LEGO® Ideas is no stranger to licensed sets but it’s Disney which has offered the most inspiration for fan builders. In 2023, Disney celebrated its 100th anniversary and part of the celebrations saw LEGO Ideas team up with US retailer, Target, to find a set inspired by the magical world of Disney. Fans choose the aptly named Magic of Disney set by 2A2A aka Anna Chen. The fan-created design featured several Disney characters centred around Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey. Since it was revealed as being a LEGO Ideas set last year, the LEGO Ideas Design team have refined the original design. The Magic of Disney will be released as the 60th LEGO Ideas set next month, here’s an early look at the upcoming set.
Product Details
Set Name: Magic of Disney | Set Number: 21352 | Pieces: 1103 | Theme: Ideas
Number of Bags: Bags x 9 (paper) | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Characters: Lilo, Geppetto, Bruno, Belle, Flounder & Sebastian | Insiders QR: Yes
RRP: £89.99/$99.99/99.99€/169.99AUD/129.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores & LEGO Online from October 1st
The final set doesn’t stray too far from the original fan-designed project. The original submission featured a brick-built version of Mickey Mouse from Fantasia, which was surrounded by micro scenes taken from Disney’s long history of animated classics. Those included through reuse of Minifigures from previous Disney sets and CMF series. So Mickey was flanked by Pinocchio on a raft, Frozen’s Elsa, Stitch surfing, Aladdin and the Magic Carpet, Belle from Beauty and the Beast plus The Little Mermaid along with brick-built versions of Flounder and Sebastian the crab. The Lion King’s Pride Rock was also included. This combination of characters did a great job of touching on various points of Disney’s history. As with all LEGO Ideas sets, they are often tweaked and refined from the original project to what we get to build. The instructions detail the fan builders’ story and offer insight into some of the Disney films featured in the set.
As mentioned the basic design of the set remains very similar to the original concept with the changes made actually adding some fan-pleasing additions. The set is split into two sections which are combined to create the full set. The build begins with the front part of the set which features three sections inspired by different films. The central scene is based on Beauty and the Beast. The small platform features a cool little window, which features a printed pane set against a stack of pearlescent blue bricks. The window shows the iconic red rose, which is also featured in a glass display case. The scene also sees Belle make her Minifigure debut, the character has been featured as a Mini-doll, Micro-doll and DUPLO figure but never a Minifigure until now.
To the right of the Beauty and the Beast scene is my favourite part of the whole set. Encanto took the world by storm in 2021 and it’s the subject of the next Disney vignette. This section features a microscale recreation of the Casa Madrigal. This uses a lot of 1×1 plates and headlight elements to create the film’s colourful house. I prefer this modern classic being featured in place of Frozen, which has been tirelessly done in other LEGO sets. The scene also gives us the first-ever Encanto Minifigure with the soothsayer Bruno and one of his rodent chums.
The final scene featured on the front section of the set is Pride Rock. The design of this famous location has been tweaked from the fan design to become more of a 3D scene. The process of crafting the iconic rock shelf is quite simple but works nicely and also allows another change from the original design. Instead of just showing Pride Rock, it now includes a Simba animal figure.
Once this front section is complete you move on to the large back section. This has been designed to look like a splash of water. This ties into the other Disney moments featured in the set along with the focal point of Mickey Mouse. The splash of waves is layered to give them some texture and this also offers different points to add four more references to classic Disney films. On the right side of the set is a small shelf which holds a surfboard and becomes the place to feature Stitch’s best buddy Lilo. Other welcomed changes to the original design.
Just behind Lilo, is another connection point hidden behind the wave. This becomes the place where a small raft is connected. This is similar to the original fan submission but instead of Pinocchio, his papa Geppetto is featured, offering yet another unique Minifigure.
Switching over to the right-hand side of the back section are two more references from classic Disney films. However, we lose The Little Mermaid’s Ariel, which gains animal figure versions of Flounder and Sebastian. These elements have been used in several previous Little Mermaid-inspired sets and are a better inclusion than brick-built creatures as they fit with the overall style of the set.
Finally, a trio of enchanted brooms from Fantasia are found marching down a small flight of steps. Their design is quite clever with a broom head connected to a rod element and then connector arms clipped onto them to recreate the sentient brooms. Each holds two pales of water. They look the part but are a little fragile but that’s OK for what is essential a display piece.
All those little scenes complete the final part of the build is focused on the large Scoucerer’s Apprentice version of Mickey Mouse. This variant of Disney’s mascot appeared in the 1940 animated musical anthology, Fantasia. This puts Mickey in a red robe and blue, star-speckled wizard hat. Now there is no getting away from the fact that in this set, Mickey looks a little creepy. I think it’s eyes. They seem to be a little too close together and are looking in the wrong direction. Despite that, the change in scale compared to the original fan submission works for the overall appearance of the set. Even though Mickey does look slightly odd, the method to create his iconic appearance offers a unique build experience. The use of parts to create the circular features of Mickey does look quite nice. The ears are a little iffy unless placed just right, even so, these are used elements and build techniques in clever ways. Mickey’s robes are nicely textured considering their size has been scaled down with the rest of the characters. The only thing I don’t like too much is the studded surface. It looks odd against the flat surfaces of the sleeves and almost feels unfinished. However, if this was clad in studless elements there would be a danger of Mickey looking a little chunky. So the finish used is probably a happy medium.
The set stays quite faithful to the original fan design and the changes it does make are for the best as they offer some unique Minifigures. All four characters transformed into Minifigures for this set are great but Bruno is outstanding. So much so that I want the rest of the family Madrigal in Minifigures-form. It’s also nice to have characters who can finally be paired up with past releases. Stitch finally reunited with Lilo and Pinocchio has found Geppetto. After so many other Disney Princesses have been featured as Minifigures, it’s nice to finally get Belle.
The creature figures are a nice addition, Flounder and Sebastian are nothing new but Simba is. Although I think I’d preferred a LEGO City lion cub over the Friends style animal. However, the print detail may not be as suitable for that element, hence the use of the more ‘cartoony’ element.
Despite the issues with Mickey, overall, the set is a marvellous celebration of Disney. I like the slight changes and the decision to swap certain characters for more unique offerings is very welcome. But the outstanding aspect of the whole set is the small Encanto scene and it’s Bruno Minifigure. I’d love to see other Disney films celebrated in small buildable scenes. These would be a great way to introduce unique Minifigures and feature films not suited to playsets. The 60th LEGO Ideas set, The Magic of Disney will be available from October 1st and can be pre-ordered now.
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This set was provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for this review. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Disney. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
