LEGO’s new Disney series of Collectible Minifigures is probably the most hotly anticipated series yet, and LEGO’s sent us a case to review. They will retail for $3.99 USD like other recent series, but this time there are 18 unique figures to collect, instead of the typical 16. You can purchase them on The LEGO Shop now.
The Disney figs come in a case of 60, with each case containing three full sets plus some extras. Our case broke down like this:
Three each of Aladdin, Alice, Ariel, Buzz Lightyear, Captain Hook, Cheshire Cat, Daisy Duck, Donald Duck, Maleficent, Minnie Mouse, Peter Pan, and Ursula.
Four each of Genie, Mickey Mouse, Mr. Incredible, Stitch, Syndrome, and the Toy Story Alien.
Mickey Mouse
Mickey is obviously the most iconic character here, as the face of Disney for nearly a hundred years. It is therefore unsurprising that LEGO took great pains to make the Mickey minifigure quite accurate, and the head sculpt is very nice, being a dual-molded piece consisting of both flesh and black plastic, with only printed on eyes and nose. Mickey’s torso is completely plain, with no printing. I can’t help but feel that as a collectible minifigure, though, Mickey is missing something; there are no accessories here—just legs, a torso, and a head. This is a recurring issue throughout this series; the figures are nice, but they are missing the unique accessories that’s come to characterize the LEGO Collectible Minifigures series.
Minnie Mouse
Naturally, Minnie is very similar to Mickey, sharing the same head sculpt, though with slightly different printing. She also is graced with a pink polka-dotted hair bow, which fits into a plume hole on her head (Mickey has one also). Minnie also has a skirt piece, which is hard plastic and fits over the hip studs. She has dual-molded legs in black and white, with some clever black printing on the front to give the ruffled underskirt look.
Donald Duck
Donald comes dressed in his iconic sailor’s uniform. The head is a nice sculpt, and even has printing inside the bill. The top of the head has a plume hole which holds the sailor’s cap. Donald also features a little duck tail, which is rubber and fits over the hip studs and gives a little tuft of rump feathers.
Daisy Duck
Daisy is almost identical to Donald, except in color. She also has a duck tail, but has a bow instead of a cap. She also features dual-molded arms. Her torso piece is almost completely plain, having only a small spot of printing on the front for the collar.
Alice
Alice is always falling into mischief and finding herself larger or smaller, so I don’t take it too seriously that Alice is a full-sized minifigure instead of a shorter figure as befits a small girl. She has a hard plastic skirt piece; the same one as Minnie, though Alice’s dress print continues onto her skirt. Alice is the first in this lineup to have any accessories, with a pesky potion labeled Drink Me, and a tiny cake (which is presumably labeled Eat Me, though that printing doesn’t actually appear). Alice’s hair piece is unique to this figure, with long yellow curls and a printed-on black bow. The back of Alice’s hair is oddly devoid of detail, and feels almost too smooth. It seems like it would have fit better with LEGO’s aesthetic for hairpieces in the 80’s more than it looks like something from the current era of ultra-detailed minifigs.
Cheshire Cat
The Cheshire Cat is instantly recognizable with his manic grin. The rubber tail is the same piece that Rocket Raccoon wore, and is decorated with a bright pink tip. The Cheshire Cat has short legs, and I believe this is the first time we’ve seen dual-molded stubby legs. In fact, it may be more accurate to call these triple molded, since they have a dark pink stripe in the middle. At first I thought it was printing, but it is in fact a molded-in ring of dark pink.
Mr. Incredible
Mr. Incredible and his nemesis are the only Pixar properties to find their way into this series, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see more Pixar characters in the future. Many of these characters, even the non-human ones, translate pretty well into minifigure form, but Mr. Incredible is probably the weakest of the bunch. The whole point of Mr. Incredible’s character is that he is a fat, aging superhero, and while the minfig version recreates his balding hair, the minfig doesn’t feel like it has the heft that Mr. Incredible should have. He looks more like a balding Red Robin from Batman. He does carry one accessory, though: an inspirational poster in red, white, and blue printed on a 2×2 tile.
Syndrome
As a counterpoint to Mr. Incredible, Syndrome is probably the most accurate-looking minifigure in this lineup. The facial expression, long fiery orange hair, awkwardly large-S suit are all spot on. Syndrome has a plain black cape, and features subtle silver printing on the arms and boots. He also carries a printed 2×2 tile, showing blueprints of his Omnidroid robot.
Aladdin
Aladdin wears a properly mischievous expression, and carries the magic lamp. Sadly, his fez is a molded on part of his hairpiece, making it far less useful for custom figs. Also, oddly, his feet are flesh-colored printing, not dual-molded legs, which seems like a more obvious choice. I can’t help but feel that this is a huge missed opportunity to include Abu as the accessory instead of the lamp, since the lamp also comes with the Genie.
Genie
At last, a Robin Williams character in LEGO form. The Genie has a special hairpiece to give him a bald head and ears, and provides a plume hole for the feather. The Genie also has a tiny printed gold earring. This is the first time LEGO has ever printed the small feather, and it looks great. Like Aladdin, he comes with the magic lamp.
Toy Story Alien
The Toy Story Alien is one of two figures in this series which LEGO has already produced (the other being Buzz), and it’s pretty forgettable. Sure, the accuracy is fine, but why the Alien instead of Woody? Presumably it’s so that Woody can be a selling point for the sure-to-come second line Disney figs. The Alien is a little more detailed than the ones we got with the Toy Story sets, though, having dark blue printed boots, and neck and collar printing on the back of the torso. Desipite this being an extremely simple minifig, no accessories are included.
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz is the second figure to have appeared in LEGO form previously, though when minifig Buzz appeared before, he had a sculpted head, not a printed minifig head like now. Beyond that, the pieces are all the same, though this time they feature more detailed printing. The wings and visor are removable from the jetpack. Like the first version of this fig, the visor doesn’t close; it’s always a half-open visor.
Maleficent
Maleficent is one of only two properties to have a single representative in this series; alas, Sleeping Beauty herself will have to wait for another series. Maleficent is resplendent with a double-sided cape, black on the exterior, and a rich purple on the inside. She also has a second, small double-sided cape which forms the shroud. Maleficent has a black head with a printed-on face, and her hands are light aqua, making her only the second minifig to have light aqua hands (the previous was last year’s Monsters series Ghost). The horned helm is rubber, and I can easily see it being used for other, non-Disney dark wizards. She comes with a pearl gold staff with a yellow jewel on top.
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a jaunty fig, with a bright open-eyed expression befitting his character. The hair and cap and are all one piece, though dual-molded in flesh and green plastic, with printing for the hair and red feather. He has dual-molded arms and legs, and sports a gold knife. Pan is the only figure in the series to have an extra piece, since the knife comes on a sprue of two. Interestingly, the knife is pearl gold, though the box art shows him holding a pearl silver knife.
Captain Hook
Captain Hook , that rascal pirate, is one of the better looking figs in this series. His delightfully evil grin and whisper thin mustache are perfectly rendered. The torso print carries on to the leg piece, which is dual molded in red and white, with black printing for the boots. The hat and hair piece are all one piece, molded in dark red with the black hair printed on, and a spot of white plastic for the feather. Much like Alice’s hair, Hook’s hair falls in a single large untextured sheet, and doesn’t match the detail on most modern LEGO hairpieces. Hook comes with a pearl gold rapier.
Ursula
The tentacled enchantress Ursula makes a very unusual minifig. Her body is a new unique piece, with hip studs hidden inside to accept a minifig torso. The bottom hides enough stud recesses that the piece could be placed flat on a large plate. Ursula’s white hair is a also a new piece, and has grey streaks on both sides. She carries a trident.
Ariel
Ariel is the only Disney Princess to make an appearance in this series. The fish body is the same as the Series 9 mermaid, though obviously the color and printing are unique to Ariel. Ariel’s wavy red hair is a new piece, and has the same simplicity as Alice and Hook’s hair. I suspect the simplicity of the hair is to mimic their animated counterparts’ hair, but it doesn’t suit the characters as well in 3-dimensional form. Ariel carries a clamshell with a trans-pink jewel.
Stitch
Everyone’s favorite genetically engineered menace, Stitch is just as cute in LEGO form as he is on screen. He’s remarkably accurate, though I do wish we had a version showing his toothy grin. Stitch is completely medium blue, though he has printing for the toes, front and back fur, and head details.