Last year, the LEGO Group partnered with Universal Pictures for a range of sets inspired by Wicked, the prequel to The Wizard of Oz. The four sets released ahead of the film were interesting and brought the world of Oz to life nicely, but the use of mini-dolls wasn’t loved by all. For the second wave of sets, released last month, two 18+ sets were included, both featuring minifigure versions of the film’s characters. One of those sets is a colourful recreation of Oz, which transforms part of Emerald City into a piece of striking LEGO® Wall Art. Here’s a closer look at the latest piece of brick-built home decor.
Product Details
Set Name: Emerald City Wall Art | Set Number: 75685 | Pieces: 1518 | Theme: Wicked
Number of Bags: Bags x 14 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Sticker: N/A | Minifigures: Glinda, Elphaba, Dorothy Gale, The Scarecrow, Tin-Man & Cowardly Lion + Toto
RRP: £139.99/149.99€/$159.99/249.99AUD/199.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO retailers
For those unfamiliar, Wicked is a stage musical based on a book which covers the events preceding the Wizard of Oz. Instead of focusing on Dorothy and her journey along the Yellow Brick Road, Wicked tells the story of the Witches of Oz. In particular, Glinda, aka the Good Witch and Elphaba, better known as the Wicked Witch of the West. The story has been split across two films, with the second film moving closer to the events of the original Wizard of Oz film. The Emerald City Wall Art set is a great representation of those different films, uniting characters from both eras.
Brick-built LEGO art isn’t new; in fact, there’s an entire theme dedicated to it and this newly released Wicked set shares similarities with the LEGO Art sets. Namely, its ability to be displayed on a wall thanks to two ‘hook’ elements built into the set. These are incorporated into the set quite well, offering a secure means to hang it on a wall. The set isn’t as big as I expected, and despite its layering of elements, it’s not that heavy. I’d feel a lot more confident hanging this on the wall compared to some of the other LEGO Art sets. Thanks to how the lower section of the wall art has been created, it can also be stood on a flat surface. This offers another means to display the set.
One thing I really like about the set is how the details have been created by the layering of sections and the use of parts. This is particularly evident for the section representing Emerald City. This stylised take on Oz’s iconic structure looks pretty cool in whichever form it’s been replicated with LEGO bricks, but I really like how it’s portrayed here. There are a few awkward sections on the set, mainly where there are several of the same elements used to create various details. But you can’t argue with the finished product. Those tricky parts are well worth the finish they achieve. I really like how the iconic Yellow Brick Road winds its way across the hills of Oz, connecting the Wizard’s palace with Munchkinland. That’s not the only interesting detail to be found on the set.
Although Emerald City is the focus of the wall art, it includes other areas of Oz. To the left of Emerald City is Shiz University, and sitting at the base of the image is Munchkinland with its colourful, roofed cottages. But some of the other details are a little less obvious, as they are hidden within the layers of the build. Beneath a cloud is a wayward Flying Monkey, and lurking within the towers of Emerald City is the great and powerful Wizard of Oz and the silhouettes of the two witches. All the graphic details on the set are printed, including the Wicked logo in the lower corner of the artwork and the tiny tile featuring Dorothy and her Wizard of Oz companions.
Which leads nicely on to the set’s greatest appeal. As mentioned, the previous Wicked set chose to use mini-dolls to represent the characters from the film, and they do a really good job of doing so. But minifigures certainly have a greater appeal, so for this set and the Wicked-themed bookends, minifigures have been introduced as well. Offering the best of both worlds. Not only that, we get all-new minifigures of the original Wizard of Oz gang, who previously appeared in minifigure form both digitally in LEGO Dimensions and as a physical figure in the second series of The LEGO Movie minifigures. Despite all of the characters found in this set being featured as minifigures before, they are all unique, including Glinda and Elphaba. The versions here are completely different to the minifigures found in the bookends set. Elphaba can be displayed in sections of the set’s upper right-hand corner. Whereas Glinda is encased in a bubble-like nook is the opposite lower corner.
The Wizard of Oz gang are actually hidden within the set. Where Munchkinland can be found is actually a panel which covers an area to store the four Wizard of Oz minifigures. As mentioned, there are new takes on the characters, but they do share some similarities with their previous versions, such as Dorothy’s hairpiece and the Tin Man’s funnel hat. I’m not a fan of the new version of Toto, but I assume this is a design choice taken by the film, although the dog briefly seen in the trailer looks more like the original dog. The Scarecrow follows the appearance of Prince Fiyero, alluding to the character’s transformation. The Cowardly Lion offers the greatest change. Instead of being a humanoid take of the character, a brand new animal element has been created for the character. It’s unclear how big a role these characters will have in the upcoming film, but I like the choice to include them in the set.
I enjoyed the first wave of Wicked sets, and although the use of mini-dolls made sense, you can’t beat a minifigure. So I applaud the choice to offer both. Playsets continue to use mini-dolls, but for fans of minifigures are also catered for. I hope it is something which will be revisited with future themes, but only really makes sense of this sort of IP-based sets. I certainly expected this set to be much bigger; it’s one reason it’s taken me so long to review, but I was pleasantly surprised by its scale. It’s much smaller, but that works much better, and despite its size, it packs in a lot of detail and interesting build techniques to create them. The minifigures are a bonus, as the set alone is a wonderful piece of artwork. The LEGO Wicked Emerald City Wall Art set is available now, and Wicked: For Good arrives in cinemas on November 21st.
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