Unfinished posts abound, covering everything from Hot Wheels to Squinkies, but as always, the thing that I can't keep quiet about is LEGO.
On the first day of 2014, LEGO Disney Princesses are unleashed on the world. While I'm not surprised that they are Friends-style figures, I'm disappointed. I get it, to a point-- introduce a line in 2012, build on it in 2013, try to use a massively popular license to make it explode in 2014? I've explained my stance on Friends before, and I've played with their compatibility in my own collection. Essentially, I think the doll-type figures are more invited to the party than most people would expect, but I see this immense wasted potential in not using the Disney characters for the standard size minifigs.
If the point of Friends is to bridge the marketing gap that LEGO has created for themselves, to get uninterested girls and their parents into LEGO, literally this license is a perfect bridge into the rest of the lines. Assuming there are any kids who didn't really like LEGO before Friends and now they've been brought into the fold, wouldn't this be a great way to continue to lead them into more LEGO play with more kinds of sets and themes?
I like these sets, I do. Good elements, nice colors, range of prices. I'm especially pleased to see Merida up there at the launch. But it would just be amazing to really be able to cross over with other lines. I just think kids should be able to have Snow White drive a firetruck and that strikes me as a big missed opportunity.
