in a fantastic finish to the build. A little advice when you build the roof plates, as the instructions suggest, the build is a little easier if you sort out the various similar elements into different piles. It is extremely helpful and if you look at the smaller bags within the larger numbered bags, they are already kept separate, making it even easier to sort.
The set features ten different minifigures, three of which have previously appeared in other Disney sets. So the disguised version of the Evil Queen is the same as the one included in the Villain Icons set and both Snow White and the Prince were included in the latest Disney Castle set. So although this is still a costly set, it’s a cheaper way to gain all three characters compared to buying the two sets they appear in.
Although three of the characters have appeared elsewhere, the others are truly unique and I can’t envision how they could be used in future sets. They are of course the Dwarfs. These seven little fellows were given their names and the traits which inspired them in Disney’s version of the story. Doc, Dopey, Bashful, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy and Sneezy are all recreated in minifigure form and can easily be differentiated thanks to their faces. They do look a little odd as they all lack noses, but I think the choice not to add them as print detail is the correct one. Minifigures look even odder with noses than they do without. I should also highlight the Dwarfs’ hats. These offer two different styles of the same hat, which has previously been used for other characters such as the Series 4 CMF Lawn Gnome. One can be worn facing backwards and the other forwards, it would have been super easy to just use the same elements for each Dwarf, but this way they are given a little more individually. On the subject of reused elements, Dopey makes use of the hat often used for festive elf characters.
I’ve been a Disney fan ever since I was introduced to the films as a kid, the magic they impart is why Disney has such a large fanbase, particularly with adults. I get why many of the kid-focused Disney sets featuring mini-dolls, but I also like that sets such as this can also feature minifigures. But the characters are a small part of this set, it’s the cottage which is truly the star. Yes, the interior is quite compact and tricky to access in places, but it still manages to highlight some of the moments from the film. My one criticism would be the animals featured in the set. Snow White is often shown interacting with various woodland critters, but there are only five features in the set. It would have been great to have a couple more or even reuse the Bambi figure from the Walt Disney Camera. But apart from that the Dwarfs’ Cottage is a delightful set to build and will make a charming display piece. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage will be available for Insiders from March 1st before it becomes available for everyone on March 4th.
Shop Now: UKIrelandUSCanadaMexicoGermanyFranceDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
The LEGO Group provided this set for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Disney. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
