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    Preview: LEGO Monkie Kid (2020) – available soon!

    May 15, 2020 | 16

    LEGO is proud to officially Monkie Kid (not Monkey Kid), an all-new 2020 theme based on the 500-year-old legend of Sun Wukong, or better known to Western audiences as Monkey King.

    It’s a fresh new take on one of the most enduring Chinese legends, that was captured in the 16th century novel Journey to the West. The tale has been adapted in all mediums, from manga, a popular Hong Kong TVB drama series and is also the inspiration behind Dragon Ball.

    Monkie King will start with eight LEGO sets, and will launch worldwide tomorrow (!), 16 May on LEGO.com, and in LEGO Brand Retail Stores, Legolands and LEGO Certified Stores.

    Here’s a look at the eight Monkie Kid sets!

    80006 White Dragon Horse Bike

    259 pieces. US$34.99 / AU$49.99 / EUR 29,99

    80007 Iron Bull Tank

    430 pieces. US$49.99 / AU$79.99 / EUR 44.99

    80008 Monkie Kid’s Cloud Jet

    529 pieces. US$59.99 / AU$79.99 / EUR 49.99

    80009 Pigsy’s Food Truck

    832 pieces. US$69.99 / AU$99.99 / EUR 59.99

    80010 Demon Bull King

    1,051 pieces. US$89.99 / AU$129.99 / EUR 79.99

    80011 Red Son’s Inferno Truck

    1111 pieces. US$119.99 / AU$169.99 / EUR 99.99

    80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech

    1629 pieces. US$149.99 / AU$229.99 / EUR 99.99

    80013 Monkie Kid’s Team Secret HQ

    1959 pieces. US$169.99 / AU$259.99 / EUR 169.99

    So my initial thoughts. I think it’s really cool to see LEGO adapt Chinese folklore. It aligns very well with their push and focus into the Chinese market, which they need to nail to ensure that their growth is sustained, followed by stagnation in Western markets.

    I think the theme is really well executed, and some of the designs, especially the Monkey King Mech are downright incredible.

    I’m glad there isn’t an app or a gimmick attached to this one.

    I don’t know if it’ll stand out enough, especially in the Western market. It kinda looks like a Ninjago sub-theme that they decided to spin off into its own theme, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but I would’ve liked a bit more of a unique twist to it, and the inclusion of some larger structures, instead of a large tubgoat as the flagship set.

    I think the prices are horrendous, and it’s going to be very difficult to justify paying full price for these sets – especially in this economic climate.

    I will definitely pick some of these sets up, especially the Monkey King Mech and maybe the Demon Bull King, but man, completing this entire theme is going to torch a massive hole in your wallet.

    LEGO Monkie Kid launches worldwide tomorrow, the 16th of May 2020!

    What do you think of this theme? Do you think LEGO is Monkeying around with these prices, or will you go bananas over them?

    News
    Uncategorized
    2020
    lego
    monkey king
    monkie kid

    16 responses to “Preview: LEGO Monkie Kid (2020) – available soon!”

    1. Daniel says:
      May 24, 2020 at 4:33 PM

      They look great, very colourful and some cool new minifigs and parts!
      But $50 for that little bike, and $100 for the Pig Food truck is just ridiculous!!
      If people stopped paying such high prices, would Lego actually start lowering their prices? Or at least be forced to bulk up their sets with more pieces to justify the crazy prices!

      Reply
    2. K says:
      May 18, 2020 at 1:59 PM

      Not convinced. The monkey mech looks great, the rest is meh. Not much to distinguish it from any other generic theme (other than a rather odd looking Pigsy). Was looking forward to it, now I’ll give it a miss.

      Reply
    3. gracro says:
      May 17, 2020 at 4:06 AM

      I just ordered the Monkey King Mech, it looks amazing and I cannot wait to display that bad boy.
      Though, i’m in europe so the price felt a little less like robbery than the AUD prices.

      Reply
      • Jay says:
        May 18, 2020 at 8:52 AM

        Nice! I think the European prices are pretty high too, but that seems to be quite normal given that LEGO is so expensive in Europe.

        I’m just disappointed in the overall theme’s price – for in-house themes like Ninjago, Nexo Knights, Hidden Side, you usually expect quite substantial value given that the price of the license isn’t built in.

        Reply
    4. Jonathan says:
      May 16, 2020 at 11:11 PM

      I would imagine that China is the intended target market, with some limited appeal elsewhere, but man those prices are super high. Not even some 10 or 20 dollar sets seems a tad odd, and too many at the high end. Oddly the pig is probably my favorite bit if this. Maybe if I see a sale, but the vehicles really remind me of a cross between Ninjago and Nexo Knights, not original. Mechs are interesting but pricey and again, Ninjago has had a ton of those.

      Reply
      • Jay says:
        May 18, 2020 at 12:01 PM

        Yup, this is squarely aimed at China. If you’ve been following what LEGO has saying, their success is ultimately pinned on markets like China and India. They’ve been making tons of inroads, like their new factory, flagship stores in Shanghai and even CNY sets, so this is a logical next step. I fully expect a AU$500+ Forbidden City Architecture set before 2021 is done.

        But yeah, it seems very familiar to what LEGO has done in the past, especially the comparisons with Ninjago. Perfect for LEGO’s demographic of young boys 🙂

        Reply
    5. Sharon says:
      May 16, 2020 at 6:58 PM

      I wasn’t initially wowed, but looking at the large figures, I can see a lot of complex building. The set names are troubling me, they sounds really clumsy (Monkie Kid’s Team Secret HQ?), like a jumble of words which literally translate a more lyrical original language. I grew up in Ireland watching “Monkey”, a Japanese show I believe, so there will be some Westerners in their 40s who know a version of the story and characters!

      Reply
      • Jay says:
        May 18, 2020 at 12:08 PM

        LEGO’s naming convention has always been awful – just look at the Superheroes naming convention, haha.

        Reply
      • Geoff says:
        May 18, 2020 at 1:43 PM

        Lego Monkey Magic yeah! Although it took me a while to realise Monkie Kid had enough overlap to be that. Monkey, Pigsy and Sandy are all there, although I can’t see Tripitaka or Horse (?yet). 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech is now must-buy because it includes a small Monkey on a cloud – a key memory from the TV series.

        Reply
        • Sharon says:
          May 18, 2020 at 5:10 PM

          Ah Geoff, well spotted! I didn’t see the cloud till I zoomed in! Yeah, that’s a give away from the show 🙂 There’s a reference to Horse in the set name but no actual character yet. Tripitaka was always intriguing to me. I didn’t understand as a child if the character was he or she, but (in an early understanding of gender politics) figured it really didn’t matter. I think I’d quite like Tripitaka on a large horse figure! I discovered as an adult that Tripitaka was a ‘he’, but was played by a female actor, Masako Natsume. I didn’t realise she had died so young, aged 27. So from this perspective as a bit of nostalgia, I can see myself gravitating towards Monkie Kid once I see them in real life.

          Reply
          • gracro says:
            May 18, 2020 at 7:42 PM

            The horse/dragon IS the motorbike in that set.

            Reply
            • Sharon says:
              May 18, 2020 at 9:08 PM

              Yes, I see that 🙂 I mean there’s no actual character/structure that looks like a horse. In the tv show a human turned into an actual horse, called “Horse”, (not a motorbike) XD

              Reply
      • Richard says:
        May 24, 2020 at 6:26 PM

        Interestingly the Japanese “Monkey” series was poorly received when it was shown on Chinese TVs during the early 80s because of artistic liberties such as Triptaka being a played by a female actor, which the audience thought was mocking Chinese culture. In contrast, most Chinese people who grew up in 1980s are very fond of the 1986 TV series which is considered to be an all time classic and is still played on TVs to this day.

        Reply
    6. Hans says:
      May 16, 2020 at 8:53 AM

      Probably nice for kids, but for afols the theme would probably have been better if it had an ancient historical setting rather than futuristic. But as you mentioned it’s very Ninjago-ish. I like the monkey king minifig from the mech set but already got a monkey king minifig from minifigures series 19 🙂 will be giving this theme a pass.

      Reply
    7. Stephen says:
      May 16, 2020 at 12:18 AM

      Hard to see justification for the high prices even with all the new parts and colours. The previous new year special Chinese issues were good value and had lots of exclusive parts.
      The monkey king mech is a definite purchase as looks great and glad I picked up a few monkey warriors from previous mini figure set. Also for some reason need the bright blue iron ball figure. The new colours and the way they have been used is certainly a great move and can see people getting single kits to then moc into their own models. The hq boat looks good for that.
      Certainly glad it’s not an exclusive and will see if any special gwp on intial launch otherwise will wait to see if gets released to normal stores and then hope for discount.
      Great update but again with this range and the high cost new haunted house launch it does seem like Lego overlap too much on the high cost kits

      Reply

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    Hello and welcome to Jay's Brick Blog. In here, you'll find independent LEGO set reviews, commentary on LEGO trends & news, bargain hunting tips and an inside look into the life of an average LEGO fan. Find out more about me here

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